Five Tibetan Yoga: A Dynamic Yoga Flow
When we think of yoga, we often think of India. But the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism, which first originated in India and on which traditional yoga practices are based, spread to Tibet thousands of years ago. They have influenced Tibetan thought and yoga practice for millennia. The spiritual and physical practices of Tibetan Yoga, like much knowledge about Tibet in general, remained relatively secret until recent years. Now, the secrets of Tibetan Yoga are becoming increasingly more available to Western practitioners.
When we think of yoga, we often think of India. But the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism, which first originated in India and on which traditional yoga practices are based, spread to Tibet thousands of years ago. They have influenced Tibetan thought and yoga practice for millennia. The spiritual and physical practices of Tibetan Yoga, like much knowledge about Tibet in general, remained relatively secret until recent years. Now, the secrets of Tibetan Yoga are becoming increasingly more available to Western practitioners.
The Five Tibetans are a series of five yoga exercises that are meant to be repeated in a flowing sequence for energizing body, mind, and spirit. Once mastered, each exercise in the sequence is repeated 21 times. (It is rumored that there is a “Sixth Tibetan”—sexual abstinence— but that may not be the exercise of choice for every reader!) The Five Tibetans were popularized in 1994 by a book by Christopher S. Kilham. They are based on a book written by Peter Kelder in 1939, The Five Rites of Rejuvenation, which presented a series of exercises taught to Kelder by a retired British army officer who claimed to have learned them from some Tibetan lamas in a Himalayan monastery. Some people believe his account is apocryphal. Whether authentically Tibetan or not, these exercises have proven very powerful for many men.
