The health of a person shows the food products that have been consumed by him or her. This is the reason why food prepared in the kitchen of your house should be taken care of. Ideally you should cover the utensils properly and wash all the vegetables and other food grains before cooking them.

There are certain guidelines for harmonious living. To begin with, feng shui suggests the location of kitchen should be in the southeast. This is required in order to have the presence of the right kind of chi or energy in your life. Feng shui principals concentrate on ensuring that your kitchen is an ideal place for cooking.

Colours and their combinations play a crucial role in determining the importance of the kitchen. Refrain from using red colour in your kitchen as long as it is facing the southeast direction.

This is because this direction is full of yang or fire energy that has to be annulled. According to feng shui principles, it is the Earth element that drains out fire.

Hence, renovate the premises of your kitchen and other relevant articles with the help of stone. Place stone pots as they work wonders in the long run. Adorning them with live plants will bring in a lot of fresh energy.

Paint the wall facing north blue to include the water effect. This is required for negation. You should not forget that that fire is too strong in the southeast direction of the kitchen.

Avoid placement of plants in the south if the kitchen is facing southeast. This is because plants represent the wood element according to feng shui principles.

Hence, it would ignite the effects of fire element to a further extent resulting in its strengthening.

Irrespective of the kind of kitchen designs people have, fire element is reflected in various forms and articles such as pressure cooker, electrical cooking devices such as induction stove, which might prove to be against water element. This is why you should not place your fridge in the northeast direction.

By ensuring all these features, you will be able to strike a perfect balance among all the five elements.

Modern kitchen themes with westernised concepts are entirely different from that of the traditional Indian kitchens. They have a single or a couple of colours that give a rather sad look to the kitchen. The inclusion of a red dash or green plants will make your kitchen lively. In simpler terms, feng shui stresses the aspect of balancing all the five elements.

Food that you consume is the principal source of energy. It is necessary for you to eat in order to maintain sound health. Hence, the cooking process should not be lifeless. This may result in the loss of energy from the food being cooked. Removal of resident chi that has been stagnated for long too is lethal as far as kitchen is considered. The flow of chi or positive energy should be fast.

Vegetable trolleys will result in the mobilisation of energy to a greater extent. If it is not possible, there are several other alternatives such as placing a large green plant near the entrance. Another simple solution is to close the door slightly.

To sum up all, the use of right kind of colours and their combinations will result in the decrease of negative effects in your kitchen.

Avoid having huge objects such as fridge and racks next to the kitchen door. They act as barriers to the flow of positive energy.

Also, you should remember that kitchens with open shelves are ideal. Never consider eye-level cupboards that are above the cooking section. Closed kitchen cabinets block energy. The process of ensuring maximum flow of good energy can be realised only when the racks and shelves are open.

One of the common mistakes that people commit is that of the placement of kitchen and toilet next to each other.

It is like pitting fire and water elements with each other resulting in a chaotic situation. In fact, it increases the pollution levels in kitchen as well. Eventually, the health of the family members will be under the scanner.

Cooking guidelines

Don’t use the red for a kitchen that is situated in the southeast direction

Avoid positioning fridge in the northeast corner of your kitchen

Ensure that your kitchen has got open shelves.

(Manisha Koushik is a tarot card reader, numerologist and Vastu Feng consultant. She can be contacted at www.askmanisha.com)