Feng Shui – Part 3 Bedroom Feng Shui

     We spend one third of our life time in bed. A good night’s sleep is so important that it directly affects our health. The principles of bedroom Feng Shui are to create an environment that is relaxing and conducive to a good night’s sleep. A bedroom with good Feng Shui should has appropriate size. If you ever visited the forbidden city in China, you would find that even the Chinese emperor’s bedroom is less than 215 square feet (20 square meters). While we certainly do not like a depressingly small bedroom, an oversized bedroom would lost the intimacy and privacy needed to create a relaxing environment. If you have an oversized bedroom, you may create a sitting area or add a patterned area rug to take up visual space.


      To be able to feel safe is the essential component to a restful sleep. In order to feel safe when you try to fall asleep, your bed should be positioned so that you can see the bedroom door without being in direct line with it. The headboard should be placed against a solid wall, instead of under a window, some Feng Shui consultants call this a position with backing mountain, implying a strong support. Figure 2 shows the optimal position for a bed within a bedroom. This bed position allows survival instincts to relax a bit more as you can see who is entering the room, giving you an extra second to respond if necessary. Except the headboard, any side of the bed should not be placed against a wall. Some Feng Shui consultants call this a position surrounded by a belt of jade. From a modern point of view, this position allows you to freely get out of bed from different directions. It also makes it easier to change bed sheets*.

      Figure 3 shows the least desirable bed position. When the headboard is on the same wall as the door, you can not see whoever enters the room. This creates a feeling of vulnerability and makes you feel less secured. If you have to have your bed positioned in line with the door or the headboard on the same wall as the door, you may consider creating a shield between your bed and the door using a shoji screen or a curtain hanging on a canopy bed. If you have a canopy bed, however, I do not recommend enclosing your bed with curtains as this may obstruct air flow when you are asleep. You may want to at least keep some parts of your canopy bed open, as being able to breathe in fresh air is essential to a good night’s sleep as well.

      In Feng Shui, we try to find the most comfortable environment and surround ourselves with only pleasant images. While the modern plumbing and ventilation techniques have resolved some issues related to having bathrooms inside a house, the look of a toilet bowl is certainly not enjoyable. Therefore, it is preferable if you are unable to see the toilet when lying on your bed. If you can not avoid seeing the toilet from your bed, you may once again create some kind of shield between your bed and the bathroom door.

Figure 2 Optimal position for a bed within a room

Figure 3 Least desirable position for a bed within a room

 



      When you enter your bedroom, you want to relieve yourself from a stressful day and prepare yourself for a restful sleep. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid placing exercise equipment, work-related items, or electronic devices such as TVs in the bedroom. These items tend to demand attention and/or stimulate senses, instead of calming them. Image this. Will you get a relaxing sleep if the last thing you saw before you close your eyes is that unfinished work? Will you have a restful night if that treadmill in your bedroom just reminds you of a workout that you skipped today? The answer to these questions is obvious. From the viewpoint of Feng Shui, the one and only purpose of all bedrooms should be for peaceful sleep. Any item that may distract your sleep should really be removed from your bedroom. If you have to have any of these items in your bedroom, consider covering it up with a cloth when it is not in use.

* In my opinion, I think the belt-of-jade bed position should only apply to adult’s beds. After all, we want to prevent very young children from falling from their beds. Therefore, for very young children, two or three sides of the bed being placed against solid walls or some kinds of obstacles should be a more reasonable bed arrangement.