I’ve enjoyed a fascinating exchange with Kristi Stangeland, meditation expert, retreat leader, mindfulness book author and Feng Shui consultant. We’ve been talking about how we can use the principles of Feng Shui to improve the sense of balance and to boost the positive energy in our meditation and yoga spaces.
Like Kristi and I, you likely have an altar in your practice space, a sacred place to focus your yoga and meditation practice, a way to support your intention and to transform your practice into a very personal experience that motivate you to practice day after day. There is a certain energy created by your focus and intention that turns your altar into a very special and very powerful place.
In PART 1 of our interview, Kristi told us that having the altar against a wall, and not in direct line with the door, is best practice since the wall provides a backdrop of support. Once we’ve decided where to place it, let’s learn more about how to use the Feng Shui principles to empower our altars…and how to use it to support our intentions.
Sarah: How can we use Feng Shui to empower our altar?
Kristi:Feng Shui is all about intention, about the stories our objects are telling us and about selecting material items for intention. On my altar I have a fountain with running water to represent tranquility, movement. A plant (fake is fine as long as it’s good looking and can represent growth.) The colour red (red is highest vibration of the colours) is a nice accent to have.
Sarah:How can we use Feng Shui to support our intentions?
Kristi: You can use the bagua map to decide the best spot in your sanctuary to sit in meditation or to practice yoga. You can also use the bagua on your altar. Place the bagua map on your altar and choose a place to specifically enhance an area of your life! [In Feng Shui, we can work on enhancing 9 areas of our life. And these are indicated on the bagua map.]
Sarah:Once we know what intention we’d like to support, and the place on our altar to focus that intention, would specific objects on the altar be helpful to do this?
Kristi: Definitely. Say you are looking for a partner. Place the map on the altar space, you will want to enhance the top right corner of your altar (the relationships quadrant on the bagua map). The colours that relate to the areas are on the attached map (pink for relationships) so I would purchase 2 rose quartz crystals and set those down with intention. You can be creative – the most important thing is that the objects you choose are meaningful to you and that you have purchased them with the intention of more prosperity/love/etc.
Sarah: These are great suggestions to support our intentions for the love and harmonious relationships quadrant! Can you suggest objects to support our intentions in each quadrant of the bagua?
Kristi:
Abundance/wealth/prosperity: Purple, Chinese coins on red string, plants
Reputation/fame:Red, triangular objects, candles
Love/harmonious relationships: Pink for romantic relationships, Yellow/brown (earth tones) for relationships; squares objects, should always have two objects
Family/Good health: Green, plants, wood objects
Joy/happiness: White, oval or circle objects, rocks, stones, gems
Wisdom/knowledge/self-actualisation: Blue
Career/success:Black/deep blue, wavy lined objects, water elements
Travel/helpful people/benefactors: Grey
The centre of the map = Tai Chi (yin & yang) balance, health and well being, yellow
Choose objects that signify the aspect of that area for you: ie the travel area could have a postcard of somewhere on the bucket list or somewhere that holds fond memories.
You could also choose crystals that represent that area – it could be as simple as the colour of the crystal. For example amethyst for Abundance.
One last tip!
If you don’t have the possibility to set up a permanent altar, consider creating a portable altar. It could be on a tray to take out when you need it. It could be a square piece of fabric that sets the space for some intentional objects you’d like to meditate with. You might even create a small altar to take with you when you travel.
Thank you Kristi!
Kristi Stangeland is an international retreat leader, author, lecturer and private meditation coach for busy women. She is the founder of the My ParaVita Circle, an online meditation membership program designed to help busy women find balance, wellness and contentment in their daily lives. For nearly 20 years, she has helped women create opportunities for professional success and personal fulfillment through self-development programs including meditation, personal development and wellness retreats, and Feng Shui. Kristi is a certified Gene Keys Guide and Miracle Choice Facilitator for guiding personal transformations.
Learn more about what Kristi can offer you for your journey at: My Paravita
And see the beautiful series of small but powerful books about mindfulness practices, for each day and each season.
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