The principle of chi is of fundamental importance to Chinese culture. Chi governs everything from Chinese astrology and home building to Chinese medicine, in which acupuncture is used to unblock the chi in certain areas of one's body to allow healing. It even underlies Chinese martial arts such as Tai Chi, which is focused on controlling the flow of one's body chi. Chi travels constantly in and out of the body as it is inhaled and exhaled, and enters and exits a building through its doors and windows. How the chi flows within the building is determined by the positioning of certain furniture and its surroundings. The chi, whether positive or negative, will have an influence on your health, your prosperity and your overall well-being.

The chi of Feng Shui is based on the principles of yin and yang, the five elements of Chinese astrology and the Pagua of I Ching. To apply a Feng Shui remedy to your house, Feng Shui masters would look at how the chi flows around the house, its position relative to neighbouring houses and the land, the placement of different furniture in the house as well as the shape of the furniture itself and the location of different rooms within the house. These factors would all be considered when balancing the yin and yang, the five elements and the Pagua, in order to develop a solution for your problems.

There are different kinds of chi:

• Good Feng Shui chi flows smoothly and continuously into the house.
• Dust and clutter will create stagnant chi. This will slow down the flow of chi, which in turn blocks progress in your personal life. Therefore house cleaning is important in maintaining good Feng Shui.

Sharp corner of desk points to the bed is very harmful to your personal chi.