Essential oils to support balance in challenging times

Feng shui to support our health and wellbeing
We are living through very strange times, this year has been quite exceptional. Looking after our physical and mental health has never been more pertinent. In our modern world feng shui and healthy homes are inextricably linked, we cannot have good feng shui if we are being stressed by environmental toxins. We need to address this in tandem to having good energy flow throughout our homes.

Stress lowers our immune response
Stress of any sort, be it environmental, physical or emotional in the form of worry and anxiety will lower our bodies immune response. We are primal beings and when we experience stress our bodies do not differentiate between being chased down by a tiger and worrying about a pandemic. The physical effect is the same, we move into fight, flight, freeze defensive mode. This switches our bodies into sympathetic nervous system response, causing our breathing to become shallow, our digestive system and our immune system to slow down and our bodies to come into a state of hyper awareness. The net effect of this long term is that we feel exhausted, run down and find it hard to relax and enjoy life.

With the schools reopening and our lives getting back to some semblance of “normality” many of us are finding this process more stressful than when we were safely cocooned in our own little nests.

Feng shui and health
Taking all of this into account, now is a good time to look at the health and wellbeing area of our home in terms of how this impacts on our personal energy. In feng shui we associate the central core of our home with our health and vitality. Health is indeed central to our enjoyment of every area of our lives and ultimately essential to our sense of success and abundance. We pay special attention to the use of colour, imagery, furnishings, decorative elements and to the scents which create the mood in this part of our home.

So, let’s take a moment to look at the centre of your home and even the centre of each room. Ideally we want this area to feel open, bright, light and uplifting. In traditional forms of architecture in many parts of the world this would have been an open courtyard. A sun-filled space where light could stream in, enlivening all of the other spaces within the home.

How to uplift our energy with feng shui
With feng shui we can recreate this sense of uplift in our modern homes through the use of colour, texture, imagery, ornamentation and through the power of scent in the following ways:-

  • keep this central core of your space free from clutter
  • keep this part of your home well lit, fresh and clean.
  • Use uplifting colours to brighten the atmosphere. In feng shui this area is associated with the earth element and yellows and earthy tones. Yellow boosts our solar plexus chakra, our chakra for manifestation. The fire element can offer an energy boost here in the form of fiery colours, red, orange and red-purple. These fiery colours boost our base and sacral chakras associated with energy, drive and creativity.
  • Uplifting imagery which lifts our mood is ideal. Think of the daffodils when they appear in springtime, their sunny heads proclaiming the return to sunnier days and new beginnings. Humorous imagery can work well in this central part of the home. Take a moment to step back and really look at the imagery you have in this part of your home, do you feel uplifted when you look at it? Does it evoke happy, positive associations for you? If not, maybe its time to make a change.
  • Remove any furnishings and decorative elements which impede the free flow of movement through the space. It should feel open and receptive, full of potential life force, like the open palm of a hand ready to receive healing and blessings.
  • Introduce some fresh flowers or a flowering plant to introduce fully expanded joyful energy here.
  • Scent has an immediate impact on our mood and our physical, mental and emotional selves. Affecting our limbic system, scent has the ability to evoke memories, transporting us to a different time and space. By infusing the central core of our homes with scents which we find comforting, uplifting and joyful we give our whole being a boost; body, mind and spirit.

Essential oils to uplift our energy and release anxiety
While we recognise that scent is deeply personal, its impact and attraction will depend on our associations with their particular aroma; that said, oils which are particularly delightful to diffuse in the health energy area of our homes include:

  • Lemon (citrus limon): cleansing and uplifting, lemon promotes a sense of opening and expansion, reduces tension, lifts our mood and invites in the energy of happiness.
  • Grapefruit (citrus paradisi): Highly energetic, grapefruit cuts through indecision is uplifting, cleansing and reduces tension.
  • Orange (citrus sinensis): Unblocks and circulates stagnant energy, calms tension when we feel overwhelmed, it helps to relieve anxiety. An emotionally uplifting oil which soothes the inner perfectionist in us allowing us to relax and easily digest experiences.
  • Juniper (juniperus communis): Cleanses and protects, is said to drive out negativity on every level. It is very useful when we feel overburdened and overwhelmed. It helps to release worry and negative thinking.
  • Lemongrass (cymbopogon citratus): is uplifting, refreshing and is said to offer a sense emotional protection, easing us through difficult transitions. Lemongrass reduces fatigue, helps us to manage agitation and restlessness and is emotionally cooling and refreshing.