Maintain Your Body Easily With These 5 Simple Exercises
Getting a little exercise every day is
important for your health. Yet while there are various workouts you can
do, what follows is perhaps the only exercise you need to do each day.
Known as the Five Tibetan Rites, and also referred to as the Fountain of
Youth, this practice strengthens and stretches all the main muscles in
your body and will help you maintain your balance. Performing these
rites daily will therefore keep you limber and strong, no matter how old
you are. You can do the practice in just 10 minutes, ideally in the
morning, as they will give you a boost of energy.
Getting Started: Begin by practicing five to seven repetitions of each
rite and build up to 21 reps.
Rite 1
Starting position: Stand with your arms
outstretched and horizontal to the floor, keep your palms facing down
and your arms in line with your shoulders. Keep your feet hip-width
distance apart.
Exercise:
Stand tall, drawing the crown of your head up toward the
ceiling, then focus on a spot in front of you, so that you can count
your rotations. Spin around clockwise until you become slightly dizzy.
If you're feeling rather dizzy, interlace your fingers at your heart and
stare at your thumbs. Be sure to have a chair nearby too, enabling you
to hold onto and steady yourself. Start off with two rotations and
gradually increase to 21.
Breathing: Inhale and exhale deeply as you spin.
Rite 2
Starting position: Lie flat on the floor
and fully extend your arms by your sides, with the palms of your hands
face down on the floor. If you have lower back issues, place your
fingers underneath your sacrum.
Exercise: Raise your head off the floor as you inhale and tuck your chin
into your chest. At the same time lift your legs while keeping your
knees straight in a vertical position. Extend your legs over your body
toward your head. Slowly exhale and lower your legs and head to the
floor, all while keeping your knees straight and your big toes together.
Breathing: Breathe in deeply as you lift your head and legs, exhale as
you lower them.
Rite 3
Starting position: Kneel on the floor, keep
your toes curled under. Place your hands on the back of your thigh
muscles and tuck your chin toward your chest.
Exercise: Slide your hands down the back of your thighs, drawing your
shoulders back and your head up toward the sky. Your upper back should
be arched more than your lower back. Move your head back as though you
were drawing a line with your nose on the ceiling. Return to an upright
position slowly and repeat.
Breathing: Arch your spine as you inhale and as you exhale, return to a
standing position.
Rite 4
Starting position: sit down on the floor,
keep your legs straight out in front of you and keep your feet about 30
centimeters apart. Keep your palms on the floor alongside your sit
bones.
Exercise: As you gently drop your head back, raise your torso so that
your knees bend while your arms remain straight. In this exercise, you
are basically in table-top position. Slowly return to your starting
position and rest for a few seconds before repeating the exercise.
Breathing: As your rise up into the pose, breathe in and hold your
breath as you tense your muscles then breathe out fully as you come
down.
Rite 5
Starting position: Lie down on your belly,
keep your palms facing down and in line with your chest.
Exercise: Press up into an upward-facing dog by curling your toes under
and lifting your heart, drawing your shoulders back. Keep your arms
straight and look straight ahead of you. If you are a little more
flexible, you can draw your head back and look up and draw your hips up
and back, extending your spine into downward-facing dog pose. Repeat,
moving back and forth between downward and upward-facing dog.
Breathing: As you rise up into upward-facing dog, breathe in, then
breathe out as you push back into downward-facing dog.