The Five Tibetan Rites

Shortly after I finished my Yoga teacher training I stumbled onto this book

Guiding Yoga’s Light; Yoga Lessons for Yoga Teachers by Nancy Gerstein. This is where I discovered the Five Tibetan Rites.


The Five Tibetans are a series of exercises that are said to hold the key to lasting youth, health and vitality because they keep the chakras spinning and balanced. Chakras are energy centers located along the spinal column. They are said to regulate prana or life force.

The Five Tibetans Include:

Spinning
Leg Lifts
Camel
Tabletop
Updog/Downdog

I like to finish in Child’s Pose or Savasana.

It is suggested to begin with 5 repetitions of each posture a day for the first week and to increase by 2 every week until your each the full 21 repetitions. It takes about 20 minutes to perform the full 21 repetitions of each of these postures

I am usually drawn to the Five Tibetans in February when I’m beginning to get the winter blues. I begin with 5 repetitions and work my way up. I do the Tibetans in the morning before my kids are up. It only takes 5 minutes initially and by the time I get up to the higher repetitions my body doesn’t need it and I move on. I usually stop before 21.

I ordered a new Yoga DVD this week with Anna Brett. A small part of her video is on my local On Demand channel and I’ve been able to experience a portion of the Kundalini Beginners and Beyond Series. To my surprise she has a segment on the Matrix (menu) for the Five Tibetans. She starts with 21 repetitions and does a different sequence. I enjoyed her version and feel energized today.

Check out the video and the print version and integrated the Five Tibetans as part of your home yoga practice.

Namaste”