Did you know that people around the world say that their work makes them feel stressed?
Yoga can make you less stressed. How so? By practising yoga, you are practising physical and spiritual wellness.
Yoga is becoming increasingly popular and there are around 200 million people around the world now doing it. There’s a good reason for this: yoga is good for your health.
There are approximately 45 different types of yoga, each with its own principles, practices, and rituals, and the Five Tibetan Rites make up part of this list.
The Five Tibetan Rites, as you may already know if you are a passionate yogi or have read some of our other posts, is a system of exercises, poses, and rituals that involves five principal positions performed in a specific order which is said to improve how your life force energy circulates.
The five positions are as follows:
- Tibetan Spin
- Prone To Upward Staff Pose
- Rabbit To Camel Pose
- Staff To Upward Plank Pose
- Upward Dog To Downward Dog
So, why must they be done in this particular order?
According to experts, moving your body in this sequence creates a cyclic effect on your breathing, emotions, and your insides in general. But you aren’t going to get the desired effect by just doing this once, you need to do the Five Tibetan Rites regularly to get the maximum benefit.
In fact, it is said that you should ideally be practising them day or night, i.e. morning or evening. While you can do them during the day if you must, you need to understand that your body won’t get the greatest benefits and this will also, therefore, have a lower impact on your mindfulness.
To work on creating positive vibes and achieving mindfulness regularly, then we recommend that you do the 5 Tibetan Rites every day (preferably only once in a day), or at the very least five times a week to enable you to enter that greater state of mindfulness.
If you have not practised these positions before, then here is a guide on how they can be achieved.
The Tibetan Spin
The essential beginning to your journey of mindfulness, this first pose is actually simpler than its name suggests.
You merely have to spin around as follows:
- Stand up with your arms out. Your right palm should be facing upwards and your left palm should be facing downwards.
- Now turn clockwise if in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise if in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Do this 12 times in total. If you start feeling dizzy, keep in mind that the Five Tibetan Rites are to help you and not an exercise to repeat at any cost.
You can change the speed by doing it faster or the balance by closing your eyes.
The Prone To Upward Staff Pose
The Second Tibetan Rite isn’t difficult either but you do need to focus on your breathing while moving your body into the correct position.
Without supporting yourself against a wall, you must:
- Lie on the floor with your back straight.
- Place your hands under your buttocks to protect your lumbar (optional).
- Raise your head and legs as you breathe out.
- Lower your head and legs as you breathe in.
- Repeat this between 3 and 21 times (a gradual increase over time)
The Rabbit To Camel Pose
While there are a couple of ways to do this one, it’s recommended that you:
- Get onto your knees.
- Place your palms on the back of your thighs.
- Dip your head so that your chin presses onto your chest as you breathe out.
- Lean backwards as far as you can without falling over and lift your chin upwards as you breathe in.
- Contract your glutes and stretch your thighs.
- Repeat between 3 and 21 times (like with the other Tibetan Rites).
If you want to make the pose a bit more challenging, start on your knees, with your forehead on the floor and your hands crossed behind your back. Lift yourself up progressively, with your hands on your buttocks, and stick out your chest as much as you can.
The Staff To Upward Plank Pose
A trickier pose to master, this fourth rite requires you to make yourself into a bridge while looking upwards:
- Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you.
- Place your hands by your pelvis.
- Raise your pelvis upwards as you breathe in and bend your knees so that your shins are vertical but your thighs are horizontal.
- Move back to your original position with your back straight and your legs outstretched as you breathe out.
- Ensure your pelvis is positioned between your hands. As you finish breathing out, press your chin against your chest.
- Repeat between 3 and 21 times.
Upward Dog to Downward Dog
Start this pose by:
- Sitting on your heels, then going onto all fours.
- Spread your legs as wide as your hips.
- Spread your hands as wide as your shoulders.
- Then, raise your pelvis while keeping your legs straight.
- Press your hands and feet into the floor while keeping your chin against your chest as you breathe out.
- Lower your pelvis, contracting your buttocks, and raise your head upwards as you breathe out.
- Repeat this between 3 and 21 times.
All of the above poses work certain areas of your body, and you’ll no doubt feel the muscles stretching during training. But it is all worth it in the end.
