iSmile Magazine, Cover Story
Living in harmony with our environment is good for health. The Chinese have mastered feng shui, the science of identifying and tapping ‘positive’ energy and avoiding ‘negative’ energy from the environment. Good feng shui calculations and analyses can point us to ‘auspicious’ energy for health, money, position, relationship and personal harmony.
The first thing that comes to mind when one mentions fengshui is wealth, as in making money. Feng shui practitioner Master Boon Yap notes that the definition of wealth under feng shui covers both monetary and non-monetary components. ‘Health and harmony is part of wealth,’ she says, underscoring the point that one cannot enjoy wealth without health. She explains that good feng shui means tapping ‘auspicious’ energy. ‘Auspicious energy’ can encompass anything that governs prosperity – money, position, health, relationship and personal harmony.
Does feng shui really have any bearing on a person’s health or wealth? There must be some basis considering that feng shui has been practised for over 5,000 years, mainly in the East. The trend has also spread to the West, drawing a good number of staunch believers. The Yap Cheng Hai Academy based in Kuala Lumpur has schooled feng shui instructors from various parts of the world such as Australia, South Africa, South America, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Russia and Switzerland.
Master Boon Yap, daughter of renowned feng shui Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai, and a scientist by profession (see profile), believes that there is scientific basis as to why feng shui works. She attributes it to the presence of energy as explained in quantum mechanics and the electro-magnetic spectrum. Energy of different wavelengths is everywhere – light, Xray, radio waves, microwaves. In Eastern philosophy, all these energies are simply referred to as qi. The focus of feng shui Master Boon Yap says, is to tap ‘positive energy’ and avoid ‘negative energy’. This duality of energy stems from Tao philosophy where everything exists as part of the duality in nature – black and white, light and dark, hot and cold.
Qi forces are not visible. So where is the positive qi and the negative qi? The Chinese have mastered the science of identifying the ‘right’ qi directions and locations using various calculations, formulas and instruments. Master Boon Yap clarifies that each school of thought on fengshui has its own set of formulas. She notes that there are many schools and outlines the more well-known classical ones – Ba Zhai, San He, San Yuan and Xuan Kong Da Gua. As a practitioner, she has knowledge of these four different schools and can analyse the varying recommendations to put together a set of solutions.
Aligning energy
Once the positive qi directions are identified, the aim of feng shui is twopronged – ‘align the environment (home or office) to receive the energy and align the person to receive this energy’. The alignment depends on a person’s year and time of birth plus the direction of the space where the person lives and works – home and office. In practical terms, many people think of massive renovations and huge expenditure. “It is not necessarily so as a good feng shui master should find the best solution with minimal changes,” says Master Boon Yap. Very often, it involves simple procedures such as changing the direction of an office desk or moving the head of a bed. Master Boon Yap notes the three vital areas in a home:
- Front door
- Master Bedroom
- Kitchen
For health, the kitchen plays an important role because it is where food is cooked, food being the mainstay for…
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