Feng Shui for Weight Loss

Feng shui can help with a wide range of problems and concerns, but there are some questions that are more popular than others when it comes to feng shui consultations. Along with feng shui for more abundance and feng shui for love, I often get asked how to utilize feng shui in weight loss. Though there is no magic solution, there are a few ways to update your space to encourage shedding a few pounds!

Keep Your Kitchen Tidy

Nancy Guberti, a good friend of mine and nutritionist, recently sent me a study conducted on the effect of messy kitchens on caloric intake. The study showed that when women were asked to wait in a cluttered kitchen and presented with the exact same snack options as those in a neat kitchen (carrots, cookies, crackers), those in the cluttered kitchens consumed more cookies and calories. This makes complete sense in terms of feng shui. When your space is cluttered, it's easy to feel out of control and react by seeking comfort, which people often find in food. Instead, keep your kitchen organized, your countertops clean and everything in its place, and see if you find yourself spending less time snacking!

Declutter Your Closet

Another place clutter tends to build up is in our closets. Many of us tend to hold onto certain pieces of clothing for whatever reason, often because we see them as "weight goals", but in feng shui, keeping these clothes in your space can actually do more harm than good. Holding onto clothes that no longer fit can actually translate as holding onto weight. If you instead let those pieces go, you actually metaphorically let go of some of that weight!

Get Enough Sleep!

This aspect of weight loss tends to be overlooked, but it's very important to get enough sleep if you want to be successful here. Of course, sleep is important anyway, but slacking on it can result in your stress levels rising, which in turn leads to overeating and poor impulse control. It's hard to say no to those annoying cravings if you're exhausted! The first step here is making sure you're getting to bed on time, but there are also feng shui factors that can improve the quality of your sleep, which is just as important as how much time you're in bed. Most importantly, make sure your bed is in the commanding position! The commanding position is one of the most important concepts in feng shui, because sleeping, sitting, eating and cooking out of command can build low levels of stress over long periods of time, and it adds up! If you can't move your bed into the commanding position, use a feng shui mirror adjustment

Another way to improve the quality of your sleep is to ensure that you keep electronic devices either out of the room or at least five feet away. Anything that needs to be plugged in gives off EMFs, which can also result in low levels of stress over time in addition to other symptoms like fatigue, headaches, nausea and more! It's a good idea to move books out of your sleeping space as well, if possible, as they can be too active for a bedroom. 

There is no magic feng shui cure for weight loss, but if you are willing to do the mundane and take the time to make your space welcoming and nourishing, you may well see surprising results just from clearing negative energy and practicing self-care!

by Anjie Cho


Q&A Sunday: Recommendations for Geopathic Stress

For a long time I have believed our home makes us sick. I was just reading about geopathic stress, and this really resonated with me. As moving is not an option (teens, schools, work) what type of cure do you recommend? I have been space clearing and de-cluttering since New Year and it will probably take me until the end of the year.

Naiomi P., Toronto, Canada

Hi Naiomi

Thank you for your question, and for listening to the podcast

I’m so sorry to hear that your home is causing sickness for your family. I’m not an expert on geopathic stress, however i spoke about it with my mother-in-law, Shabari Bird Lovel, who is familiar with geopathic stress. 

First, it sounds like it may or may not be geopathic stress, but in order to find out, you can work with an expert dowser. Shabari said that many accomplished dowsers can move geopathic stress lines. She also recommends reading The Divining Hand by Christopher Bird. He was my husband’s late stepfather.

Most feng shui practitioners do not have experience with geopathic stress without additional training, but it does relate to the energy of your space. Essentially, geopathic stress results from spending time in a home that is above or near certain factors, including underground streams, mineral concentrations, fault lines, etc., which can disturb the natural energy of the earth through weak electromagnetic fields

I asked my teacher, Katherine Metz, and she did have some recommendations for dealing with this issue. First and foremost, it's important to determine that this is, in fact, the problem. The problems you're experiencing could be caused by geopathic stress, but they could also be caused by bad feng shui, toxins, EMFs themselves or any number of elements. Katherine's first piece of advice is to move step to step to determine what the real cause is. 

To do this, we recommend you activate the Benefactors area of your home's bagua to attract the best helpful people to you to find out what the issue is. You can also work on the Health area to work with the overall health of your family and try to counteract the stress. 

I share ideas on how to activate the Benefactors area on the Holistic Spaces podcast here. You might also look for practitioners who are trained in dowsing, like my friend Beth Grace. You can read more about her here! It may be the case that you don't even have geopathic stress and can actually make some simple adjustments to solve the issue! 

by Anjie Cho


Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!


My Favorite Things: 5 Back-To-School Must Haves

Welcome to My Favorite Things! Each month, we highlight products to help you create a holistic lifestyle that inspires and nurtures you, so that you can be happier and feel supported.

As summer is wrapping up, many of us are gearing up to head back to school or double down for the fall season. Of course, it's much easier to take on a busy few months if we're organized and ready for what's ahead. So this month we've curated our top recommendations for getting back into the school season swing with a clear head and a neat space. Be sure to also check out our next podcast, with Diane Lowy from New York at Home. Diane creates "apartment solutions", and she's offered our listeners tips on getting organized!


Focus Mist

Our most recent podcast features my good friend and colleague, Andrea Giordano, who is a feng shui and essential oil expert. She also helped curate the Holistic Spaces Apothecary collection, and the Focus spray is one of my favorites!

A blend of fair trade essential oils and carnelian crystal, our Focus Mist was created to provide grounding, clarity and mental focus, and it's ideal for back-to-school!

Available at: Holistic Spaces


Mini Round Boxes

In our next podcast, I chat with organizer and space designer, Diane Lowy, and ask her advice on getting organized. 

Diane was also kind enough to recommend some of her favorite organizational tools for this month's My Favorite Things, and these mini round boxes made the cut!

"These are great for pretty much anything small that's otherwise tough to find in a drawer or your bag: SIM cards, paper clips, earrings, safety pins, a pair of earplugs, Tic Tacs, Tylenol. 12 clear boxes for $2.29 makes them an easy yes."

Available at: The Container Store


Recycled Notebooks

Notebooks are great for keeping notes and lists, setting goals and even organizing your thoughts through journaling

I love MUJI notebooks! I use these to keep all my notes, from meditation class to client meetings. It makes it easier for me to keep things in one location, and I like to write it down rather than put it in my phone. I love that they're recycled too!

Available at: MUJI


Post-It Tape

Another of Diane's favorites is Post-It tape.

"Post-It Note Tape is a great way to make labels anywhere that just peel off without leaving a residue but stay in place for as long as you need it. It comes in white as well as highlighter colors, and you can write on it just like paper. 

Labels can be super helpful when brainstorming for layouts after a move or renovation. They are also great reminders for that first week or two after moving stuff around and are very helpful when living with roommates!"

Available at: Amazon


Saraswati Yantra Mandala for Knowledge and Creativity

I love the Saraswati mandala because it is useful in so many ways! This yantra is associated with the Knowledge area of the bagua, since Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of wisdom and the arts. 

For inspiration in these areas, place the Saraswati yantra mandala in the Knowledge area of your space. 

Saraswati can also be used to cultivate abundance! Deepak Chopra shared a story about this in his book, Creating Affluence. You can read more about it in my blog post on attracting abundance

Available at: Holistic Spaces