What is 5T+?
An expanded form of the Five Tibetan Rites: a compact ritual that combines movement, breath, focus, body awareness and energy activation.
Short history of the creation of the 5 Tibetans
“A healthy person has a thousand wishes, a sick person only one.” – Indian proverb, quoted in Tony Robbins’ book “Life Force”
I could never completely free myself from the thought of what was the reason for the comparatively early death of my father, who was just over 60 years old. I wondered what I could do to keep myself healthy in the long term. While reading various literature, I came across the title: “Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth” by Peter Kelder, which was published in Germany under the title “The Five Tibetans.”
I began to practice daily – seven days a week, every morning before work. On average, I dedicated at least 15 minutes per day to the exercises. Initially, I also practiced in the evenings before going to bed. What benefits did I notice relatively quickly in terms of energy gain? It should be noted that my average workday lasted from 8 am to 6 pm and was associated with long car rides.
After a relatively short time of practicing the Five Tibetans, I could feel the positive effects on my body and psyche. After about 12 months, the benefits were clearly visible. I estimate the increase in general energy to be at least 20%. Back pain that I had since childhood disappeared. The quality of my sleep improved. I significantly shortened the breaks that were previously necessary during long car rides. Also, my ability to stay focused for an extended period of time increased significantly.
However, after many years of regular practice of the Five Tibetans, I felt a certain routine and began to expand the Five Tibetans with new content. This led to the creation of the 5 Tibetans+ program.
What makes the 5-Tibet program one of the most effective exercises in terms of time expenditure and energy gain?
- 5 Tibetans+ = activation of your life energy including sexual energy.
- All exercises work synchronously on the left and right parts of the body with the same load.
- They promote concentration ability.
- They keep the entire musculoskeletal system in excellent shape.
- They increase the production of nitric oxide (NO).
- They increase tolerance towards the CO₂ parameter and improve the result in the BOLT test.
Some important preliminary information
Breathing
We can survive for weeks without food, a few days without water, but only a few minutes without air. Doctors, athletes and non-athletes often pay more attention to nutrition than to breathing. What would happen if you reversed this situation? Improve your score on the BOLT test by 10 seconds, and you will notice that your appetite changes. Improve your result by 40 seconds, and your life will change.
You can determine your tolerance to the CO₂ parameter with the Body Oxygen Level Test, or BOLT. This test helps you ascertain your current status and track your progress over time. To measure the BOLT value, you need a stopwatch.
- Breathe in normally and quietly through your nose.
- Breathe out normally and quietly through your nose.
- Pinch your nose with your fingers to prevent air from entering your lungs.
- Stop the time when you feel the first urge to breathe.
BOLT test 10 seconds: Ten seconds mean that the breathing is clearly audible, irregular, heavy, strained and without natural pauses.
BOLT test 20 seconds: Twenty seconds mean that the breathing is quite heavy but regular. With this result, both the frequency and depth of each breath are lower than with a result of 10 seconds.
BOLT test 30 seconds: Thirty seconds mean that the breathing is calm, gentle and light.
BOLT test 40 seconds: Forty seconds mean that the breathing is free, quiet, soft, with very low volume and practically imperceptible. The movements of the chest and abdomen are minimal.
Breathing and holding your breath
Already in the 1st century BC, Pranayama was described in India as a technique of conscious apnea intended to promote health and prolong life. Similarly, Chinese scholars described 2000 years ago in a poem the significance of the trance state induced by holding one’s breath.
It does not have to be as ambitious as in the Gheranda Samhita, an important text of Hatha Yoga from the 17th century. There, even at the lowest difficulty level, it is recommended to inhale for 12 seconds, hold the breath for 48 seconds, and then exhale for 24 seconds. These texts show that holding one’s breath was recognized many years ago in China and India as important for human health.
Breathing through the nose and nitric oxide
What does breathing through the nose accomplish? In 1998, scientists L. Ignarro, R. Furchgott and F. Murad were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery regarding nitric oxide, NO, as a signaling molecule. Nitric oxide consists of one nitrogen atom and one oxygen atom.
Nitric oxide, NO, and its effects:
- NO is produced in particularly large amounts in the nose and sinuses.
- With each inhalation through the nose, this colorless and odorless gas is mixed with our breathing air.
- NO dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, relieves the heart and protects the vessel walls.
- NO also acts against fungi, bacteria and viruses.
- NO sterilizes the breathing air.
- NO improves communication between nerve cells.
- NO works against stress and depression.
- NO stimulates the mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells.
- NO is important for sexuality.
- Even in the fight against tumors, it is of great significance.
The 5.5-second resonance breathing
You accompany the 5 Tibetans+ exercises with this breathing technique. However, regardless of that, you can also practice this breathing technique separately under various conditions, even while watching TV, for example.
The 5.5-second relaxation breath at the end of each exercise is performed by inhaling and exhaling while counting to 6.
- Sit up straight and relax your shoulders and stomach.
- Inhale and count to 6 gently and relaxed, which takes about 5.5 seconds on average.
- Exhale and count to 6 gently and relaxed, which also takes about 5.5 seconds.
- Repeat the process several times.
Note when practicing 5 Tibetans+
The second phase using the breathing rhythm 6 / 24 / 12:
- Perform the exercises best in the morning, before breakfast, after you have drunk a glass of water.
- While inhaling, count to 6, perform the exercise and count to 24, then release the air and count to 12.
- Do the exercises relaxed, take moderate breaths and preferably practice with a smile.
- Thoughts create reality. It is the energy of thoughts that flows through the chakras and activates them in addition to the exercises themselves.
- In the second phase, initially perform the exercises in silence. Gradually, you can add your favorite music if the one presented does not necessarily appeal to you.
- The PC muscles can be additionally activated during each exercise by squeezing your buttocks in time with the counting. The exercises T1.1 and T1.2 are best suited for this.
- The numbering serves to assign the energy of thoughts to the corresponding chakras. Moreover, chakras 4, 6, 10, 12, 16, 96 and 1000 each consist of such a number of elements.
Some additional information that directly or indirectly explains why 5 Tibetans+ are so effective
- Every thought generates a unique energetic frequency, since our brain emits energy in the form of electromagnetic waves during thought processes. For this reason, the activation of the chakras also represents a physical process.
- Thoughts create our reality and represent invisible currents through which billions of nerve cells communicate, receive, exchange and process information.
- Smiling relaxes and can lift the mood. Even a “fake” smile can influence the brain through muscle movement and the release of endorphins.
- We can redefine the understanding of meditation according to Mingyur Rinpoche’s statement: “We can meditate anywhere and at any time, even for 3 seconds, 2 seconds, while you are walking, while you are drinking coffee or tea, even while you are meeting. Many people have a misunderstanding when they think of meditation. The simplest meditation training is: be aware of your breath. Just breathe in, then breathe out, breathe in again.”
Watch the meditation reference video on YouTube
Literature
- Patrick McKeown: The Oxygen Advantage
- Patrick McKeown: The Breathing Cure
- Ralph Skuban: Atmen
- James Nestor: Breath
