The 5 Tibetian Rites of Rejuvenation

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Does anybody know if these rites are authentic or practices them?
The 5 rites are basically just 5 Yoga asanas. All sorts of claims have been made about this routine, that it rejuvenates, it is a fountain of youth, makes you look younger by decades, keeps away disease, 10-15 min of practice a day ensures 8 hours of vitality etc.

See them here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qLKhvsfQKc&feature=related

What makes me suspicious about this routine is that

  1. It is sounds too good to be true i.e., too much hype
  2. Only a 10-15 min Yoga routine consisting of just 5 asanas
  3. It was discovered in mysterious circumstances by some Westerner who went to Tibet, and discovered the fountain of youth - who now has branded the routine and makes loads of money out of it by selling books, DVD’s

What do you think? Can this be used to replace any other asana-based Yoga routine? Aren’t Surya Namaskars an even more effective routine because they involve 12 asanas in a sequence?

#2

Oops sorry, I realised my mistake: Surya Namaskar consists of 5 poses too.

#3

Thank you Surya Deva. I’ll be practising these. They look similar to certain yoga asanas but with more activity and repetitions, so I can see where the claim may be coming from.

#4

[QUOTE=Surya Deva;74093]Oops sorry, I realised my mistake: Surya Namaskar consists of 5 poses too.[/QUOTE]

Thank you.

#5

Hi,

Thank you for raising this topic.

I would not view the 5 Rites as a replacement of your normal asanas but perhaps as a supplement. I do the Rites sometimes in the morning as a way to start off the day.

You raise a good point about the possible implications of a Westerner supposedly bringing over a “Fountain of Youth” practice from Tibet. I am curious to see what others think about this topic.

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#6

The Five Tibetans written by Christopher Kilham is based on the Five Rites of Rejuvenation by Peter Kelder. Kelder was taught these 5 exercises by a retired British officer who in turn was taught by a group of Tibetan lamas in the Himalayas back in the 1930’s. And yes, Kelder felt he found the fountain of youth.

Kilham when practicing and later writing his book, felt there was something missing in the practice. He added to the practice pranayam which he felt Kelder purposefully omitted which at the time was a common thing to do.

While these 5 exercises are based on yoga asana, they are done with some modifications. The first Tibetan does a whirling dervish 21 times. The second does a modification of Supta Padangusthasana raising the head with chin tucked. The third does Ustrasana, keeping hands on back of thighs. The fourth does what I call Kundalini Tabletop. Fifth does a modification of Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (on balls of feet instead of top) moving into Adho Mukha Svanasana with chin tucked and up on balls of feet/tiptoes.

Does it work? Is it the fountain of youth? Beats me. I personally can’t get beyond doing the whirling dervish thing 21 times. It is all based on yoga, so how can it be wrong? And as far as I can tell, the asana and how to perform is true to its origin. Kilham just added the pranayam work.

#7

I saw these on Dr Oz’s Webpage and I even did them briefly, but the video is currently not there.

I did not do them that long but I will say that after a week I felt much the same as I did before I started

#8

The Five Tibetans are part of the Purna Yoga practice. They are not done in each class nor are they done daily, though I suppose they could be, and perhaps should be.

Generally, the rites have an opposite breathing technique to “normal” yogic breathing and there is an application of jalandhara bandha during the doing.

I would not (personally) use the Tibetans to replace anything but it is a charging sequence so I’m less likely to enjoin it directly with classical Surya Namaskar - which has 11 poses.

#9

I have only done them at a workshop but doing the motions so many times with faster motions and then using your breath to center yourself felt incredibly amazing. Mind you I dont think we did all of the repetitions. The teacher said to build up to them and I have not.