even sleepy, which is a more yin characteristic. The classic definition of yin and yang is the shady and sunny side of the mountain, the sunny side being yang. Similarly, the sunny side of your home is considered to be more yang, whereas the northern, shady side is more yin (if you live in the northern hemisphere).
I remember living in a flat near Primrose Hill, London, where the front of the house faced north and the back south. All the bedrooms were on the north side. These rooms had a dark, almost cave-like quality, that I and my family found ideal for sleeping. However, no daytime activity worked there. The children would never play in their bedroom, even though we had arranged it to be a fun playroom. During the day we all wanted to be in the southern, sunny side of the flat.
As you can imagine, when the sun is up, the southern side of a home is constantly being irradiated by the Sun’s energy. People in this side of the home will benefit from this Chi. So if you want to have more energy, to be active and inspired, place yourself in a part of your home that benefits from the sunlight. This still works on a cloudy day. Apart from heat and light, the sun radiates solar energy and Chi. Just like my example with the moon, here you will feel you can do more with less effort. However, during the course of many of my Feng Shui consultations I have found people trying to work in the shady side of a building, and not having the energy to get things done. I remember one client who could hardly stay awake in the afternoons. She would keep drifting off in front of her computer. Once I found a more energetic place for her, she soon noticed the difference. I have also met clients who themselves are of a lively nature, working in a very high energy sunny part of their building, finding it very difficult to concentrate and focus. For them, a less active place is actually more productive. Each person is different and the art is to find what really works for that individual.
Growing up in England I was fascinated by the different cultures in southern Europe. The people I met in countries like Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain and Greece were so lively and expressive. They talked quickly, gesticulated wildly and seemed very passionate. In the towns, people drove fast and there was often the sound of car horns. When it came to getting on a bus, everyone wanted to pile on at the same time, as soon as the bus arrived. All characteristics of more yang forms of expression than I was used to. When I began to study yin and yang this all began to make more sense. They were living on the sunny side of the mountain, or in this case the sunny side of Europe.
The idea of balance is fundamental to yin and yang thinking. Everything is trying to be in balance. However, to be more balanced, it may require unhealthy extremes of either yin or yang. For example, a long period of severe stress, which is more yang, might be balanced by that person having a nervous breakdown, which is more yin. We try to maintain some kind of balance all the time. If you give guests at a party or customers at a pub, dry, salty snacks, which are more yang type foods, they will tend to crave liquid or sweets which are comparatively yin. The same is true the other way around. Lots of fruits, salads and drinks, which are more yin, will create a craving for well-cooked, savoury foods. We tend to continually swing from yin to yang. Sometimes we become more yang, and we then try to find ways to become more yin. Once we have become more yin we want to feel more yang again, and so it goes on.
This cause and effect also applies to the weather. In the autumn and winter the air becomes more cold and damp, both yin qualities. This creates a need for warming foods like hot porridge, thick soups and stews, which are more yang, creating balance in the body Conversely, in the spring and summer, as the air becomes warmer and dryer, a more yang atmosphere, people then prefer yin quality foods that will cool the body, such as fruits, salads and drinks. As everything moves in a cycle of constant change yin always changes to yang and back again. This constant flow can be seen throughout our natural environment. The day (yang) changes to night (yin). After we rest (yin) we go to work (yang).
People can also be more yin or yang. A more yin person tends to be relaxed, physically supple, sensitive, creative and imaginative. However, if this person is too yin they could become lethargic, slow and depressed. The opposite is true of someone more yang. A more yang person tends to be alert, quick, more physically active, extrovert and expressive. But if the person becomes too yang they would become tense, irritable, angry or physically stiff and tight. People are a mixture of both yin and yang. With a health problem the overriding cause can frequently be attributed to an extreme of yin or yang.
All this becomes very powerful when you can actually control these natural processes to achieve certain results. For example, with a simple understanding of yin and yang one can tailor one’s diet, exercise and lifestyle to one’s own individual needs. If you have a very demanding event next week, between now and then, you would benefit from eating more yang foods and doing more yang exercises. After this event, more yin foods and exercises would be ideal to relax and unwind you.
In terms of a house, buildings that have sharp, straight lines, sharp corners and are very angular, are more yang than those that are more rounded, irregular and curved. You can make your home more yin by adding soft surfaces such as tapestries, big cushions and long curtains. In contrast, tiles, metal surfaces and glass create a more yang atmosphere.
Colours have a great influence. Bright, strong, stimulating colours make us feel more yang, whereas soft, relaxing colours make us more yin. People have their own individual reactions to colours. However, red, orange and bright yellow are examples of colours that make us feel more yang. Greens, blues and pastel shades help us feel more yin.
One of the ways I test the principles of Feng Shui is to observe the most successful restaurants and compare them with those sites that have a high turnover of restaurant failures. The successful restaurants have often applied Feng Shui by chance or by design with great accuracy. A relatively new chain of fast food restaurant opening branches throughout London, predominantly uses shiny stainless steel on their walls, along with a maroon, purple colour. The decoration gives the restaurants a strong yang impression. Purple is considered the colour of passion. This is ideal for being noticed. As you walk by, you can’t help but look in. All those bright sparkling surfaces. Once you enter and are inside and seated, you can’t wait to get out. It’s too yang. Of course, this is just what you want if you are the owner of a fast food restaurant. Lots of customers coming in, buying food and leaving quickly. You will notice that shiny plastic, bright lights, tiles and metal surfaces, are a consistent theme in fast food restaurants. Conversely, we find it hard to imagine sleeping in a room constructed from metal, tiles and glass. History has shown that we like soft yin furnishings in our bedroom.
The easiest way to decide if you are too yin or yang is to compare yourself to other people. I have a friend who consistently finds other people aggressive and pushy. To her, everyone else is too yang. She often wakes late. She daydreams and burns the porridge. Her boyfriend becomes annoyed with her. She rushes for the bus without the correct money. People in the queue become irritable as she fumbles for the change. She is late. Her boss is annoyed. Once at work she wants to relax, chat and socialize. Her colleagues push her to get on and finish things. And so it goes on. Compared to most other people she is more yin. At the same time there must be something very yang present to maintain balance. Perhaps a very yang experience from the past, something in her diet that is too yang or even working in a very yang building/environment could be the cause.
On the other hand, when I worked as an engineer, I had a colleague who found everyone else far too yin. He was constantly complaining that people were too slow. Why couldn’t they get on with their lives. He was always rushing, getting furious with anyone who slowed him down. He was great with details, but broad-ranging, imaginative discussions on a point of design would drive him mad. He did a lot of shouting. Everything seemed to be a source of irritation. Working with my more yin colleagues would have sent him into a rage. Compared with other people in the design office he was much more yang. How did he get his balance of yin? As soon as he finished work he would rush round to the pub for a couple of pints of beer before going home.
So, each person has more yin or yang characteristics and our environment has the ability to make us more yin or more yang. The idea is that if you can recognize
