Wednesday, December 15, 2010


FIVE TIBETAN RITES - FREE DOWNLOADS

Here's something nice for you! Our FREE downloads are now available on the website.

1. Eye of Revelation the authentic 1939 AND 1946 editions - e-book (59 pages)
2. Poster of the 5 Rites on one page
3. Poster of Five Rites warm-ups
4. Five Tibetans Brochure/info sheet
5. 7 Undulation to Relieve Office Tension

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Should the 4th and 5th rites be performed in quick or slow repititions? Specifically, how long should the moment of tensing and contraction of all the muscles be held for greatest benefit?

Carolinda Witt said...

Colonel Bradford gave very limited explanations on speed and duration. This is all he said on speed.

...“In either event he should not neglect the other Rites, and above all he should never strain himself. If he goes about performing the Rites in an easy, interesting manner it will not be too long before he finds everything working out satisfactorily, and that he is doing the Rites the required 21 times a day.

"Of course,” he continued, “one must practice them every day in order to keep one’s robust vitality. You may skip one day each week, but never more than that. The use of the Five Rites is no hardship at all; it requires less than 10 minutes a day to practice them. If necessary one can get up ten minutes earlier or go to bed ten minutes later."...

With regard to tensing. It is almost impossible to do these movements with activating (tensing) the muscles that are 'holding' you in the pose and acting as 'anti-gravity.' In a way this instruction is almost putting words into what is naturally happening. For SOME people tensing "all the muscles" can cause the spine to come out of its natural curves and put pressure on the joints and nerves (compression) and they may feel a pinch of pain or they may develop pain. In the T5T (The Five Tibetans & Energy Breathing Program) that I teach, we incorporate the use of the deepest muscles closest to the spine that when correctly activated wrap around and protect the spine like a natural weight belt. Therefore we do not "need" to "Tense all the muscles" in the way he broadly describes - because we have tensed the correct muscles to prevent injury and to keep the body strong from the inside out. These are repetitious movements and correct technique (aligning join over joint and no compression)is vital to prevent repetitive strain type injury over the long term. Having said that this is what Bradford said:

Rite No 4
As the body is raised upward allow the head gently to fall backward so that the head hangs backward as far as possible when the body is fully horizontal. Hold this position for a few moments, return to first position and RELAX for a few minutes before performing the Rite again.


and Next, return to a sitting position and relax for a moment before repeating the procedure. When the body is pressed up to complete horizontal position, tense every muscle in the body. This will have a tendency to stimulate Vortexes ‘F,’ ‘G,’ ‘E,’ ‘D’ and C.’

Rite No 5

Here he does not use the word "tense" but "hold" in the description under the diagram:

The Second position is attained by pushing the body, especially the hips, upward as far as possible. The hands are kept flat on the floor at all times. Hold this position for a brief moment and return to First position. After a moment of “hanging in suspension” perform the Rite over again.

but in the text he goes back to "tense"

“After a few weeks, that is after you become quite proficient in this movement, let the body drop from its highest position to a point almost but not quite touching the floor. The muscles should be tensed for a moment when the body is at the highest point, and again at the lowest point.

I have been meaning to write about this for some time, so you have reminded me. I'll post it up here when done, so you might want to subscribe to RSS feed or check the website www.T5T.com in the articles section.

All the best

Anonymous said...

I am a 40 year old man and I have been practicing five Tibetan Rites since late 2009 everyday, with full 21 repetitions. My muscles have toned up, my posture has become much better, sleeping improved, bowel movements have become smooth and my tummy and waistline have reduced. However, my skin has erupted into pimples from hips till my neck. I do feel energetic immediately after the rites but feel tired and sleepy in an hour. My hair has greyed considerably this year and I have also lost quite a bit of my hair. This quite the opposite effect of what is expected. I consulted a Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) doctor who advised me against these execises. He said the rites are putting a stress on my body. Whats your opinion on this matter? Thank you.

Carolinda Witt said...

Oh, that sounds awful!! Since you have been doing them for a long time without any problems, and in fact a lot of benefits, it is unlikely to be the Rites alone that is causing your issue. It is possible that the stimulating effect on the circulatory, lymphatic and hormonal system is 'activating' an underlying condition, allergy or detoxification. Exercise and moving the body is a normal human condition - being sedentary is not. Has your TCM practitioner advised you stop all exercise or recommended alternatives? I would suggest you look into other lifestyle factors such as diet, environment and stress from work, relationships etc. If this does not suit you, why don't you decrease your repetitions back down to 3 per day and see what happens? Then gradually build back up again? Generally, the idea is to eliminate possible causes including dietary (see above) and see if there is an improvement.