Tori Michaels' work in life is often misunderstood, feared even.

"There were people who actually grabbed their children and ran away. They said I was working with the devil," said Michaels, a feng shui consultant who moved to the Peoria area from St. Louis a couple years ago.

Feng shui (pronounced "fuhng shway") is an ancient Chinese art and philosophy that helps create harmony and balance in our surroundings. Translated literally, it means wind and water. Its earliest practitioners observed that physical objects and their orientation seem to effect the flow of energy or chi (pronounced "chee"). At its core, it's about using all five elements - wood, earth, metal, fire and water - to aid the flow of chi.

Still, the idea that home decor can influence your career, health and even relationships is often met with skepticism or worse, Michaels says, until she tells people that Donald Trump uses it. That, and the fact that it's not a religion.

"Trump's famous quote is, 'I don't know how it works. I just know that it works,' " says Michaels, adding that is exactly how many of her clients feel. They don't know why arranging their furniture a certain way makes them happier, they just know that it does.

Actually, Trump is only one famous person to use feng shui. According to a December 2009 article in Casino Connection, Steve Wynn hired feng shui masters to "vet the construction and design of the Mirage and Wynn Las Vegas (the latter does not have floors 40 through 49, because the number four in Chinese sounds like the word for death.)"

Michaels has used feng shui to help individual homeowners and to transform part of the Holistic Health Center, where she often teaches classes.

"I love sharing this information because it really does change lives. I love to see people wake up," says Michaels, adding, "People who are really set in their ways don't feel (the energy in a room) until they are really shown. You can get used to not feeling good and not realizing it."

Tammy Mitchell and Lisa Zell, co-owners of Heading Om Yoga Studio, used some principles of feng shui in creating their West Peoria yoga studio, which is located within the former Crittenton Home, a home for young, unwed mothers.

"That building was a home for 5,000 lives to be brought into the world," said Mitchell, noting that the building already had a positive chi before they moved in. The women used reclaimed barn wood from Illinois native white, red and black oak trees for the flooring. The large windows, which fill the room with light from the east, west and south, are filled with plants. The window sills hold crystals. The walls are painted a soft green. Geothermal heating and cooling was added, which is clean energy. A rooftop garden is home to a grid of quartz that Mitchell found in a river bed. She believes the grid acts as a filter, "like a tree filters the air."

"The sacredness of the wood floor is earth energy," describes Mitchell. "I associate the green (walls), in part, with music. Lisa loves green. I couldn't decide on a color. It's Lisa's essence."

In feng shui, green is seen as refreshing and nurturing; the color of harmony, balance, healing and health.

Mitchell says visitors often describe the space as "welcoming and healing."

Michaels, who became a certified feng shui consultant four years ago, says there are many schools of thought on feng shui. She studied at a Chicago BTB School of Feng Shui, short for the Black Sect Feng Shui Tradition. A synthesis of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist, Daoist and folk wisdom, as well as modern psychology and design principals, BTB is seen as more friendly to Western culture.

Michaels started her career 20 years ago as a wardrobe consultant, which evolved into becoming a professional home organizer.

"I took a class 15 years ago on feng shui in St. Louis, and I was hooked. It was magic. I studied it for a long time and then got formal training.

"When I walk into your home, I can tell you exactly what is going on in your personal life. You cannot hide it. Then I will help you fix it."

Jennifer Davis can be reached at jdavis@pjstar.com.