Allison Walker, Your Home

The things you are sitting around could be affecting your mental health in a bad way, according to a Chinese philosophy called Feng Shui.

News 13's Allison Walker had a Feng Shui expert take a look at a Central Florida home to find out whether putting stuff in certain places would help the family live more comfortably.

Feng Shui is the art of bringing nature into the home.

Tabitha Miller is a certified Feng Shui consultant. She believes a few techniques can change the energies -- also known as chi -- in your home to have a more positive effect on your life.

In the home News 13 showed her, Miller took one look at the front door and said it wasn't located in a very good place, according to Feng Shui principles.

Miller said the door should be in the center of the home and facing the street so that good energies get inside.

"It would be like having your mouth off to the side of your face," Miller explained.

She said the homeowners bought an "unbalanced" home because it had too many female energies -- called Yin.

How to fix it?  The carpet could be replaced with harder stuff like tile or wood. Wood is also good to fill the space between the stove and refrigerator, which she said are opposing forces of fire and water.

With wood between the two, "we have water feeding wood feeding fire," Miller said.

As they walk through the front door of the home, the first thing people run into is a huge staircase. But, according to Feng Shui principles, that's not a good thing. Miller said that it isn't necessary to tear the place apart and start new. Instead, she said, there are a few things you can do to create good Feng Shui.

"Put a beautiful rug in front of the first step," Miller said.

That rug is supposed to keep the energy from rushing up the stairs.

Also, you don't want your friends with their backs to an opening. To make them feel more secure, create a makeshift wall, like plants on a couch table.

Not sold on Feng Shui? Miller said it isn't a superstition.
  
"It's more closely related to Earth science," Miller told Walker.

But making it work for you, Miller said, won't happen without an open mind.

Another Feng Shui principle is to keep the center of you home open for easy chi flow.  Miller also said that a bathroom is a problem in a home.  She said the toilet pollutes the flow of good energy.

If you would like to see this story or other Your Home stories, you can see it on News 13 On Demand at no extra cost. Just go to channel 313 on your digital cable.