Feng Shui to Conceive
When it comes to places that increase our odds of getting pregnant, many of us probably think more about the doctor’s office than we do our own home. But just as you look for underlying medical reasons that might impair fertility, you might want to examine your home to see if it supports conception. From the perspective of feng shui (pronounced fung schway), infertility can be attributed in part to energy, called chi, that’s been blocked or is stagnant. This ancient Chinese art aims to balance the energy of a place for the health and well-being of those living or working there. With a few simple feng-shui fixes, you can create a home that encourages positive energy and conception.
The mouth of chi
When all is in harmony, chi flows like a river. But when an environment doesn’t follow the key principles of feng shui, energy stalls. The result? Everything from headaches and fatigue to job troubles …and infertility. To bring your home into balance, start with the front door, which is considered “the mouth of chi, ” where energy enters your home. You should be able to look out your front door and see an open space, such as a lawn. If anything blocks the entryway—a hill, a tree, a telephone pole in line with your front door—the energy that encourages conception can be blocked, too. By hanging a wind chime on either side of the door you can help draw away the energy emitted by an obstruction (and it’s a lot easier than moving). Placing a mirror anywhere near the front door can push away energy and opportunities, too, but it’s especially crucial to avoid hanging a mirror so that it reflects the front door; instead you want to promote energy to enter and flow through your home.
Energize your bedroom
The bedroom is an important space in feng shui, since it’s where we sleep, recharge, and make love. When you’re trying to get pregnant, your aim is to balance female energy (called yin) and male energy (called yang). Start by beautifying your bedroom, but use gender-neutral designs and hues; you’re aiming for the calming, neutral feeling of a luxury hotel room. Incorporating colors like white, ivory, tan, brown, pink, or gold promotes relationship harmony and sexual desire. But avoid fresh flowers; floral pillows and bed coverings; and wallpaper with a flower design: In feng shui terms, flowers are the yang, or male, expression of a plant, which can compete with your husband’s yang energy.
