iVillage

Living in the most densely populated areas of the world, Asian culture naturally turned to feng-shui as a means to improve their situation. Many of us can’t just up and move to a better location. We have roots where we are now and there are also financial considerations involved with relocating. Feng-shui is above all concerned with doing everything we can to improve our current situation, the now and the here—wherever we happen to be.

Feng-shui experts have learned to be aware of the nature of the energy in a given place. This natural energy is called Qi (pronounced “Chee,” as in “Cheetos”) and it is everywhere flowing around us. Qi is often written as “Ch’i.” Qi is invisible to our eyes, as is the air and wind, but it is ever present. Feng-shui means, literally, “wind and water,” and these two words have been said to describe the nature of Qi, the life force animating each of us. Qi is said to ride on the wind and to move through the air, but be bound, collected, and pooled when it comes into contact with water. The whole art of feng-shui is about harnessing the natural Qi around us, helping it to work for us and not against us.