December is just a blur and I find myself amazed that it is already January 10, 2009. Time really does just fly by! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. The start of the New Year always makes me think about going back to basics as I reflect on various aspects of my life. One practice flow I am always drawn to at this time of year is the Ancient Tibetan Rites. This practice helps me to bring back my balance after the rush, too much food and travel of the holiday season. I have included some brief instructions and a link to a PDF of the flow below. Also, learn about Aromatic Neti Salt and the use of essential oils in jala neti from a paper I researched and wrote in December.
Table of Contents
1. Ancient Tibetan Rites
2. Aromatic Neti Salt from Into The Scented Garden
Ancient Tibetan Rites
The Great Yoga Poses II collection includes the Five Ancient Tibetan Rites. The rites are a five-pose yoga sequence that is based on observations of a British army officer, Colonel Bradford (an assumed name), when he was living in a Himalayan monastery. The rites are now famous and are practiced around the world as they are said to be "the fountain of youth" for their anti-aging properties. LINK TO PDF
Principles
The five rites consist of different movements synchronized with your breath, to stimulate and balance the seven principal energy centers in your body. We know these energy centers in yoga as chakras. You can think of the chakras as being energy centers with a spinning vortex. As you balance the spinning of the vortex, your life force becomes more directed and stronger. The rites are designed to normalize the speed of each chakra’s spinning, so that they are spinning at the same rate and are working in harmony with one another, thus improving our health and aging process. The rites do help our bodies as we stretch our muscles and joints, and improve overall muscle tone. However, the focus of the rites is on our energy centers.
Medical research can support the benefits of the rites with convincing evidence that the aging process is tied to hormone regulation. The rites are said to normalize the hormonal imbalances in the body and therefore they hold the secret to lasting youth, health and vitality. The rites stimulate our energy system to get the energy moving from our core outward to our extremities. The theory is that your kundalini (spiritual energy) is stored at the base of your spine and that the five rites enable us to access that energy in an easy and efficient manner.
Key points to remember as you practice the Ancient Tibetan Rites:
- Start with 3 repetitions of each exercise and gradually increase the number over time.
- Perform each exercise up to 21 times, as the Tibetans believe the number 21 is a perfect, mystical number. According to the Tibetans, doing more that 21 times can cause the rites to lose effectiveness.
The routine can take from 10-20 minutes. - Do it daily if you can. It is a great way to warm up for other yoga poses.
- You should never feel exhausted. If you begin to lose your breath that it is an indication that you are low on oxygen and should slow down.
Maintain an emphasis on synchronizing your breath with your movement, not on speed or number of repetitions. - Have fun!
Contraindications If you have any of the following conditions, consult your medical professional before practicing the rites:
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Dizziness
Neck pain
Enlarged heart
Parkinson’s or other Parkinson-like disease
Heart disease
Pregnancy
Heart valve problem
Seizure disorders
High blood pressure
Ulcers
Lower back pain
Vertigo
Meniere's disease
Weakness, stiffness or pain in the shoulders or legs
If you have any questions as to whether or not you should practice these rites, consult your medical professional.
The Ancient Tibetan Rites are included in our Great Yoga Poses II Collection. Click here to view the collection.
Aromatic Neti Salt from Into The Scented Garden
Recently, I wrote a term paper for a college course I was taking on “Plants, We Eat, Drink and Smoke Them”. The assignment was to interview and write about a business that produced products that used plants. I immediately thought about a product I use every day, Into the Scented Garden Aromatic Neti Salt. Conveniently, I was visiting in California and I had the opportunity to visit Into the Scented Garden and interview the owner, Dorothy Severns. The interview provided insight on what inspired her to create Aromatic Salt for jala neti and the process she went through to determine what essentials oils should be in the aromatic blend. This is a product that I am passion about, because it has helped me so much with my own allergies and keeping me healthier with my frequent air travel. If you wonder about jala neti and how you can enhance its benefits, read my paper by clicking here.
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