Part I: Where's Your Breath?

A great morning ritual

About two years ago, I was walking down the street with a friend. She cringed her nose and said,"Do you smell that??? Gross!" I looked at her and had no idea what the heck she was talking about. It was at that moment I realized I wasn't breathing. I mean, obviously I was breathing enough to keep myself alive, but I realized that I was only breathing through my mouth. When I closed my mouth and tried to breathe through my nose, I realized a scary thing - I couldn't! Ok, for those who have weak stomachs, you may want to stop reading here. Alright then heavy hitters, ready for the rest?

My friend wasn't as surprised as I was and shared her oxygen friendly secret - a neti pot. Halfway through her explanation, I was already freaked out. Put a contraption in your nose to pour water out the other side? I can't even swim! I'll drown! But her soothing demeanor convinced me to at least give it a try. After all, what could I lose?

Back home, armed with a neti pot, non-iodized salt and a few kleenex, I tried it. I'm going to spare you all the details here. Check out neti usage directions here. Needless to say, it took me a few tries to maneuver my way around, but when I lifted my head from my sink, closed my mouth and tried to take a deep breath - WOW, what a difference.

My trusty neti pot

So how is this related to Feng Shui? Breath is vitally important and integrally related to Chi. Stay tuned and read Part II on Breath where I'll fill in all the blanks. I'm also posting this now because as it's the winter months, it seems to be an appropriate time to share this jewel. I use it practically everyday. My personal neti pot is the ceramic shown above and I travel with a plastic one. I use it especially when I have a cold or feeling like I am getting a cold like this morning, hence the post. I hear nasal irrigation is good as well for prevention of H1N1 virus but I'm not a scientist. In any case, give it a try. You'll be happy you did. Then take a deep breath and enjoy. Maybe just not in Chinatown on a hot summer day!

Grand, Grand Central

A sight I never tire of 

Grand Central is one of my favorite places in New York. Whenever I am there I am awed by its beauty. Before I boarded my train to a consultation yesterday, I took a few minutes to take in the beautiful architecture yet another time. I usually stay upstairs and gawk at the gorgeous arched ceilings, amazing windows and all the bustling people who never bump into each other - ever notice that? But this time I decided to venture downstairs. I'm a risk taker.

One of the first things I noticed was that for what is technically a basement, they did a fabulous job Feng Shui-wise, by keeping the Chi, otherwise known as the energy of the space, rising. Business was bustling, tourists were abound and employees were rushing around either keeping the place spotlessly clean or surveying the activities. The second thing I noticed was the beams in the ceiling. Not the best architectural feature in Feng Shui since beams tend to indicate pressure overhead, but look how beautifully it was handled! Strategic (I wonder?) lighting placed between the beams alleviated any potential darkness or pressure. Plus it gives the space a very dramatic effect.

The beams seen from afar

A closeup of the lit up beams

Being a foodie, I also love the fact that the historic Oyster Bar is found in the dreamy alcove. Do you know about the secret corners in front of the Oyster Bar where if your friend is whispering in one arched corner, you can hear them from the other corner quite loudly? It's so amazing and quite magical.

Whispering sweet nothings

After I wrote this blog, a friend actually told me that there is a Chinese restaurant on the lower level called what else, but Feng Shui! Now if that is not synchronicity, I don't know what is. The icing on the cake would be for the Chinese food at Feng Shui to be really good. Keep your fingers crossed.

You Are Where You Live

Look ma, we're on the food map!

This post is about food so hope you have recovered from the holiday food festivities!!

When you meet someone new, chances are the first questions they ask you are, "What do you do for a living?" or "Where do you live?" As you can imagine, the 4000+ year old ancient art of Feng Shui can be quite involved so for the sake of time and post-holiday recuperation of my brain, I will tackle the latter question today.

I live in Queens. People who may have heard of our borough will usually think we live in the hip and artsy areas of Astoria or Long Island City. But it's better than that. We live in the delicious and ethnically diverse neighborhood of Elmhurst. Queens already has wonderful Chi (life force) with all the diversity and oompf of old and new immigrants, restaurants and shopping possibilities. To our sheer delight, one of our favorite food magazines, Edible, has released a Queens edition!

If you're into food, and we are, Elmhurst is the place for you. According to About.com, Elmhurst's "...zip code is considered the most diverse in NYC, with some 57 languages spoken according to the NYC Department of Education." Even if you are not into food, take this Feng Shui tidbit to heart - food is our body and soul's nourishment. If we do not feed and nourish ourselves properly, we may not be healthy enough to work and in turn, material and spiritual prosperity may reflect this. Edible Queens may single-handedly increase the Chi of Queens by enticing foodies from across the bridge. It that doesn't entice you enough, they are hosting "An Edible Winter Warm Up" on January 24th in LIC that will feature tastings from local restaurants and benefit Hour Children Food Pantry. Welcome my foodie friends and enjoy your stay!

