Feng shui means literally ‘wind-water’
Feng shui = wind-water
Feng shui translates as ‘wind-water’. Not ‘wind and water’ as some feng shui authors and consultants incorrectly translate, which changes the original intention behind this concept. It’s two words, not three. Feng shui sign or image is composed of two elements of wind and water, representing the spectrum of life, from matter to spirit. “All that is solid melts into air,” said Marx, echoing feng shui wisdom. Air and water are the most basic and ubiquitous elements that are essential for life.
Feng = wind or air
Air element on a bad air day
Wind or air is the most important element in life. Without air, we can only live for a short while. Oriental people knew how air pollution would affect people in the future. For example, London has suffered from illegal levels of air pollution since 2010, where 26 people die every day from air pollution-related conditions and according to a Friends of the Earth study from 2017, Londoners to be more clued up on the topic of air quality than people anywhere else in the UK. In cities, short of using electric cars, there is little one can do to improve air quality. But you can improve the quality of air in your home. Most people don’t realise that according to research indoor air can generally be between two and five times more polluted than the air outside!
Air pollution cuts short 40 000 lives/year across Britain and costs the economy £20 billion, according to the Royal College of Physicians
Scientisits suggests that the world faces air pollution pandemic with more deaths from dirty air than the total from wars, malaria, Aids and smoking combined.
How to give your home the clean air cure
Clean breathing is becoming the number one trend in the world. You can control how you organise your home and have a water purification system and choose to eat organic. The air we breathe is a much more difficult element to control. “The air in our homes has a much bigger impact on us than we realise.” says Ron Ro, co-founder of Awair, which makes indoor air monitors. There is a ton of research now on the harmful effects of air pollution affecting your health, sleep and productivity (see below), but there are solutions.
95% of global population breathe unsafe air