Personal development involves not only your mind and soul but your body as well. To truly commit to your personal journey you should make sure that your body is not forgotten. I’ve been on a lookout for a good exercise routine which would suit busy lifestyle for a while. I know I was asking for a lot- life hack short but effective routine which ideally would integrate meditation. Yoga is great, I do it too, and I know all the great benefits it brings but you need more time to grasp it and do right. I needed something what would show the effects straight away, was easy and I could practice it every day for short period of time . I was looking until I discovered T5T- 10 minutes workout of 5 x yoga-like exercises which claim to slow aging, boost energy, calm and focus your mind and improve general health and well being.

I heard about Tibetan Rites some years ago when I first came across the mention about Peter Kelder’s book titled “The Eye of Revelation” but I didn’t put much attention to it at the time. Few years later I saw in a bookshop a T5T book by Carolinda Witt. I think it was not a coincident that it came to my life again There are no coincidences- I must have attracted it to my life in a right moment. So i gave it a go. And I’m so happy I did.

Carolinda Witt and T5T

Carolinda Witt is an experienced Five Tibetan Rites practitioner and teacher, books author and an instructor of a unique step-by-step method of learning the Rites that she calls T5T®.

As Carolinda Witt describes in her blog:

The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation were brought to the West in the late 1930’s by a Westerner who went under the pseudonym of Colonel Bradford. The story of his experience and the instructions he received from the Tibetan Lamas were recorded by the writer Peter Kelder who published the original manuscript titled ‘The Eye of Revelation’ in 1939. This book was later updated and republished in 1985 under the name ‘Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth’. I learnt The Five Tibetan Rites from a teacher who had learnt them from another teacher – who had in turn learnt them from Peter Kelder’s manuscripts.
I worked with my teacher for a while (who taught the original method) and noticed a recurring pattern of people developing lower back and neck pain. (…) Our modern western lifestyle is very different to that of the monks. They lived in the steep Himalayas, and would have had to be fit to walk up and down those mountains! Their food production, preparation and day to day tasks would have kept them physically active. Since the Rites were part of their daily practice, they probably started practicing them at a very early age. If you compare their lifestyle to our own, you will clearly see that our bodies are under utilised. Because most of our tasks are repetitive, the same muscles get used in the same range of motion day after day. Other muscles become slack and underdeveloped from lack of use. The net result is that we rarely challenge our muscles, resulting in a reduced range of motion and mobility. (…) This situation is not an inevitable factor of aging; it is a lifetime pattern of not stretching and strengthening your body. (…) As our commonly used muscles get stronger and our under utilised muscles get weaker, we land up with imbalances in our bodies that over time are inevitably going to decrease our strength and flexibility. This makes us more prone to injury. Knowing this, I decided to take these ancient movements to the very people who help rehabilitate those who have been injured – and teach them how to move correctly to prevent future injury. I consulted with physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors; an occupational health therapist, breathing expert, Feldenkrais Instructor & Pilates Teacher. They all made suggestions which I tried out in the living laboratory of my classrooms. It was the trial and error ‘experiments’ in my workshops that ultimately evolved the flowing sequence that is now T5T.”

The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation were once-secret exercise program practiced by Tibetan Monks and now are adapted to the modern daily lifestyle. T5T – The Fife Tibetan Rites- includes 5 exercises:

1. The spin
2. Leg rise
3. Kneeling Backbend
4. Table top
5. Pendulum.

The purpose of each of the exercises  is to get the chakras (energy centers) of the body spinning rapidly and evenly. The chakras are located above major bunches of nerves and the major endocrine glands of the body. When chakras are spinning the Qi energy (Prana, Life-Force) flows freely through the body energizing it and keeping mind and body young and vital.

The idea (from monks teaching) is to build up to the required 21 repetitions of each of the five movements gradually. First you begin with just three repetitions per day for the first week, your body needs to used to it, then increase repetitions by just two more per week (or over longer period of time if needed), until you are doing the required 21 repetitions. Between each of the 5 Rites, special T5T Energy Breathing technique is completed three times. The whole program will take you around 10 minutes per day.

10 minus per day can change your life

10 minutes per day is all you need to:

• Turn back the clock
• Slow aging
• Increase energy
• Calm the mind
• Strengthen the body
• Improve mental clarity and focus
• Reduce stress
• Improve strength and flexibility
• Improve breathing
• Strengthen lower back core muscles

My opinion

I highly recommend you to try it! I feel really good after practicing T5T! I start my day with it 🙂 I’m getting up 10 min earlier to do my T5T, and I definitely can feel more energized. I’m also calmer inside and more centered and focus. My core muscles are stronger too.

I didn’t build my repetitions by increasing by 2 repetitions every week (as suggested) as it seems too quick for me. I was getting headache and was very dizzy when I attempted to do it. Only when I slowed down and let myself enjoy smaller number of repetitions for longer time (2-3 weeks sometimes), my body get used to spins. Just watch your body, you will know when you are ready for extra repeats.

I would definitely recommend to do the rites in the morning as you can enjoy the benefits during a day. Doing T5T in the evening can make you sleepless, you feel too much energy 😉

Learning materials

Visit the website www.T5T.com to download for free:

• the original book about Tibetan Rites -“Eye of Revelation” by Peter Kelder
• free “The Five Tibetans” Poster
• free “The Five Tibetans” warm up exercises poster
• free “The Five Tibetans” affirmations

I also highly recommend the latest book,The Illustrated Five Tibetan Rites , by Carolinda Witt. Paperback- $11.80, Kindle edition-$8.80

If you prefer DVD to learn the T5T then check the link to The Five Tibetans DVD: An Expert Teacher’s Practice Guide in a price of $20.10.

I hope you liked my review and you are going to give it a go. Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.