My Practice: A Feng Shui Expert’s Daily Routine for Wellness

In My Practice, we share personal routines that create wellness and happiness from spiritual teachers, yogis, nutritionists, and more, in hopes to inspire your own healthy rituals.

For well over a decade Laura Benko has utilized her skills as a modernizer of feng shui in brand new, trailblazing ways. Known for yanking feng shui into the 21st century while still honoring age-old traditions blended with her own comprehensive holistic approach, she has helped hundreds of clients undergo transformations within themselves and in their homes.

Laura shares an honest walk-through of her daily routine with creative ways to bring the wisdom of feng shui simply into modern daily living:

“My daily routine begins with lying still in bed for a few minutes after waking. Often times my subconscious needs to acclimate to wakefulness as I detach from the nocturnal reverie and gear up for the day. Then, I always think about what I am grateful for. We’ve all heard this so many times before it’s nearly become rote—but it’s true. When you focus on what you are grateful for, that energy begets itself and will keep showing up throughout your day.

I always make my bed because it sets the tone for a prepared day. In my book, The Holistic Home: Feng Shui for Mind Body Spirit Space, I delve into the subliminal underpinnings of how we dwell. Our homes often mirror the interiors of our mind and can symbolically manifest our deepest challenges. Making your bed is a simple task that can boost feelings of productivity and preparedness that carry over in other areas of your life as well.

A cup of coffee is a French press ritual that is never missed along with bacon, eggs and kale on the weekends and fresh fruit, yogurt and honey on a weekday. I regularly take my daughter to the school bus stop and walk our dog Yogi in the same clothes I slept in because at the 7am hour, I’m not the priority and I have no self-consciousness about that. Two days a week I go to yoga two blocks away.

Afterwards when I shower I use The Holistic Home Company sea salt scrub and visualize I’m getting rid of anything negative with each use. When you dovetail an action with an intention — even if it’s a simple routine like scrubbing your body or taking out the garbage — the results become much more transformative. This morning I focused on getting rid of excessive worry while using the “revive” blend and visualized a release of any unnecessary frets I’m holding onto that get in the way from allowing the best to unfold.

I run my company from my home, so I do simple morning rituals to clear the energy and set the intention for the day. First I light a candle while focusing on one specific daily aim and then I light incense to help center, clear and ground my surroundings and myself. I put on music — usually Café Del Mar, Deep Forest, Sade or something ambient and mellow. Then, I select my aromatherapy scents to use in the diffuser based on the mood or needs of the day. If I need mental focus and clarity I use rosemary, grapefruit and frankincense. If I’m lacking energy, I use lemon, grapefruit and patchouli. Lavender, chamomile and sandalwood have become my favorite choice when I know it’s going to be an intense and busy day. The effects of aromatherapy on your body or in your space can be quite powerful, like a subliminal directive for your brain that is a ubiquitous force, silently guiding you and helping support your goals and desires.

My favorite ritual however, occurs toward the end of the day when my husband and daughter are gathered at the dinner table. We hold hands and either say a prayer or share what we are happy and grateful for.

Wishing you all things good in your day for your mind, body, spirit and space,
Laura.”

Laura has an upcoming book, The Holistic Home: Feng Shui Your Mind Body Spirit Space and recently launched TheHolisticHomeCompany.com, an all-natural home and body care line to enhance your well-being.