by Ken Lauher

Follow these easy steps to raise your chi through the coldest months.

Feeling down lately? It’s not your imagination and you’re not going crazy. Up to 10 percent of the population suffers from some form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or a milder form, often termed the Winter Blues.

Here, in the heart of January, is when it’s most likely to strike. The days are short, the excitement of the holidays has passed, it’s cold outside and social activity may have dwindled or even come to a dead stop. If you’re dealing with debt from the holidays, this could be making you feel even worse.

But you can use Feng Shui to beat the winter blues, get unstuck, and continue making progress on achieving all your goals even through the dead of winter.

Using Feng Shui to beat seasonal depression can be done in seven steps. Take the first step and you’ll feel the energy around you begin to change, so you’ll feel an urge to do more and, before you know it, you won’t care whether it’s January or July.

1. Find a support system. – Call on your support system of family or friends, or even seek the help of a coach or Feng Shui consultant who can help you pinpoint your goals and begin living in the moment again.

If your support system is scarce, as it often can be this time of year, consider empowering the Helpful People trigram of your home, which is to your right when you stand at your front door looking in. (Note: Your front door may be located in the Helpful People trigram.) You can activate the chi in this area with mirrors that may also help widen your entryway, inviting people and opportunities into your life. You may also use live flowers or plants, or photos of family and friends or people you admire.

Sometimes, SAD can get so difficult to deal with that we do need to seek professional help. If this feels like you, don’t hesitate. If your family and friends seem unable, or unwilling to help, seek out a counselor or therapist or someone else you trust to discuss your feelings. They can help you get to the next step. Feng Shui can work in conjunction with conventional Western treatments for amazing results and positive changes in your life.

2. Feng Shui your front entrance. – It sometimes seems like your front entrance is the place to start to get unstuck or fix any problem — and it is. You’ll welcome opportunities into your life and begin to feel as if a weight’s been lifted when you follow the tips in this video to Feng Shui your entryway.

Make sure coats, boots, book bags and other things typical of this season are not stored behind your door, blocking the door from opening a full 90 degrees.

3. Introduce life energy into your space. – Adding live plants, fresh cut flowers, a fruit bowl or moving water (as in a fountain or aquarium) will encourage the chi to flow. Dead chi can lead to a feeling of depression and being stuck. Also, if your Christmas tree is still hanging around (even if it’s fake) it’s time to take it down! Perhaps replace it with a small living tree or a large plant to add fresh new life energy to that section of your home.

4. Hang wind chimes to circulate the chi and alleviate depression or lethargy.  You can hang the wind chime directly above the bed for the best effect. The wind chime should consist of five hollow tubes that produce a clean, clear, sweet sound and should be hung from a red string. The five tubes represent the power of the five elements consisting of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.

5. Reconnect with Nature: It’s easy to lose your connection with nature and, for many people, this leads to depression. This is another reason SAD is so prevalent. But you can bring the outdoors inside by opening south-facing windows in the morning and early afternoon to let in bright winter sunlight, and bringing in live plants or fresh cut flowers.

You can also use photos of natural scenery or natural scents, like pine, to make you feel as if you’re outdoors. On milder days, consider taking a short walk.

Additionally, you may try full-spectrum lighting, since SAD is linked to a deficiency of natural sunlight in the winter months.

6. Watch your diet. – Our serotonin levels, one of the brain chemicals linked to SAD, tend to drop in the winter, leading us to craving sweet and starchy foods. Since the effects of this type of diet are temporary, we end up on a roller coaster of food cravings.

By eating a well-balanced diet of fresh foods, rather than processed and overcooked foods, we give the body the nutrients it needs to fight off fatigue, illness and depression.

According to The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity, denatured, processed, preserved, canned and cooked foods should compose less than 50 percent of the daily diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains to give your body the energy it needs and combat chronic fatigue.

Sun Ssu-mo, the Tang Dynasty Taoist physician who correctly diagnosed and cured the nutritional-deficiency disease beriberi 1,300 years ago, a full millennium before European doctors did in 1642, wrote in Precious Recipes: “A truly good physician first finds out the cause of illness, and having found that, he first tries to cure it by food. Only when food fails does he prescribe medication.”

7. Get moving! In Precious Recipes, Ssu-mo also states, “The Tao of nurturing life requires that one keep oneself as fluid and flexible as possible. One should not stay still for too long, nor should one exhaust oneself by trying to perform impossible tasks. One should learn how to exercise from nature by observing the fact that flower water never stagnates and a busy door with active hinges never rusts or rots. Why? Because they exercise themselves perpetually and are almost always moving.”

In this passage, Sun Ssu-mo succinctly distills the essence of Taoist exercise principles. If we observe nature, we see that rhythmic movement is the foundation for cultivating essence and energy. Keeps your essence moving like a mountain stream by practicing controlled deep breathing balanced with rhythmic physical movement. Body and breath will harmonize and vital energy will circulate to every organ and tissue in the body.

Balance and moderation are also key factors. How many times have you started a difficult or time-consuming exercise regime only to abandon it after a few weeks, or a few days? Start slowly so your early success will spark your drive to continue. In addition to structured exercise, look for ways to introduce more physical activity into your everyday life, whether this means taking the stairs, walking or bicycling to work if you live in a city or even taking more times getting active with your kids, who are typically bundles of energy in any season!

Use Feng Shui to Recognize the Blues

Recognizing the signs of depression is the first step to beating it. Look around you. Is your home darker than usual? Have you allowed clutter to collect in areas that are usually kept clean? Your home or apartment can reflect your state of mind and reveal inner secrets about your thoughts, goals and energy.

Consider livening up your space with brighter colors, letting sunlight in whenever possible and even invite friends over for a winter celebration. People and pets help chi flow through a space and it’s hard to be down when you’re laughing and smiling around people whose company you enjoy.

Recognize that what you’re feeling is both physical and emotional. While these steps will help because Feng Shui is that powerful, if you’re having trouble getting started seek the help of a professional.

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About Ken – One of America’s premier Feng Shui consultants and Change Agent, Ken Lauher helps thousands of people achieve their goals through Feng Shui. He can help you become a money magnet, attract passionate love, jump-start your career and get unstuck. Visit www.kenlauher.com to get your FREE Feng Shui guide and discover the ancient secrets that can help you unlock your true potential.