Rejuvenating Yourself: The Five Tibetian Rites

Students and faculty members tend to have very busy schedules, and with busy schedules it is easy to neglect the need for exercise, because some exercises take up too much time, drain all your energy, and leave you sore. However, there are some exercises that require very little time, boost your energy, and give you a sense of wellbeing.
Mary Kurus, author of the articleThe Five Tibetan Rites: Exercises for Healing, Rejuvenation, and Longevity, wrote about Peter Kelder’s book, The Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth, which reveals an ancient exercise performed by Tibetan monks called the “Five Rites”.
This ancient exercise is very simple and effective, because unlike other exercises, it does not require a great expenditure of energy.It stimulates all the glands in the endocrine system, which is responsible for the body’s overall functioning and aging process.
Mary Kurus states that the “Five Tibetan Rites” has many benefits which include, “Looking much younger; sleeping soundly; waking up feeling refreshed and energetic; release from serious medical problems including difficulties with spines; relief from problems with joints; release from pain; better memory; arthritis relief; weight loss; improved vision; youthing instead of aging; greatly improved physical strength, endurance and vigor; improved emotional and mental health; enhanced sense of wellbeing and harmony; and very high overall energy” (www.mkprojects.com).

Rite 1:

Stand erect with arms outstretched horizontal to the floor, palms facing down. Your arms should be in line with your shoulders. Spin around clockwise until you become slightly dizzy. Gradually increase number of spins from 1 spin to 21 spins.

Breathing: Inhale and exhale deeply as you do the spins.

Rite 2:

Lie flat on the floor, face up. Fully extend your arms Along your sides and place the palms of your hands against the floor, keeping fingers close together. Then raise your head off the floor tucking your chin into your chest. As you do this, lift your legs, knees straight, into a vertical position. If possible, extend the legs over the body towards your head. Do not let the knees bend. Then slowly lower the legs and head to the floor, always Keeping the knees straight. Allow the muscles to relax, and repeat.
Breathing: Breathe in deeply as you lift your head and legs and exhale as you lower your head and legs.

Rite 3:

Kneel on the floor with the body erect. The hands should be placed on the backs of your thigh muscles. Incline the head and neck forward, tucking your chin in against your chest. Then throw the head and neck backward, arching the spine. Your toes should be curled under through this exercise. As you arch, you will brace your arms and hands against the thighs for support. After the arching return your body to an erect position and begin the rite all over again.
Breathing: Inhale as you arch the spine and exhale as you return to an erect position.

Rite 4:

Sit down on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and your feet about 12” apart. With the trunk of the body erect, place the palms of your hands on the floor alongside your buttocks. Then tuck the chin forward against the chest. Now drop the head backward as far as it will go. At the same time raise your body so that the knees bend while the arms remain straight. Then tense every muscle in your body. Finally let the muscles relax as you return to your original sitting position. Rest before repeating this Rite.
Breathing: Breathe in as you rise up, hold your breath as you tense the muscles, and breathe out fully as you come down.

Rite 5:

Lie down with your face down to the floor. You will be supported by the hands palms down against the floor and the toes in the flexed position. Throughout this rite, the hands and feet should be kept straight. Start with your arms perpendicular to the Floor, and the spine arched, so that the body Is in a sagging position. Now throw the head back as far as possible. The, bending at the hips, bring the body up into an inverted “V”. At the same time, bring the chin forward, Tucking it against the chest.
Breathing: Breathe in deeply as you raise the body, and exhale fully as you lower the body.

Warnings and tips:
Do these exercises slowly and only do what you are comfortable with.
Do not do more than 21 repetitions of each exercise; doing more than 21 repetitions can overstimulate certain glands and lead to an energy imbalance.
In the beginning you may experience symptoms of nausea, because of the exercise’s detoxifying nature.
If you are constrained by time, you can do three repetitions of each exercise, which will take less than five minutes