The Five Tibetan Rites

My father was into stuff like this in the 1970s especially. He was really into many Tibetan ideas and practices before he passed on around 1985. So, when my daughter wanted me to read about this I was very encouraged by her enthusiasm:

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What Are 'The Five Tibetan Rites?'

According to the Tibetan lamas, the only difference between youth and old age is the spin rate of the chakras (the body's seven major energy centres). ..."The body has seven centres, which, in English, could be called Vortexes. These are kind of magnetic centres. They revolve at great speed in the healthy body, but when slowed down - well that is just another name for old age, ill-health, and senility. The quickest way to regain youth, health, and vitality is to start these energy centres spinning normally again. There are five simple exercises that will accomplish this. Any one of them alone is helpful, but all five are required to get the best results. These five exercises are not really exercises at all. The Lamas call them rites, and so that is how I shall refer to them, too"...  Colonel Bradford - "Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth"       What Are The Five Tibetans - What's Involved? They are a series of five special movements that are gradually increased over a ten week period, until you are doing twenty one repetitions of each.  In the T5T ® method three "Energy Breaths" are taken between each movement The routine is repeated daily and takes around ten minutes.  Some people do it quicker than others, and others prefer to do it more slowly The first posture is a spinning movement. The remaining four are similar to other yoga movements The sequence is more like a smooth, almost dance-like flowing routine, that is highly pleasurable to perform You can do the Rites in the morning to boost your energy for the day, or at the end of the day to wind-down. You can also do them in the evening to give you an extra boost of energy if needed You can do them at any time that suits you - at home, at work, outside, or while travelling etc No special equipment is needed. You don't need to travel anywhere to do them! Once you have learnt them, they are yours for life.  They won't keep on costing you any money! A lot of people are keen to reach twenty one repetitions very quickly.  However Colonel Bradford and T5T recommend building up gradually in the following manner: Begin with just three repetitions per day for the first week - then increase repetitions by just two more per week, until you are doing the required 21 repetitions in around 10 weeks. Between each of the 5 Rites, the Energy Breathing technique is completed three times. The complete program will eventually take you between 10 to 15 minutes per day. The average is just under 10 minutes.   There are two reasons for this recommended build up process. The first is to allow your body to develop a strong foundation upon which to improve your flexibility. The second is due to the effects of the Rites themselves.  They can initiate many changes in your bodies energy and balance systems. Although this varies from person to person, it is generally best to allow your body time to adjust.   How Do They Work? Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘wheel’ or ‘vortex’. The chakras act like an electricity transformer, receiving and regulating life energy and transmitting it throughout the body. The Five Rites may seem deceptively simple, but they are very powerful – like flicking the energy switches in the body to ON. These seven principal energy centres (chakras) correspond ( are located above) to the body's major endocrine glands. Recent medical research has uncovered convincing evidence that the aging process is hormone-regulated. The Tibetan Five are said to normalise hormonal imbalances in the body, thereby holding the key to lasting youth, health, and vitality. The rites stimulate the energy system of the body, wake up the chakras, and get energy moving throughout every cell in your body. The lamas believe that the Five Tibetan Rites stimulate all seven chakras to spin rapidly at the same rate. They believe that the aging process can be defined by the level of activity in one or all of the chakras. If any one of the chakras is blocked and its natural spin rate is slowed, then vital life energy cannot circulate, and illness and aging set in.  ..."During the past eighty years, health professionals in India and the West have begun to investigate the therapeutic potential of yoga. To date, thousands of research studies have been undertaken and have shown that with the practice of yoga a person can, indeed, learn to control such physiologic parameters as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory function, metabolic rate, skin resistance, brain waves, body temperature, and many other bodily functions." ... Yoga Journal end quote from: http://www.t5t.com/pages/What-Are-The-Five-Tibetan-Rites