The Five Tibetans and The Five Elements

Extract from book T5T - The Five Tibetan Exercise Rites

At the time of the development of the Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation, the ancients believed that their world was composed of Five Elements; water, earth, air, fire and spirit (energy). In psychology the Five Elements are used to personify different human traits, such as the personality types categories by Carl Jung (feeling, sensing, intuiting, and thinking) and those associated with the astrological signs of the zodiac. I experimented with the concept of assigning an element to each of the Rites, and found the results to be amazing.

In each case, the physcial movement of the Rite was a metaphor for what we were trying to achieve mentally - awareness in a different aspect of life. For example the Spin takes the element energy, and the vortex that the movements create allows you to replenish your body from the larger energy all around us. The Tabletop takes the eleement earth, and its movements focus on stability, foundation and balance, giving us a solid base from which to form new ideas.

In holistic exercise it can sometimes be hard to marry the physical state with the mental state, and having a metaphor helps people enormously to align the two, and to present a clear picture of what they are working towards.

Having assigned an element and a modern name to each Rite, I then experimented with creating an affirmation that expressed the 'energy' of each movement. The result is a method of reinforcing and focusing upon the positive benefits of each Rite physically, mentally and spiritually. This has a ripple effect on every area of your life.

Rite No 1 - The Spin - I am full of energy
Rite No 2 - The Leg Raise - My mind is clear and calm
Rite No 3 - The Kneeling Backbend - I am flexible and receptive
Rite No 4 - The Tabletop - I am strong and balanced
Rite No 5 - The Pendulum - I am positive and motivated

If you wish to publish this article on your website or use the the modern name for each Rites with their associated affirmation - you may do so - provided you assign the correct copyright and accreditation exactly as shown below:

Copyright (c) 2005 Carolinda Witt - author T5T - The Five Tibetan Exercise Rites and The 10-Minute Rejuvenation Plan

Keeping Motivated to do your Tibetan Five Rites
A recent survey of people who learnt the 5 Rites around 2 to 3 years ago, shows that there are some who wouldn't miss a day - others who do them when they can - others who sort of stop and start their practice - and finally those who stopped within a month of learning them.

It would be interesting to see if that pattern ie. a stop and start pattern occurs not just whilst doing the Rites, but in other areas of their lives too. How life changing a discovery it could be, if someone were to discover that they do the same thing everywhere else!!!