The Bedroom Cure

By on February 12, 2014
Feng Shui is a way to work with our connection to our environment. When practiced sensibly, it can help us be more conscious about our surroundings and choices. Since we will likely spend more time in the bedroom than in any other room – about one third of the day, if we’re lucky! – everything about this space has a profound effect on us, particularly how we rejuvenate and relate to others.

Advertising executives are well aware of the effect of colours and symbols on potential consumers, even when viewed only for short periods of time, such as in product placement in movies. What about the images that surround you for hours at a time, and when you are in a subconscious state of awareness? I have yet to meet a female client looking for a partner who didn’t have artwork of single women (be they goddesses or grandmothers) all over her apartment. What reality are they advertising to themselves?

Pictures of single people speak of singularity and loneliness. Photos of friends and relatives in a bedroom limit the intimacy and privacy that would allow a new romance to blossom – or an existing relationship to deepen – without the influence of foreign energies. Predatory animals like tigers and wolves do not belong; nor do stuffed animals or dolls, which often become relationship substitutes. Create displays with paired objects and a few well chosen romantic images. Old pictures of a relationship can keep things anchored in the past, so be sure to update them if you are currently partnered.


Bed placement speaks volumes about relationships. Partnerships built on equality call for a representative physical structure. Having one side of the bed up against a wall leads to one partner feeling…well, up against a wall. S/he does not enjoy the freedom and flexibility that has been granted the other, and feels ‘less than’. Having equal access to the bed affords each partner the potential to come and go while still allowing for merging. Matching end tables and lamps anchor the ability to see independently while being united.

Water imagery and blue tones can lead to excessive emotional energy, be it flowing or stagnant, and too much green can make you look seasick and ‘green with envy.’ Warmer colours – softer hues of red, orange, pink – create a cozy atmosphere, and make the skin look more attractive than do shades of blue, green, and gray. Rounded shapes imply the curves of the human body, symbolizing the yin-yang circle of masculine-feminine energy exchange. In addition to art featuring loving couples, peaceful landscapes (minus the water!) and exotic tapestries provide a nourishing environment for rest and romance.

May your bedroom provide warmth and rejuvenation so your relationships can blossom fruitfully.

About Mark Ainley

Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.senseofspace.com and www.markainley.com.