PO’lPU — Sharon Schiller is intuitively in-tune with the energy in her home. She removed the television from her room to get rid of the radiation emitting from it. Her bed is just the right distance from the wall. And
PO’lPU — Sharon Schiller is intuitively in-tune with the energy in her home. She removed the television from her room to get rid of the radiation emitting from it. Her bed is just the right distance from the wall. And when she sleeps, she catches all the energy coming from the north.
But there is one thing she is unsure about.
“What I want to know is, is my desk facing the right direction?” she said.
For this, she looked to Vastu expert Michael Mastro.
“It’s a cluttery mess, so what do I need to do?” she asked as she walked toward her corner office.
The science of Vastu originated in India and is the way of balancing bodies to be aligned with nature while in the home or at work. Feng shui comes from this science. It is said to reduce stress without any remodeling or demolition of the home.
Schiller said that her desk faces west, but she has to turn to the opposite direction to work. This, explained Mastro, is a good thing for her because she realizes that works for her.
“By facing east, she taps into the creative energy, whereas if she were to face north, that’s where the energy for math skills comes from. It’s all about aligning yourself to gain support of nature,” Mastro said.
Mastro has worked with clients for Boeing and Microsoft to make sure their offices are aligned with nature.
To help better understand this, he compares Vastu to yoga.
“With yoga, it helps the energy flow through the body. We call it yoga for the home. Vastu is more scientific with the study of poles and how it affects our physiology. It helps the energy flow better in the environment.” This is because the body and the environment are made up of the same five elements: earth, fire, air, water and space, Mastro explained. Vastu then balances the body with the environment.
When he walked into Schiller’s home, Mastro almost immediately gravitated towards a trouble area.
Clutter, Mastro said, is the problem he sees the most when visiting homes.
“Clutter holds energy,” he said. “That’s the main thing that blocks energy. Reducing clutter gains more energy.” When it comes to clutter, Mastro suggested ways to get rid of it.
“People wonder how they’re going to do the whole thing, and I say do one thing at a time. One small corner of the house a day,” he said. “I suggest making four piles: one to give away, one to sell, one to keep and one to throw away.” Mastro offered three easy tips to be aligned with nature in the home or at work.
The first thing is to sleep facing the right direction.
“Facing the south has the best effect, and the north disrupts energy,” he said.
Next is the work space.
“The east works better for creativity and the north is better for bills and concentration,” he said.
Lastly, Mastro said to remove the clutter.
“Clutter is what really holds people back. They just have so many memories of the past and stops any forward motion,” he said.
Mastro and his wife Robin came out with a book, “The Way of Vastu: Creating Prosperity Through the Power of the Veda,” on balancing and aligning parts of the home and workplace with nature. They recently wrapped up a series of booksignings on the island. The two also visit homes and respond to questions posted on their Web site, www.vastucreations.com.
“This is a way of honoring nature and bringing nature back into the home,” he said.
Because of Mastro’s advice, Schiller is considering moving her daughter’s room to a different part of the house and making more rearrangements to her bedroom.
“He just instructed me in my house design,” she said.
• Lanaly Cabalo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