Keys to Success

When I saw these keys featured on RealSimple.com, my heart skipped a beat. Created by Stat Key Company, I found these keys to be an ingenious idea. In Feng Shui, the front door of your home or business is the most important aspect of your space. Walking through your front door of your home or business should be a happy, positive event. I can only imagine having one of these keys as a key to your space would bring nothing less than a smile to your face. Not to mention making telling your keys apart so much easier. I am sure that you have already figured out which one I'm getting. Check out more great choices here.

My Gua is Leaking

Oh no! My new year has not started off on the best foot. There's a leak in our bedroom that falls in the Relationship and Love area or gua of the bagua. I've attached a diagram of the bagua if you don't have any idea what I'm talking about. The Relationship and Love area is the pink section on the top right corner. The school of Feng Shui that I practice is called Black Sect Tantric Buddhism Feng Shui. I know, it sounds a bit cultish and freaky but I assure you, we don't drink kool-aid. The Black Sect refers to the black color of the crowns or hats that these Tibetan Lamas wore during special ceremonies. The school was pioneered by Grandmaster Thomas Lin Yun and was brought to the U.S. by one of my professors, Steven Post.

Tibetan Black Hat on an adorable disciple!

So back to the diagram. In our discipline, one of our main tools is bagua, as seen above. Using your front door as the starting point, we use this tool to help us figure out the different parts of your home, your business or even your face and what is going on in each of those sections.

Well apparently my Love gua needs some TLC. My super came by yesterday to break open a hole in the wall to see what was going on inside (*gasp*) and see where the leak was coming from. It's painful just telling the story. My beau was informed (by me) to hold on tight for the next few weeks and to be conscious so "disagreements" don't turn into full-blown wars. I also have a some Feng Shui remedies up my sleeve that I will put in practice to help us along. I am told that the hole, and the leak, should be fixed in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I am welcoming this opportunity to give all my relationships a bit more TLC. Anybody free for coffee next week?

Higher Resolution

It's the first official work day of the new year, and you guessed it, it's time to talk resolutions. I know, resolutions, schrezolutions. If you're like me, you're probably sitting at your desk and wondering,"Where do I start?" Accomplishing resolutions can be fun and easier than we think. First step is to take a deep breath (did you do it?), smile, and read on.

If you did set some goals this Jan 1st, what I find helps to tackle loftier resolutions (or any problem at that), is to break them down into manageable and measurable steps. Is your goal to lose the jelly belly jiggle you gained on turkey day? Instead of saying, "I want a beach body by the summer, complete with 6 pack abs," you can switch it to "3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I am going to wake up and do 30 minutes of exercise." Pleeeeese, as I don't ask you for many things, please just don't set yourself up for immediate failure! Instead, be nice to yourself and make your resolutions more manageable and realistic. Here are my top 3 recommendations to help get you to where you want to be:

1) Set a goal that is very clear and detailed. Don't aim to just "save money" but to "put aside $20 a week for 2 months and then check in on [set date]." This allows you to evaluate how you did, make any adjustments and decide what the next step is. Whew, much easier.

2) Write down your goal and the measurable steps somewhere you can see - on a post-it on your bathroom mirror, on your desk or on your fridge. Intention in Feng Shui is one of the most important aspects of success. When you read your goal/intention, picture yourself already having achieved it and really feel what it feels like having it. Feel the accomplishment and satisfaction. Doesn't that feel great? Keep smiling...

3) Enroll your "Helpful People." In Western culture, we are taught to be fiercely independent and are proud of what we accomplish on our own. That's wonderful but it can be alot of pressure! Instead, choose 3 people as your helpful people, or support group. Share with them your goals and the steps you are taking towards that goal. Ask them to make you accountable for what you are aiming to accomplish. When you have a circle of support through your journey, it can make a WORLD of difference.

Last word of advice, don't be so hard on yourself. If you do slip up, admit that you're human and laugh it off, then get back on board and keep on trekking. 

2010's First House Visit

Our lucky fruit bowl

My wonderful beau, Laurent invited my parents over for lunch yesterday to officially ring in the New Year. Sweet gesture, especially since he was doing all the cooking. My parents gobbled up Laurent's delicious offerings (he's a chef) and the afternoon went off without a hitch, to my surprise and relieved pleasure.

Besides the delicious lunch, the best part of the afternoon was what involved what in Chinese tradition we call the red envelope exchange. Red envelopes are a very important part of the Chinese culture. Money is placed inside the red envelopes and it's usually offered on holidays and special occasions such as Chinese New Year or at weddings. Payment for Feng Shui consultations is also placed in these envelopes. Its significance is that it offers the receiver luck, prosperity and when needed, protection. My mom cracked me up. When we weren't looking, she stealthily put a red envelope in the fruit bowl (that they so conveniently brought over), and another in our last minute attempt at a Christmas tree (that's another blog post in itself). Hilarious. Not only was our tree kinda funny already because it is just a white plastic Charlie Brown-like tree with no ornaments, but it looked even more humorous now with the red envelope lodged between its wirey arms.

Our even luckier tree!

I am a Feng Shui consultant but it never amazes me what more I can learn from my parents and their own personal gestures.