You might not realize it, but where your staircase is located within your home, and the type of staircase you have, can dramatically impact your family's health. According to feng shui, staircases act as channels for energy flow, and can create environments where positive energy in your home becomes disturbed or is drained away, leaving you and your family vulnerable to poor health and disease.
According to the principles of feng shui, there are three main scenarios in which your staircase can disrupt the flow of positive energy within your home:
1) A staircase that is directly opposite your front door. This creates an environment where the positive energy in your home is channeled down the staircase and away from your home. This can leave you and your family feeling drained, and can suppress your immune system.
If you have a staircase facing your front door, there are several things you can do to correct this situation. First, you should hang a mirror on the inside of your front door or just above your front door, facing towards the stairs. This will help to stop the flow of energy away from your home. You can also hang uplifting pictures or art along the walls of your staircase – pictures of trees, birds, mountains, and other uplifting images will also maintain positive energy flow. If you have more than one picture make sure you hang them in a straight line. If you stagger them they will add to the flow of energy going down the stairs.
Hanging a round, multi-faceted crystal above your staircase is another important feng shui technique. Crystals are excellent for circulating positive energy, and will make your entire home a more comfortable place.
2) A staircase that is located in the center of your home. Your home's center is one of the most important areas of your home for health and good energy. If you have a staircase in the center of your home, try to place objects that represent the earth element near, under, or around your staircase.
You can easily use color to bring the earth element into this area. Earhtones, such as yellow gold and earthy colors, help to ground the energy and keep positive flow in your home.
You can also use earthen pots, such as terra cotta planters, to improve the energy around your staircase. Plants and pictures of plants or landscapes will also lift the energy in this area.
3) A spiral staircase. This is one of the worst situations for maintaining positive energy in your home, because spiral staircases create a corkscrew effect that disposes your home's energy and creates a feeling of chaos.
Placing plants and earthen pots beneath your staircase is an excellent way to ground the energy in this area. Also, hanging a crystal at the top of your spiral staircase will help to restore calm, nurturing energy to create an environment for optimal health. You could also wrap something around the railing of the staircase, such as a silk vine.
Staircases can be challenging and have a negative impact on your health, but these challenges can always be welcomed, if you follow the recommendations above.