Tibetan Rites

Fifth Rite: Up Dog and Down Dog

• Begin on all fours, toes flexed, palms on floor, weight distributed evenly among your knees, your palms, and the balls of your feet.
• Throughout this rite, your hands and feet should be kept straight.
• Start with your arms perpendicular to the floor, and the spine arched downward, so that the body is in a sagging position.
• Slowly lift your buttocks toward the sky, with a flat back, lowering your head, so your body makes an inverted "V."
• Tuck your chin to your chest.
• Pause, then lower your buttocks while pressing your palms into the floor, until your legs are in a plank position (parallel to the ground), while moving your chest out and shoulders back.
• Inhale on your way up; exhale on your way down. Repeat, up to 21 times.

In the rite, your body is moving in concert, moving energy up the spine.Follow the deep breathing pattern used in the previous rites. Breathe in deeply as you raise the body, breathe out  fully as you lower it.Tibetans say that this special sixth rite will make you into a super-being.