PEOPLE from all over the world are flocking to South Craven to learn an art which has been practised for centuries.

Feng shui is a way of improving your life by looking at your own home and making changes which harmonise natural energy.

And feng shui practitioner and author Gina Lazenby is one of those leading the way in an art which has really taken off over the last five years.

She is now running a school at her home in the hills above Lothersdale to tutor others to become feng shui experts.

Last week she had a house full of students from Canada, America, Greece, Sweden, Ireland and the UK learning how to use their skills to bring harmony to people's homes and lifestyles.

Feng shui has been practised for hundreds of years and takes its name from the Chinese who first catalogued the techniques.

"We've got different challenges to what people faced hundreds of years ago, so we take the powerful principals of feng shui and apply it to today," said Gina.

"We ask people what it is they want to happen in their lives and then we see if we can make it happen."

Feng shui is often difficult to describe to people who come across it for the first time, but Gina puts it down to energy.

"When people go into a house they sometimes feel vibes, either good or bad," she said. "What feng shui practitioners are trying to do is to shift the energy in a house and create good vibes.

"But the house is only really a metaphor for the person who lives in it and they need to understand how the home and work environment influence their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health."

Gina was bitten by the feng shui "bug" eight years ago when she met a practitioner from the USA.

After studying its principles, she gave up running a London-based marketing and publicity company and set about putting the art "on the map".

And moving to The Dales was part of that process as the location of her home gave both Gina and her students inspiration.

"The Dales provide a beautiful and inspiring environment and we use this as a backdrop for them to continue their journey of learning," she said.

Gina is co-founder of the Feng Shui Society and has already penned two successful books on the subject. She is now in the process of writing a third.

"People's homes are more important to them these days," explained Gina, commenting on the popularity of the art today. "And people are getting out of balance for whatever reason, so feng shui is striking a chord."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.