5,000 Years Old and Still Going Strong

GIVING A modern-day twist to an ancient art, an increasing number of feng shui practitioners are offering advice to clients on which building or home to purchase, and how to decorate offices and residences to maximize well-being.

Feng Shui is the optimization of energy-energy from land, buildings, people and the earth, says Dolores Kozielski, a practitioner in Marlton. "Every time you open the front door, you want the best energy coming in to enhance the people who live there," Kozielski says. "I've advised people not to buy specific homes because I did an analysis and their energy would not work with the home."

Feng shui, pronounced "fungshway," means wind and water. It began in China about 5,000 years ago as a way to orient gravesites and evolved into a method for dealing with wherever people live or congregate.

Christy Kass, spokeswoman for K. Hovnanian Homes in Red Bank, says the state's largest homebuilder uses feng shui principles. "It's important in building every home," says Kass. "People are more concerned than ever about creating a home that is a sanctuary.