Five Tibetan Rites

Once a month my women’s group does guided meditations. Aside from never being able to find a completely comfortable position to sit in and occasionally shifting to find that relaxed pose, I usually have no problem following the meditation. There are usually one of two cases that happen, 1) I follow along with the group or 2) I start out following along and then hit theta state. However, last week at meditation I did something rather odd. I started out following along, then I bounced to complete consciousness, then bounced back to following along, and then bounced to a theta state. I continued to bounce between the three states for the entire hour meditation. To me it’s a sign that I need more discipline in my life. One of the ladies suggested I take up the Five Tibetan Rites to see if that might help with my concentration and give me a sense of order. The idea behind the Five Tibetans is that there are five exercises that you perform a maximum of 21 times a day. So here is a breakdown of the Five Tibetan Rites:

Rite #1 Sufi Whirling, Whirling Dervish
Stand upright, extend your arms at shoulder level away from your body and spin clockwise. Keep your eyes looking immediately in front of you, do not focus on any one point, let your vision blur as you spin.

Rite #2 Leg Raises
Lay down on your back with your arms to your side, palms up, keep your legs straight, begin your inhalation, raise your legs off the ground until as high as possible and pick your head off the ground, bending your neck with your chin falling toward your chest. Begin your exhalation and return to laying flat on the ground.

Rite #3 Camel Asana in Yoga
Kneel with your legs together, arms extended, palms of your hands on the side of your thighs, drop your chin to your chest, begin your inhalation, raise your head and lean back, move your hands to the back of your thighs and let them drop lower and support your weight, crane your head and neck backward, relax your lower spine. Begin your exhalation, start to come forward back to kneeling position with your head back up in the straight position.

Rite #4 Table Posture
Sit on the floor, legs a little less than shoulder length apart, arms to your sides with hands extended flat on the ground and fingers pointed forward, drop your head toward your chest, begin your inhalation, raise your butt off the ground while bending your knees, shift your weight to your arms/hands and legs/feet, continue to raise your butt until your back and thighs are parallel to the ground, let your head fall back. Begin your exhalation and return to sitting position with your head dropped forward.

Rite #5 Yoga Cobra to Downward Dog
Get down on the floor on your hands and knees (in push-up position) with hands and legs a little less than shoulder's width apart. Begin your inhalation, come up on your toes with weight in your arms, straighten your legs, arch your back, lean your head back, do not let any of your body touch the ground except for your toes and hands (Cobra in Yoga). Begin your exhalation, bend at the waist, bend your knees, push your butt up into the air, make an inverted V shape with your legs and arms straight, tuck your chin toward your chest (Downward Dog in Yoga), try to put your feet flat on the ground.