Youthful vitality is mine now that I have the not-so-secret Five Rites

The cosmos must have a wonderful message for me. Or so I like to believe. Consider this chain of events, each of which appears completely normal, but which taken together leave me with the key to an ancient Tibetan practice of longevity.

Cosmic message #1: I notice a book mentioned in a recent issue of New Scientist, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor. Amazon offers next day delivery, so I get the book rapidly.

Cosmic message #2: After a few days of reading Breath, and trying out some of the initial breathing exercises, I arrive at the "Exhale" chapter. There i learn about a booklet written by Peter Kelder in 1939 that supposedly was based on esoteric stretches called the Five Tibetan Rites. 

Nestor is properly skeptical about Kelder's claim that he learned the Five Rites from a Colonel Bradford (not his real name) who uncovered them in a Tibetan monastery. Nestor writes:

Kelder described these techniques in a slim booklet titled The Eye of Revelation, published in 1939. Few people bothered to read it; fewer believed it. Kelder's yarn was likely fabricated, or at minimum grossly exaggerated.

However, the lung-expanding stretches he described are rooted in actual exercises that date back to 500 BCE. Tibetans had used these methods for millennia to improve physical fitness, mental health, cardiovascular function, and, of course, extend life.

Cosmic message #3: The universe delivers the Five Rites to my doorstep! All I had to do was revisit Amazon, search for "Peter Kelder Five Rites," pay $9.99, and behold, a copy of Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth is mine. It even has a foreword by Bernie Siegal, M.D. and testimonials from pleased readers. 

Being 71, I like this one:

"I not only feel younger, but am told by people who know my age (seventy-three) that I look twenty years younger. My doctor, who is fifty-eight, complained that although he jogs fifteen to twenty miles per week, I look younger than he does. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to halt the aging process."
       -- Jack Smithson, Grass Valley, CA

Me, Me, Me! -- I want to halt the aging process! (As an aside, I had a girlfriend in high school who ended up going to a private school in Grass Valley; clearly this is another sign from the cosmos that this book will transform my life.)

This morning I tried out the first four stretches/Tibetan Rites. I could do the first three without much trouble. The fourth is tough. The fifth looks part of the Sun Salutation that I've been doing as part of my yoga routine for many years.

Kelder's book describes the Five Rites in just a few pages. They're also many places on the internet, such as this HealthLine page. And naturally there's You Tube videos. The one below has amassed 2,362,000 views.

The woman demonstrating the Five Rites is easy on the eyes, so I'll be studying her form closely as I try to master the stretches as well as my senior citizen body allows. (Note that you have to watch the video on You Tube, so click on the link that appears after the play arrow is pressed. The ads are annoying, but can be skipped after a few seconds.)

Comments

[S]

Awesome, Brian! Thank you so much for not keeping this not-so-secret but somewhat forgotten technique all to yourself. 😂

It’s funny how the older you get the younger everyone around you looks. Maybe it’s in part due to weakening vision (that was a genius decision on the part of the Great Spirit in the Sky).

People in their 60’s look younger to me now and people in their 20’s look like children!

It does feel like for women the aging process is a little harsher. I think women actually age quicker than men (like scientifically, but don’t quote me).

Maybe it’s vanity. Although, “healthy is beautiful”.

The Chlorella and Spirulina have done wonders for my skin and metabolism.

The only thing missing now is The Five Rites. Should do a before and after picture that I’ll never share with anyone besides my cat.

[Sydney]

This is totally doable.

“The Five Tibetan Rites (the Five Tibetans/the Fountain of Youth exercise) are five simple kriyas* that you can complete in less than 20 minutes. It's said it will help you live the long healthy, vigorous life similarly to the Tibetan Monks.”

https://medium.com/@paulinaannaszyzdek/five-tibetan-rites-morning-rituals-that-actually-work-since-the-very-beginning-44a3f40f8a21

[Georgy Porgy]

Wowzer!

[j]

You ban commentators who disagree with you about what to do with the Woo Virus, but you promote silly books that tout bogus Mystic Tibetan exercises that supposedly produce the fountain of youth?

Do me a favor Brian -- take down those two posts of mine that you gushed over. I don't want anything to do with any blogger that censors people.

[Brian Hines]

j, apparently you haven't checked this blog's comment policies. Here's a link:

https://hinessight.blogs.com/church_of_the_churchless/commenting-policies.html

I don't care if people disagree with me. I don't censor or ban people unless they are habitual offenders against the comment policies. What I do care about is the promulgation of false facts. As I like to say, everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.

