By Arnie Cooper

Can vastu actually transform your life and improve your appearance?

Each time we walk into a room our bodies react. We may not realize it at the time, but instinctively we understand that the design of our personal environments impacts how we feel. From the orientation of doors and windows to the use of color, light, and materials, everything has the potential to improve our health and well-being.

Perhaps no culture understood this better than the Vedic scholars of India, where, 5,000 years ago, vastu (the Indian science of design and architecture) was born. The precursor to the widely used Chinese system of Feng Shui, vastu is slowly but assuredly grabbing a foothold here in the West.

Kathleen Cox, who spent a decade in India studying the Vedas, likens vastu to “yoga for the home.” Of course, that’s the easy definition. To truly understand vastu, it must be put into context, which invariably includes yoga and ayurveda.

“As the third component of the Vedic mind-body-soul equation, vastu,” Cox says, “works in synergy with the others. So while yoga is concerned with physical alignment and ayurveda works from the body’s interior, vastu focuses on the area around the body. And this helps get you into a state that allows you to focus on the inner self, increasing your spiritual awareness so you can live a better life” – something which has become increasingly difficult in our technologically infused world. Cell phones, faxes, beeping computers as well as synthetic materials have all caused us to lose touch with the natural world. Vastu has come to the rescue.

Cox, the author of The Power of Vastu Living (Fireside Books, 2002), says “the practice is predicated on the idea that we as human beings need to align our biorhythms with the universal rhythms.” A simple example includes observing the pattern of the sun. Says Cox, “we need to get its benefit when it’s healthy and block it out when it’s not.” Sunlight is healthy in the early hours of the day when your body needs an awakening, but becomes harmful in the early afternoon as the rays become more powerful and direct.

How Vastu Works

Central to this practice is adhering to three critical principles. These include honoring the five basic elements (space or ether, air, fire, water, and earth), respecting nature and all forms of existence, and celebrating our unique selves. However, beyond its obviously spiritual aspects, one should keep in mind that vastu is a science with its own rules or shastras.

In the vastu system, a structure or a room – and this includes workspaces as well as living environments – is divided into quadrants, which correspond to the elements air, fire, water, and earth. For example, the northeast or spiritual area belongs to the element water with its qualities of serenity, reflection, and introspection. It’s here that we’ll usually place a shrine or other objects of significance.

This is also where the sun’s first rays enter the space. “If you look at a sunrise, it’s a calming, gentle, and healthy light. Long ago, yogis would only meditate facing the northeast because they would imbibe the positive, healthy properties of the sun,” says Cox.

Healing the body

Can you use vastu to actually transform your body and improve your appearance? “Without a doubt,” says Cox. “Observing vastu’s second principle of creating an environment that replicates the outer world is key.” For example, using natural fiber sheets will help us sleep better just as avoiding artificial foods will aid our digestion.

Moreover, vastu’s emphasis on bringing nature into our surroundings creates a calming effect, which can reduce stress, and thereby eliminate one reason why people gain weight. Says Cox, “Vastu helps us eat slowly. It also helps us understand what happens when we eat at a table that’s square instead of circular. A circle represents movement, which is good for brainstorming, but a square table forces you to slow down when you eat. This way you’ll eat less.”

As for aging, consider vastu’s third principle of respecting and loving ourselves. Sure, sleeping better will reduce the bagginess under our eyes and keep us from getting rundown and suffering health problems. And by eating less, we’ll avoid obesity and its associated cardiovascular problems. But more importantly, Cox argues vastu helps us respect each of the cycles of our life journey.

“Many people end up aging badly because they’re terrified of growing old. This leads them to do all this artificial stuff that’s not good for the body,” Cox explains. Better to absorb the serenity of a peaceful room than get injected with Botox. Besides, if you’re already doing yoga or benefiting from ayurveda, vastu will accentuate the positive effects of both practices.

Know your Dosha

Which brings us to the doshas. As Cox has told me numerous times, vastu is not a one-size-fits-all science. So before applying vastu, it’s best to consider whether one is a vata, pitta or kapha. For example, kaphas who have a lot of water in their body won’t want their desk in the very calming northeast quadrant. Similarly, pittas who are fiery by nature should avoid placing the bed in the southeast or fire quadrant.

Unfortunately, sometimes we have no choice. Cox, who herself is a vata-pitta was once forced to sleep in the fiery southeast. Since moving the bed would have been impossible, she used calming blues and greens as well as plants to mitigate the problem.

Holism and Mindfulness

If all this sounds overwhelming, take heart. Vastu is not meant to be followed rigidly. “It all comes back to the notion that we are mirror images, we are all connected and we have the same needs but in different quantities. The key to vastu is developing a deep sense of mindfulness,” Cox says.

And this includes adopting vastu’s holistic approach. Rather than a series of quick-fixes, vastu offers a blueprint for living – one that pays heed to both universes, the one within us and the one beyond.

To learn more about vastu, visit your local bookstore and read the following selections: The Power of Vastu Living by Kathleen Cox, Fireside Books, 2002. The Vastu Home by Juliet Pegrum, Ulysses Press, 2002.

Let Vastu Bring Balance & Serenity to your bathroom

Let your mood determine the “texture” of your bath. Keep lavender and orange essential oils by your tub. Add lavender to the water when you need to calm down. Add orange oil when you need a pick-me-up.

Connect your bathroom to nature so that it also connects to yourself. Add plants if you have natural light and lots of natural products – wicker baskets, grass fiber rugs, seashells for your soap dish, dried flowers in a brass container, and an organic (not plastic) shower curtain. You will replace the “coolness” of the bathroom with nature’s own warmth.

Be grateful to the elements of fire and water that combine to create the hot water that keeps your body clean. When you wash your face, offer a meaningful blessing to these elements that exist in all creation. Let the blessing slow you down so you also treat your face with meaningful care.

Let your bathroom honor the dance of light and shadow. Window treatments should be layered and adjustable so that the play of light can change with the time of your bath as well as your mood. If you don’t have a window, use dimmer switches to create the same effect.

November/December 2003

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