Want to try yoga but can never find the time? These simple exercises from the Five Tibetans discipline can give you a foundation for lasting fitness, says Katie McCann
Want to try yoga but can never find the time? These simple exercises from the Five Tibetans discipline can give you a foundation for lasting fitness, says Katie McCannyoga she’s explored: “It’s simple and it’s quick. It’s actually 15 minutes per day and you’ve worked the whole of your body, all of the energy systems as well – so all of the seven major chakras.”
I first came across the exercises when recovering from head injuries. On one memorable occasion I even performed the sequence in an airport departure lounge! They seemed to function like a pump that increased my energy level and at the same time kept fatigue at bay,but with none of the after-effects of caffeine or sheer bloody determination. “You do 21 repetitions and you can feel the whole of your body is actually toning,” Mahala explains.“Once I was introduced to the Five Tibetans it was a revelation – I had so much energy! Probably more energy than I would gain from doing an hour and a half yoga class…”So, how can something so simple be so effective? Where do these exercises come from?
The background
Legend has it that they were brought to the west by a retired British army officer. While stationed in India, he had heard reports of a remote lamasery whose inhabitants had discovered the fountain of youth. After his retirement, and with his own health failing, he determined to locate the mysterious monastery.
This Colonel Bradford asked his friend Peter Kelder to accompany him, but Kelder had more sense than to set out on such a wild goose chase. Kelder’s The Eye of Revelation, published in 1939, tells the story of the friends’ reunion on Bradford’s return from India. The doorbell rang and standing there was a vigorous man who looked like he was about forty. It gradually dawns on Kelder that this is his old friend: “Instead of a stooping, sallow old man with a cane, I saw a tall, straight figure. His face was robust, and he had a thick growth of dark hair with scarcely a trace of grey,” he recalled. Bradford had spent many long, hard months scouring the Himalayas. But within a few weeks of reaching the monastery, where he remained for two years, he began to feel surprisingly fit and strong.
“It’s a kind of playful thing to do – more than any other practice I’ve done,” describes Grace Benson, who has been teaching yoga for over 30 years. “You start whirling around – and it’s just like a child, playing. I think that’s why it has such an effect towards making you feel youthful. This feels like it’s fun!”
Bradford claimed that the rites are not only rejuvenating, but that they could actually reverse the ageing process. He reported that ‘soon, my health began to improve. I was able to sleep soundly at night, and every morning I awoke feeling more and more refreshed and energetic.’
The theory behind the Tibetans is that they access the life force or kundalini and recharge the seven chakras. In a young, healthy person, all the chakras spin at a fast rate. But as we grow older, one or more of the chakras slow down, weakening the flow of energy and causing imbalance. It is now generally accepted that the chakras of eastern medicine relate to the endocrine system of western medicine. As we age, these glands may either stagnate –or be over-stimulated, resulting in exhaustion. The secretions of the endocrine glands regulate all the body’s functions.
“The Five Tibetans access the life force or kundalini and recharge the seven chakras”
Taking the time
Five easy exercises. Fifteen minutes a day. But how many of us will actually do it? We are all under pressure of time and, as Grace Benson admits, “The monkey mind will come in and tell you all the things you have to do before you practise. People don’t give themselves a fair chance to succeed really.” So there’s the challenge –what are you waiting for?
Perhaps the most disconcerting feature of the Five Tibetans is their sheer simplicity. Mahala found the exercises most useful once she’d had her daughter – and no longer had the time to do an hour and a half’s ashtanga practice. “I think maybe what sometimes happens in our lives is that we like to complicate things and to make basic things seem really complex – and the Five Tibetans… unravel all of that.” So get started on your new health regime today!
Five Tibetans Basics
Never stress or strain yourself – kindness is the key. Just start with a few repetitions of each rite, and work up gradually until you’re doing 21 a day. It is best to work out on an empty stomach.
Extend both arms horizontally to your sides, palms down. Spin clockwise, shuffling your feet around, fast enough to get a little dizzy. Keep your eyes open and focus on a point slightly above eye level.
Lie on your back with your palms down. As you inhale, extend your legs straight up, your feet flexed, and lift your head off the floor, chin to chest. As you exhale, lower your legs and head until just inches off the floor. Then relax before you raise your legs again.
Kneel with your knees directly under your hips; chin to chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together slightly, your hands gripping the sides of your legs. As you inhale, curl your toes under, and arch back, letting your head drop back as far as is comfortable. As you exhale, return to the starting position.
Sit upright, your legs extended and feet flexed, hands on the floor next to your hips and fingers pointing to your toes, chin to chest. As you inhale, lift through your pelvis into ‘tabletop’ position, avoiding over-arching your back. Let your head fall back as far as is comfortable. As you exhale, return to the starting position.
Support yourself just off the floor, hands and feet shoulder-width apart, toes curled under. Keep shoulders down and hips off the floor. As you inhale, lift hips while pushing down through heels, into the familiar ‘downward dog’. Keep your head aligned with your spine and arms and legs straight. As you exhale, return to the starting position, then relax in the final resting pose.
REMEMBER!
If you find a particular rite awkward, Grace Benson does not find this insurmountable: “A lot of people find the whizzing – the first rite – really hard. A lot of people find the leg raising one quite difficult. But you can miss it out completely, and just do the other four beautifully, and very gradually your body will find that it can do the other rite that you’ve missed.”
MORE INFO
Mahala: yogaclapham.com
Grace Benson: dreamyoga.co.uk gives instructions on how to perform the Five Tibetans.
Peter Kelder’s book is now available as a freedownload from t5t.com
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