Some of the comments you submitted weren't published because they were factually wrong about the COVID crisis and what needs to be done to combat it. This is a matter of science, not of politics or opinion. My commenting policies include this:

(7) No false "facts" about critical issues. As the saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. This applies to this blog, especially about COVID-19 and other critical issues. Blatantly false comments won't be published if they're about life and death or other critical topics such as global warming.

I very much enjoyed the two comments you referenced about RSSB that I made into blog posts, so I won't be taking them down. However, my conscience won't let me be part of sharing false information about COVID, because this is a life or death matter.

The United States, and the world, will be able to get out of the COVID crisis if we all pay attention to public health experts and the science of how a pandemic spreads. That's why I'm being strict about not publishing comments that downplay the seriousness of COVID and what needs to be done to get it under control.

You're a valued commenter, as is everybody who comments on this blog. Hope you keep on commenting about other topics, and on COVID also so long as you stick to the facts.

[Sonia]

OK, I got really dizzy after the first one. Like seasick dizzy. I don’t know how you can do that. The second one is the easiest. The third is a lot harder than it looks. 4th and 5th strenuous but not impossible.

I wonder how old she is. 🤔 She is super fit and pretty or “easy on the eyes”. Supposedly GSD keeps pics of pretty girls on his phone from the sangat. I guess pretty girls are a big motivator for men. ;)

[Sonia]

I wonder how old she is. 🤔 She is super fit and pretty or “easy on the eyes”. Supposedly GSD keeps pics of pretty girls on his phone from the sangat. I guess pretty girls are a big motivator for men. ;)

Posted by: Sonia | July 13, 2020 at 05:59 PM

OK, that came out wrong. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it either (not unless your wife is the really jealous type). And the pictures I’m referring to were ones taken at an event at Haynes park. I don’t think it’s like a regular thing he does. But the fact is people are naturally more attentive to pretty people. It’s like a subconscious prejudice. Beauty is a pretty amazing thing, though.

[anami]

Hey, j.

Your comments provoke thought, so I hope you stick around. Don't take it personally when we cross swords. It's only words against words and ideas against ideas.

[Sonia]

My husband was really impressed with this door to door salesman that came to our neighborhood this morning. So much so that he took 3 pictures of her. She was a college kid on one of those gyroscope Segway scooters going door to door using an iPad. He said he was just amazed at how effortlessly she was able to maneuver all the technology. He said he took the pictures of her from the side and behind because he thought I might get upset if he asked her to pose for a picture. (Yes, she was attractive.) His story just kept getting more and more ridiculous. 🤣🤣🤣

Then he came into my room (office) and gave me a Tibetan singing bowl and said that I needed to balance my chi. He said every time I get mad at him I need to try perfecting the technique of using the Tibetan singing bowl. 😂

So I did some research on them...

“The sound of Tibetan singing bowls and the gong harmonizes and allows deep relaxation of both sides of the brain. It stimulates stress relief on all levels and the elimination of toxins from the body. After sound therapy emotions are calm and the mind clearer, and the sound vibrations have effect on the body after the singing bowls have been played on it.

After sound therapy we are tuned again.

The bowl sings ''ommmmm'', which revives the basic DNA codes and activates the codes that we haven’t yet perceived or we had suppressed till now. Tibetan singing bowls are one of the strongest musical instruments for healing with sound therapy and vibrations. They are called singing bowls because their exotic sound continues to float for a long time after we have played on them.“

https://www.hoteli-bernardin.si/en/blog/wellness/2334-How-Tibetan-singing-bowls-affect-our-body

**********
This day has gotten to be ridiculous. Luckily we’ve been married long enough for me to let most of what he says go in one ear and out the other if what he says annoys me. I think that’s the hallmark of a strong relationship. LOL

[Jen]

Sonia: "Then he came into my room (office) and gave me a Tibetan singing bowl and said that I needed to balance my chi."

Thanks for the reminder. Long time since I've played this youtube and the chakra reverberations were so strong I'm thinking I have to do this every day now...

Tibetan singing bowls

Quick 11 min. Chakra Tune-up with Himalayan Singing Bowls HD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ar9vsmFhJU

[Lynn Wallis]

Hello, Brian. Very interesting blog! I like your writing voice.I am hugely interested in Benoit. I am very glad to discover someone conversant in Benoit.

[Brian Hines]

Lynn, as you can tell I like Benoit a lot. I must have read his book four or five times, enjoying it more with every reading. He had a unique take on Zen. Thanks for your comment about my "writing voice." I never think of writing in that way, but probably I should. I suppose our own writing style becomes so familiar to us, like our speaking voice, we don't consider that it is anything special. At least, that's the way I've always felt about it.