While ?Feng Shui? might sound like an exotic dish you?d order at your local Asian take-out, it is in actual fact a highly respected, ancient Chinese art and science that is practised with increasing popularity in both the East and West.

Pronounced ?Fung Sway,? its milieu is space and its wisdom offers a means to harmonise, balance, heal and transform your life through your environment.

Often referred to as ?acupuncture for buildings?, Feng Shui is practised in much the same way as many holistic healers treat illness. While the latter practitioners adjust the body?s flow of energy ? called chi in China, qi in Japan and prana in India ? with needles or magnets, Feng Shui consultants redirect the flow of energy in your home to create a balanced and healthy environment.

The aim of Feng Shui is to help you create a home that vibrates with healthy, free-flowing chi energy.

According to the converted, a house is a direct extension of its inhabitants. This means that the atmosphere of a house or even a room can affect your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. In much the same way as people become ill when the energy flow in their bodies is blocked, houses and offices can also become ?ill? when the energy is blocked or stagnates. In turn, the inhabitants of such homes or workspaces stand a greater chance of becoming ill themselves.

In your home or office, the flow of ?good? chi can be encouraged by, for example, eliminating or disguising straight lines and sharp angles. Travelling at a leisurely pace, chi moves most easily around curves and gentle shapes (Sheng Chi, or "Cosmic Dragon's Breath"), while harsh lines and angles cause it to move too quickly, creating harmful ?poison arrows,? and physical obstructions block its flow (Shar Chi, or "Killing Breath").

Poison arrows can result from sharp angles created by furniture or long, narrow passages. Badly positioned furniture and everyday clutter ? for example, stacks of newspapers and magazines, and boxes of old clothes ? can block chi flow.

Though Taoist in origin, Feng Shui clearly has universal appeal and its impact on the modern, ?western? world is evident in the thousands of dedicated sites scattered on the World Wide Web. To better understand this art, or science, is to consider that it is bigger, more complicated, than the layman?s terms in which it has been explained here. Many books are available on the subject, providing an in-depth look into its origins and practice.

In South Africa there are a number of interior designers and decorators who offer Feng Shui consultation as an integral part of their service, while it is also possible to find architects and landscapers for whom it is a speciality.

Alternately, you can follow these practical Feng Shui tips as a simple but effective way to introduce an enhanced sense of harmony into your home ? room-by-room:

Feng Shui Glossary

  • Feng Shui ? Literally, ?wind/water,? the Chinese system of balancing the energy patterns of the physical environment.

  • Chi ? the life force or vital energy of the universe. Chi can either be auspicious or inauspicious.

  • Sheng Chi ? auspicious energy lines, which travel in a meandering fashion. Also known as "Dragon?s cosmic breath."

  • Shar Chi ? inauspicious energy lines, caused by the presence of sharp, pointed objects or structures that channel bad Feng Shui. Also known as "Killing breath."

  • Auspicious ? favourable or propitious, or (archaic) prosperous or fortunate.

  • Inauspicious ? the opposite of the above; bad

  • Poison arrows ? Any sharp or straight structure from which foul energy (or, Shar Chi) emanates, carrying with it ill fortune and other odious effects.