I don’t know why I’d never heard of the 5 Tibetan Rites until recently. I’ve been practicing yoga for about 13 years now, and the Rites had never crossed my radar. I don’t feel too bad about it, though. I asked my partner about the Rites. She’s been a yoga instructor for longer than I’ve been practicing, and she’d never heard of them either. I guess there is so much yoga out there, that it’s difficult to know it all.
I stumbled upon the 5 Tibetan Rites while perusing the latest issue of Disc Golfer. One of the older golfers interviewed in the magazine said that he’s been doing them for years.
So, as I usually do, I searched the internet and found some information.
The 5 Tibetan Rites have been around for 2500 years. They were brought to the attention of the West in the 20th century through a book called Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth by Peter Kelder.
How to Practice the 5 Tibetan Rites
The Rites, when properly practiced, are done in a particular order, as shown in this video.
The Rites in order are:
- Rotation. Spinning clockwise
- The J. Lying leg-and-head lift
- Camel. Kneeling backward bend
- Table: Moving from Staff to Reverse Tabletop, keeping hands and heels in place
- The Dogs: Flowing from Upward Facing to Downward Facing Dog
All it took was one time through — doing sets of 3 — and I was hooked. This practice feels very good. I find Rite 4, Table, to be the least fun, and I hope to improve.
I am up to sets of 12. The literature says the Rites can be done up to sets of 21, and while I moved up fast to get to 12, I’m good with that number for the time being. It feels right.
The book says for a daily practice to begin with sets of 3, then add 2 per week, until you reach 21. I didn’t do that, banging all the way through to 12 in a couple weeks, but, as I said, I’m going to hang here at 12 for a bit.
Notes for Myself while Practicing the 5 Tibetan Rites
Rite 1: The Rites call for only spinning one way, clockwise. This offended me at first glance, because everything should be balanced. However, I accepted the Rite for what it is and practice spinning only clockwise. Also, there is a school of thought that in the Southern Hemisphere the spin should be anti-clockwise, but I’m in USA, so I do clockwise.
Rite 2: I thought this would be harder than it is for me, but, again, I need to take care to protect my back, so I definitely lift my head and shoulders first, then my legs.
Rite 3: This should more of a back bend than a backward lean. I like the feeling I get in my quads from a lean, though, so I may lean too much for traditionalists. I’m still working on bending fully, because I take great care not to hurt my back.
Rite 4: Ugh, this was a slog until I sped up the movement. My biggest thing is that I need to remember to plant my toes, so I get to Tabletop. If I go too fast, I just rock my heels, and my knees end up way behind my ankles in the Tabletop position. So planting my toes and pushing my knees forward to align over my ankles helps me get it right(er).
Rite 5: I love that Up Dog is done with toes curled under. Upon looking further, I did find people demonstrating practicing with the tops of their feet pushing into the ground — the usual way to do Up Dog — but I stick with toes curled under. This is a pretty quick flow, done at the pace of my breath.
In Between: I’m experimenting with what to during the transition from one Rite to the next. I’ve done a couple breaths at Mountain. I’ve done partial Sun Salutations. I’m still working on it. My goal is to get back to zero before moving to the next Rite.
Conclusion
You may find the 5 Tibetan Rites to be as revolutionary as I have. Give them a try. I’ve added the Rites to my daily routine. I’ve found that sets of 12 take about 10 minutes to complete, so I have plenty of time to do another yoga practice afterward.
Enjoy!