MaryAnnRussell.com

These are the key design challenges I have encountered in multi-unit dwellings over the years.  The feng shui perspective considers these designs aspects to have the greatest impact on the quality of life of the occupants.

Developers and planners should consider these 6 design features fundamental to feng shui.

1. Front Door Accessibility – This should be considered for both the building and the individual units.  The front door is considered a key area in feng shui and should have the most visibility. The path to the entrance must be fully accessible without any confusion about how to arrive there.  When owners, tenants and guests can leave and arrive at their front door without struggle everyone benefits.  On a daily basis the atmosphere will not be permeated with frustration and annoyance.  In feng shui, the front door is understood to be the place where opportunities find you and enter into your life.
2. Entrance Foyer – Stairs should not face the front door.  All the opportunities that have arrived at the front door will be pushed out by the downward push of the opposing stairway.
3. The front door and the back door should be offset so that they are not aligned.  The energy will move from the front door quickly to the back door which challenges the finances of the occupants.
4. Bathrooms should not be visible from the front door-this relates to health and finances.
5. The kitchen should not be the focal point when entering into the condo or apartment-this relates to finances, health and nutrition.
6. Bedrooms – The position of the bed and sleeping area of the bedroom is a key area in feng shui.  The bed should be located on a solid wall with the door visible to someone lying in bed.  In feng shui, we call this the commanding position.  Feng shui bedroom design should consider the placement of the bed as a priority; a solid wall without windows, doors or closets.  It is also important that the bedroom wall where the head of the bed is located should not be a shared wall with the kitchen or a bathroom.   Finally, shared utility closets in multi-unit dwellings can emit a tremendous amount of electromagnetic fields and their locations should be well planned to minimize the impact on bedrooms.

Tip: The foyer or entryway should easily transition into a gathering room where the seating arrangement is inviting.

The Feng Shui Factor: Modern Homes Ancient Blueprint discusses all of these aspects in detail and the concepts can easily be applied to multi-unit dwellings.

MaryAnn Russell

Feng Shui Consultant, Author

Feng Shui Factor

© Copyright 2007-09 All Rights Reserved

We are half way through the Year of the Ox and it has certainly been characterized by slow, steady progress and focusing on work for me.  I continue to study my own environment to see where I can make improvements and enhance the quality of my life using the feng shui principles.

For some time I’ve been planning to extend the hard scape and patio area in my backyard.   I’ve had different design ideas but I basically know what I want in the finished look.  The area involves the East Family/Health and the Northeast Knowledge area.  In this case, extending the patio will create more balance and make the outdoor living space more functional.  I was struggling with a small part of the area (that will eventually be the extended patio) because it seriously lacks a beautiful focal point and I consider it to be a “dead zone” when it comes to foliage.

Let me tell you where I’ve made my mistake while waiting for the right time to move ahead with this project.  This so called “dead zone” makes up a small part of my backyard and, from an aesthetic point of view, looks lifeless and bleak.  From a feng shui perspective it weakens the balance of the exterior.  Every time I look at the area a little dissatisfied voice in my head makes a criticism.  Symbolically a “dead zone” is not good, along with the simple fact that the energy is not “vital” in that area of the yard.

I had to come up with a simple interim solution because I just couldn’t stand to look at the “dead zone” anymore.  I bought 3 of the same type of trees I have in the rest of the yard and I put them in grow pots.   Also, to create a more finished arrangement, I placed some solar lanterns between the pots.  So, whether we put the new patio in next week or next year, I won’t have to look at a “void” in the yard.  The new trees will continue to grow and the lanterns can be relocated anywhere.

I am sure you have areas in your home or property that you would love to improve when the time is right;  just don’t make the mistake I did and do nothing.  There is always something you can do to improve it.  I basically took the design elements from the rest of the yard and carried them over to the “dead zone” for a temporary but reusable arrangement.  My husband’s response was, “why didn’t we do this sooner?”

The second feng shui idea I’ve been focusing on is the room or area of the house you spend the most time in.  This area of the home becomes a “room of great influence” and should be well balanced, functional and beautiful.  I would encourage you to pay careful attention to the feng shui in this area.  When you walk into your “most used room” it should elicit a sense of peace and satisfaction for you on every level.  A space where you spend a great deal of time influences your health and well being and can be considered “formative”.  Recently I had some crown molding added to my “most used room” and the outcome created the following:

• Improved the floor to ceiling or spacial balance
• General ambiance of the room was elevated because the “eye” tends upward toward the new design feature
• Added a sense of strength and solidity to the entire room

I hope some of these ideas get you thinking about your own feng shui and how your environment  is connected to your quality of  life.  If you have any questions always feel free to send me an email or call my office.

Best Wishes,

MaryAnn Russell

714-842-7728 PST

Feng Shui Factor

Anti-Aging

Having been a consumer of alternative and complementary medicine for most of my life, I know that self care is no longer a trend but a reality for an ever growing part of the population. Even those who understand the benefits of what both Western and alternative medicine have to offer know that in either case, one must take responsibility for their own health.

The exciting part for consumers of holistic and complementary medicine is the breakthroughs in non-invasive diagnostic technologies. What does this mean for you and me? It means that science is taking the guess work out of choosing which vitamin supplements and nutrition your body needs.

