Things have changed recently for Dr. Lisa T. Shearin and her Chiropractic Clinic thanks to the redirection of some energy in her Suffolk establishment, she believes.

Sounds foreign? Think again. Many like Dr. Shearin are turning to an ancient Chinese custom, known as Feng Shui (fung sway), to facilitate more balance and harmony in their environments. The practice has gained widespread notoriety for centuries, but recent years have seen the art’s resurgence.

Newly certified Feng Shui Practitioner Sandra W. Parker, a Suffolk resident, is ready to help residents and businesses throughout the country benefit from an optimal level of energy flow. Dating back centuries, Feng Shui entails with placement of objects and how surroundings are impacted. Clutter, for example, would likely stifle an individual or business’ productivity, blocking the natural flow of energy.

Practitioners like Parker are quick to point out that Feng Shui is not a religion, but an art of affecting change in one’s life via the placement of articles.

Feng Shui dictates that a life-force energy called chi (chee) flows from both living and inanimate objects. In a poorly arranged setting, the chi becomes corrupted, causing destruction. But a trained practitioner can effectively show individuals and businesses how to provide chi an unobstructed plight in their lives to enhance a person’s health, happiness, and professional life.

Shearin, located on Pruden Boulevard in Suffolk, said not only has she noticed positive change with her practice, but her patients have been raving as well. The doctor refers to her office as more &uot;soothing and therapeutic&uot; for her patients, with the assistance of some changes that incorporated the rearrangement of plants, pictures and furniture. Parker provided a consultation at the office and followed up with recommendations to Shearin.

&uot;We have seen a definite change with the implementation of the recommendations,&uot; she said. &uot;The patients continue to notice the change. It’s a more comfortable and relaxed setting that is a great benefit to my practice.&uot;

Considering her medical background, Parker believes one of her niches will be helping medical facilities and hospitals, among other corporate offices.

&uot;Buildings talk, and when a person comes into a building they want to feel welcomed, safe and comfortable,&uot; Parker said.

She obtained her Feng Shui certification this past summer in Atlanta, Ga. at the Western School of Feng Shui during a 10-week course. While there, she stayed with a former Suffolk resident Ann Pinner, who met Parker while attending the Louise Obici School of Nursing. Of course, Parker took advantage of the opportunity to hone her Feng Shui skills in Pinner’s home.

Pinner recalled that Parker told her &uot;I had intuitively created a home environment that contained many of the Feng Shui elements and enhancements,&uot; she said in an interview. &uot;She made a few suggestions which I have done primarily to better enhance certain areas especially outside. I did this with birdfeeders or hanging plans.&uot;

Parker explained that when she does a consultation she interviews them confidentially to talk about things going on in their lives, such as jobs, finances and family.

&uot;I get a general overview, even whether they’re having problems sleeping at night,&uot; she said, who’s spent almost 20 years in the nursing field.

&uot;I am a little bit of everything. I am a counselor, listener and you reflect back to the individual,&uot; she added. &uot;It’s really cool when they pick up on different things in their lives that are having an impact on their environment.&uot;

Feng Shui involves three basic principles as its foundation, the first of which is the chi, the energy that animates, connects and moves everything through the cycle of life, according to The Western Guide to Feng Shui by Terah Katherine Collins, California: Hay House, Inc., 1996.

This study of Feng Shui goes on to explain that the home or workplace is considered a living entity that an individual is either in harmony with or in opposition to. When its vital connection with the quality of life is acknowledged, it can be a pleasant place. In turn, the surroundings should nurture, protect and support an individual’s growth and movement through life.

Feng Shui practitioners use a number of tools to assess chi, including identifying the yin and yang balance, elemental balance, and applying what’s known as the Bagua Map.

Certain colors nourish and other colors work against a home or business’ objective. Too many dominant colors that aren’t balanced with soft shades can interrupt the harmony of a given environment.

For example, a room with too much yin would be considered dark and hollow with black/dark furniture, dim lighting and a low ceiling.

To provide balance, a Feng Shui practitioner would suggest adding yang components such as brighter lights and warm pastel colors.

Feng Shui also looks at five elements as they relate to the environment: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, which are considered the building blocks of everything physical on earth.

Because humans consist of a combination of all of these elements, practitioners believe that people are most comfortable when all of these components are represented in their homes, and workplaces.

The Bagua map ensures that the elements are placed in the proper corridors of a home or business to ensure the proper flow of the chi.

Parker seeks Feng Shui being used in a variety of arenas expanding to city developments and road design. &uot;Hong Kong is one of the richest cities in the world and they are totally based on the principles of Feng Shui,&uot; she said.

Parker looks forward to operating her new business, Real World Feng Shui, out of her Hall Place home on a fee basis for clients throughout the area. With the anticipated demand for services, Parker envisions traveling extensively even beyond state lines. She is only aware of about six other practitioners in Hampton Roads-Richmond areas.

Parker can be reached at 539-5522 or e-mail at realworldfs@aol.com.