The Five Tibetan Rites are a powerful practice for maintaining strength, flexibility and vitality. At our yoga retreat in Cambodia, we often start the morning with the rites since they pair perfectly with yoga and are a great way to get the body warmed up before a class.
Our yoga teacher Chiara filmed a video demonstrating the rites in a beginner-level practice with 5 repetitions of each movement. We invite you to practice with this video, then start to increase the repetitions once you are more comfortable with the movements.
The rites involve five repetitive movements, with an aim to reach 21 of each (although just doing 5 or so is fine when you are starting out). The rites are believed by many to be a kind of fountain of youth, reversing the aging process. As well as keeping the body strong and flexible, they are said to sharpen the mind and restore a sense of youthful optimism and enthusiasm. They are traditionally believed to work by activating various chakras in the energetic anatomy of the body described in the ancient Tibetan tradition. But if ancient mysticism is not your thing, a more rationalist explanation would be that they contain strength training, flexibility, and cardio elements – so provide a holistic workout. Whatever is really going on, people all over the world have been reporting amazing benefits from the practice, with their strength, flexibility and mental focus improving dramatically.
After leaving a retreat, it is sometimes difficult to keep the momentum of a daily practice. The time and emotional pressures of daily life can make it difficult to practice as much as you would like to. But the rites can be done in about 20 minutes, and many people report life-changing results from simply doing this short practice every morning. When you are practicing yoga alone, the prospect of a 90-minute session can be very daunting, but with this short practice, your mind is less likely to hit you with resistance and excuses!
Read our article for more information about the Five Tibetan Rites.