A few years ago I received a writeup about the Five Tibetan Rites in PDF form as a bonus for purchasing an ebook about composting. It is an interesting story about an older man who learns five basic exercises that are credited with keeping a group of monks in Tibet young and very fit as long as they live. The exercises are fairly simple but they are invigorating and I’ve been doing them almost daily since then – sometimes I use them as a warmup for working out or a pick me up if I get tired in the afternoon. I’ve lost the soft copy of that writeup since then but I found another one that I’m providing as a free download at the end of this post.
The article is based on a book called “Eye of Revelation” (see image link to the right), which is a good story whether you believe it to be true or not. I can say from experience that the exercises are very easy to do and help me feel better in general every time I do them. The five rites are like yoga exercises, good for both flexibility and core strength.
In the writeup I found, there is a sixth exercise mentioned which reminds me of the Buteyko breathing techniques I also learned about several years ago – see image link to the left, which is based on the research of a Russian doctor named Konstantin Buteyko. You can learn more about his research and legacy at buteyko.com. I’ve used the buteyko method to help me overcome sinus infections, nasal allergies, and even just clear blocked nostrils. I try to breath through my nose all the time now, even when I workout – I’ve found that I have more stamina that way (for example while doing circles on the mushroom).
So if you haven’t yet, download and take a look at the pdf document about the Five Tibetan Rites here. They are a good complement to any workout routine.
