By Jordana March

In addition to spring cleaning our bodies and minds we thought it would be ideal to spring clean our work and living spaces with a bit of an added twist. We interviewed nationally recognized Feng Shui Consultant Cathleen McCandless for some new insights on the ancient philosophy.

What exactly is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui is basically the study of the environment and how it affects people. Long-term scientific studies show that your surroundings not only alter your emotional state, but affect your health and physiology. Feng Shui brings people back to living in harmony with nature and the environment. If you ask someone, "why does this room feel better to you than that room?", they might not be able to verbalize it to you, but they know instinctively if they prefer one location over another. It is that relationship we have to our environment that illustrates the true meaning of Feng Shui.

There are so many books and articles on the topic. How do you sort the good information from the bad?

There is a lot of misinformation about Feng Shui. The main thing is that the information makes sense. If the material sounds flaky or kooky, disregard it. Feng Shui is a beautiful ancient practice that has at its core the attention of human needs and conditions. It's definitely not about hanging crystals or bamboo flutes or anything silly like that.

What is the foremost thing you tell clients to work on in their homes?

The most important thing I tell people when Feng Shuing their home is to work on the front of the house. I always ask them, "how do you feel when you drive up to the front of the house? Do your spirits rise or do they fall?" Your spirit should rise when you get home; it should nurture you and inspire you. If your spirit falls because your landscaping is a mess, your lawn is dying and your house needs to be painted immediately it's a big downer. By the time you get in the house you don't feel like doing anything on the inside either. First impressions are lasting impressions and it only takes 10 seconds to make a first impression. Oonce you've made one it's really hard to change it. I always tell my clients evaluate the outside of your house; plant flowers, repair anything that needs to be repaired, paint the gate, paint the gutters, weed your garden and if you don't want to do all the work yourself, hire someone. Once all the little things are done in the front of the house that need to be taken care of you can basically tackle anything that's on the inside. When people buy a house or are remodeling, the first thing they always want to change is the décor - they want to do the furniture, the walls, when really the first thing they should do is the front of the house and work their way through.

What should someone look for in a consultant?

Make sure the consultant has a lot of experience; find out who their clientele is and if they have references. Also, it's really important to dialogue with your consultant and make sure you're comfortable with them. A Feng Shui consultation is a really private thing; you're inviting a stranger into your home so they better know what they're doing. Again, anything that's seems a little out there or makes you a bit uncomfortable, pass on it. Keep searching for the right person. When I do a consult, we talk on the phone, we establish a repor, I find out what they need and what they're interested in. We do a questionnaire and then I go through the whole house and evaluate what's going on as far as esthetics go and what might need to be done to improve the space. I look at how energy is flowing through the space and look at areas of their life that they might want to improve like wealth, marriage or career and how to improve those things. It's a very thorough process that includes the interior and the exterior of the house. The client also gets support materials after they're done so they're really well taken care of and they can consult with me after the appointment if they need to. It's a long process and it's a very personal one.

What would you recommend for anyone that was spring cleaning their home or office?

Look at your space with fresh eyes. For example, a home that has little kids. If you've got kids' stuff and toys all over the main rooms of your house, then you're living in the kids house, they're not living in your house. Basically, the kids are running the show and in order to get the power back to the parents, I'll ask the client if there's not another place to put the toys or see if there's a space that can be used just for the kids' things. Doing this will bring some calmness to the house and establish where the kids need to be within the family structure.

Another huge thing is getting rid of clutter. Clutter is anything you don't love, want, need or use. I consult with a lot of people and clutter is a huge issue. People don't feel good about things when they've got a lot of clutter, it makes you feel stuck. It's not your babies first pair of shoes. It's things like the stack of Bon Appetit magazines piling up that you'll never look at again or the scrapbooking project you've been thinking about getting to for five years. Those types of things wear you down simply because when you've got too much junk you feel bad about yourself. If makes it harder to clean your house, you just don't even know where to start. Getting rid of things, especially this time of year is a wonderful way to bring new energy into your life. Get rid of the old things that don't work for you anymore and make room for the things that are better.

What results should someone get from their consultation?

The results are in direct proportion to how much energy they put into doing what we talk about. I'm not the Feng Shui fairy, just coming to your house isn't going to do anything if you don't actually do the work! Cleaning things out, maybe adding a water feature in a certain area, rearranging your living room furniture, getting some new art work, moving your bed around so it's in a better position within the room in relationship to the doors and windows. All of those things seem so subtle but they make a huge impact on the clients life. Once they do the things that we've talked about usually there's an almost immediate sense of well-being. Let's face it when you're happy, you do better and your life gets better. When you're depressed and things don't feel good, it seems like you're just drawing more and more negativity to you. The more positive your environment feels the more positive your attitude becomes and you start manifesting things that are good in your life!

Any last great Feng Shui tips for our readers?

Sit so you can always see the door in a room. Inherently this makes you feel more powerful. Animals intuitively know not to leave their back unprotected and we're no different. When your back is left unprotected you feel more vulnerable, when you can see the room you're empowered. Another tip is to try to avoid sharp objects. Soft, rounded shapes feel better to us inherently then sharp angles. It's also a safety issue. If you have a lot of sharp things in your environment, you're running into them, you're banging into sharp corners. Try to soften things. If you think about it, a baby proofed house is probably about as Feng Shui as you can get. You're not banging into things or opening drawers too quickly and having things spill out all over the floor. It's really about feeling right and safe in the space you're in.

How can our readers learn more from you about Feng Shui?

I teach Beginning and Advanced workshops for those people interested in the basics of Feng Shui. For those that are interested in becoming a Certified Feng Shui consultant, or wish to pursue in-depth study on the subject, I teach an extensive course on Feng Shui as well.

Cathleen McCandless is a highly respected Feng Shui consultant, speaker, and teacher. Cathleen's clientele includes Nike, Intel, Honeywell, and Loews Corporation. She has been featured in publications such as Vogue Magazine, the New York Times and San Diego Home and Garden Magazine to name a few. Cathleen is available for residential, business, and industrial consultations, as well as lectures, workshops, and classes.