Well, for most consumers it has been a path of self education and self treatment. I grew up in a home where my now 89 year old mother, educated herself about health and nutrition. In fact, on my book shelf I have her first edition of Back To Eden (1939) by Jethro Kloss. My mother was part of a pioneering generation of self care, self-help psychology, and care for your own health using natural remedies and vitamins. Pioneers like Edgar Cayce and others that followed discovered ways to diagnose and treat people using natural means.

The first non-invasive diagnostic technique I was exposed to was applied kinesiology. AK is a diagnostic technique using muscle testing as a feedback mechanism to determine how your body is functioning. Applied kinesiology is unlimited in the way it can be used, but one application is testing for which vitamins supplements the body needs.

Another non-invasive diagnostic tool I discovered as a health consumer was the “EAV” machine (electro-acupuncture according to Voll).  The EAV machine tests the body’s “acupuncture” meridian system which conducts DC electrical current, or in Chinese medicine, known as “chi” or energy.  A simple probe is used on the hands, feet and teeth, which are the points on the body where the meridians end. The EAV is used to determine the functioning of the body’s meridian system.  Practitioners use this machine in a variety of ways to help determine which supplements your body needs.

Scientific breakthroughs have given us non-intrusive tests that can now test the bodys biochemical and electrical balance.

One of the most comprehensive approaches to assessing your body’s general state of health is to look at both the saliva (what’s inside the cells) and urine (what’s being eliminated). Saliva is an intracellular fluid and is an indicator of the body’s cellular health, in other words what’s happening within the cells. Urine shows what’s being excreted by the body giving you a picture of how well your filtering system is working.

The most recent advances are in “nutri-genomic” research. Now affordable DNA assessments are available to determine our genetic predisposition for disease! Simply using a buccal swab (cheek cells) to collect a sample of your DNA right in your own home.

So you can see we are making progress with assessing which specific vitamins and nutrients your body needs.

I recently had the findings of an EAV test match the results of my DNA assessment!

More to follow………

During my years of consumer research and exploration of health and wellness I noted a curious pattern emerge. The various health regimes I adopted, whether vitamins, super green foods, Chinese herbs, or homeopathic remedies, seemed to stop working.

My commitment and discipline were not lacking, I simply felt after a period of time the health benefits were no longer evident to me. I did understand that the body’s ability to absorb and utilize key nutrients could be a factor in the difference I noticed. At the top of my game I was on a regime of fresh frozen super greens delivered in ice packs and a patented stack of organic amino acids for anti-aging.

I was feeling boundless energy during the day and deep baby sleep at night. The only downside was dealing with the frozen greens. Just when I thought I had discovered the supreme combination for myself, I stopped taking both supplements. After nearly one year the benefits switch turned off. I do keep the patented amino acid formula on hand for sports endurance.

My experience with alternative and complementary medicines were similar to that of vitamin supplementation and diet. Whether it be acupuncture, chiropractic or various types of body work, I would clearly “hit a ceiling” when I instinctively knew I had gained the maximum benefit and it was time to move on.

A lot of people get discouraged when they think something they have discovered is helping them one day and then the next day they are not experiencing those same benefits. Instead of disappointment, perhaps you can see it as your body’s intelligence at work. Your body’s own innate healing intelligence telling you that its done everything it can with a particular regime. You may have actually benefited with what you have done so far but there are other things to discover.

I once knew a practitioner who tested his patients before treating them to determine what their body’s priority was for that day. The patient may have come in for a chiropractic adjustment but he found they needed a vitamin supplement for their nervous system. Perhaps the chiropractic adjustment would be more effective when the nervous system was addressed first. When it comes to nutrition and vitamins, your body is going to absorb and utilize what it can at the time.

The body’s unique intelligence is always at work seeking a state of harmony. You may be drawn to certain foods for a month; this is your body’s way of signaling that for any number of reasons you have a particular nutritional need at this time.

Your needs for vitamins and nutrition will vary due to lifestyle demand and age. The progress that has been made in the preventative and holistic health industry is remarkable but the choices for products and vitamins can be overwhelming at times.

The technological and scientific advances in testing are mapping out our unique nutritional and hormonal needs. The genomic sciences have ushered in a whole new way of how we choose preventative health products.

This of course does not take into consideration your lifestyle, but DNA assessments can map out your predisposition for certain diseases. The scientific breakthroughs are pointing us to genes and lifestyle, and the good news is we can now do something about both. Due to scientific research we see the Biggest Trends in vitamins are those supplements that target:

* Overall health of the bones and and joints

* Cardiovascular health

* Memory and brain function

* Immune health

* Energy and Performance

* Anti-Aging and skin products

* Loss of sleep and nervousness

* Libido

What we do know is that your body’s innate intelligence is constantly adapting and seeking balance. Varying your vitamin supplements just makes sense; what you need during one stage of your life will certainly differ during another stage. I continue to research the best sources of vitamins and nutrition for myself at any given time. The approach is one of complementary, supplying where there is lack in order to complete it. I highly recommend you adapt this approach for your own optimum health.

MaryAnn Russell is passionate about connecting people to knowledge and information that brings empowerment and freedom to their lives. For more information about the latest breakthrough in Health and Wellness. MaryAnn is an author and well known feng shui expert. Learn more about Holistic Living and Feng Shui.