Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui: What Does it all Mean?

By Krupa Balasubramanya - November 18, 2020

If you’re a regular visitor to Alpha Hearts Dot Com (and we sincerely hope you are), you may have seen a few new services hit the menu in the past few months. One of thos services, we are proud to announce, is our new interior & exterior design consultation series: Nirvana Home Storeys. Whether you’re building from scratch or looking to gut and renew, Nirvana Home Storeys weds critical design with spiritual energy in order to harmonize and align you and your surrounding environment. The goal of this service is to invite positive energy into your space so that your life feels both energized and balanced. As a certified Vastu consultant, I am prepared to work with you on everything from initial architecture (vastu shastra) to furniture lay out (feng shui) to where your home is located (home numerology), all in an effort to create optimal energy flow through all areas of your life. Interested in learning more? You can visit our Nirvana Home Storeys page to request more info!

But while we’re on the subject, let’s address the elephant in the room: What are all of these terms that we’re throwing around? Vastu Shastra… Feng Shui… What does it all mean? No doubt you have heard the term feng shui before, but we’d venture to guess you have numerous stereotypes and misconceptions attached to the phrase. A firm grasp of design surrounding energy and chi (also known as prana) is something that can improve your space—and your vibe—no matter where your life happens to take you, whether that be a college dorm room, a studio apartment, a cottage on the lake or a condo in the sky. It is never too “woo” to establish great energy around where you spend most of your time.

With that being said let’s take a few moments to break it all down:

Vastu Shastra refers to a traditional system of architecture originating in India, wherein “Vastu” refers to anything that exists, such as a house or building, and “Shastra” refers to a system or scope of knowledge. Vastu Shastra includes guidelines for everything from floor layout, measurements, special arrangement and special geometry. It is most important—or most easy to align—when building something from the ground up, though a complete renovation is also a great time to hire a consultant. Vastu Shastra is a vast and complex system. Indeed, to try and lay it out here would be overly simplified and missing the point—That’s what Vastu consultants are for!

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a concrete example of great Vastu design at work, take a moment to venture into your kitchen. Survey the room from your typical entrance. Notice the placement of the sink in relation to the oven. Is the sink on the left and the oven on the right? Are the sink and the oven positioned so that they are not directly across from each other, but more or less side by side? This is a great set up!

Let’s say you just realized your space is completely out of whack. Don’t be too hard on yourself! Unless you were able to be a part of the design process from the beginning, chances are you didn’t or don’t have much control over where things are placed. It’s also entirely possible that you’re one of the 100 million American citizens who currently rent. That is, you do not own your space at all. There is one thing you can control regardless of where your name is on the deed or how much cash you have in savings: You can focus on your space’s unique feng shui.

Feng Shui refers to an ancient art, originating in China, focused on striking harmony between one’s self and one’s environment in order to live a life of happiness and contentment. In Chinese, “Feng” means “wind” and “Shui” means “water.” It was believed that by striking a balance between these two forces, one could similar live in harmony with the entire universe. One critical element of feng shui design is known as the commanding position. This means that regardless of the room that you are in—the bedroom, the office, the kitchen—there should be one central piece that commands the energy of the room, around which all other pieces revolve. In the bedroom, it’s important that your bed be the position in command. In the kitchen, it should be stove. As you can see, when it comes to feng shui, while architecture and layout are still important aspects of feng shui, there are still many workarounds in terms of the way the space is filled.

Some further tips are detailed below:

The entryway to your home is also known as the “mouth of chi” as it’s where all of the energy enters also. Keep this area clean and free of clutter. From the outside, visitors should be able to access it easily.
Living rooms are the obvious place to gather: Seating is key. Make sure there is enough comfortable seating for every member of your household plus a few guests. Nothing sucks energy faster than a guest without a place to sit. And no, a hardbacked chair from the kitchen doesn’t count!
In your kitchen, keep your fridge as clean as possible. This should be a room of nourishment and health. Messy spills signal chaos and disease.
For obvious reasons, the bathroom is a total energy suck. It’s a good idea to keep the bathroom door and toilet seat closed as much as possible to keep the rest of the home’s energy flow in good spirits.
Your bedroom is perhaps the most important room in the house, as it’s where you rest and repair. Your bed must be in a commanding position in the room. This means away from walls. Furniture should not obstruct windows.

Did this post speak to your heart or teach you something new? Alpha Hearts still has spots available to welcome new clients into our community! Email me here if you’re ready to find the Connection, Love, Growth, and Support that will allow your inner self to fully shine and embrace all that your life has to offer you! Alpha Hearts supports your life’s journey with Numerology, Ayurveda, and Tantra.

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Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui: What Does it all Mean?