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Lu Jong – The Five Elements Exercises From Tibetan Yoga

Lu Jong is a series of exercises, which are made from body movements mixed with rhythmic breathing.

It comes from the ancient Tibetan tradition of healing body movements.

These exercises are developed by monks from Bön tradition (an indigenous belief system of Tibet, well-rooted long before Buddhism was introduced) in the Himalayan mountains. They have been transmitted directly from Master to a student, to this present day, primarily by means of oral teachings.

This is the reason why Lu Jong is considered to be the eldest teaching of healing movements.

This is a simple practice that can be done by people of all ages and physical abilities. It requires no particular background or beliefs. Yet, this simple practice can surely change your life.

The Meaning Of Lu Jong

‘Lu’ means body in Tibetan, and ‘Jong’ means transformation, training, or practice.

Movement and Breathing

Lu-Jong combines movement with form and breathing. It also removes blockages on a physical, energetic, and mental level.

Specific movements of these exercises, accompanied by breathing, help unblock the physical body and the energy, starting a purification process of the chakras.

Similar to acupressure, these exercises release pressure in certain parts of the body and clears the mind.

The Movements Of The 5 Elements

They represent the earliest moves from Tibetan Yoga. They are extremely simple to do, including by people who are not active and usually are not involved in any other kind of exercise. So, flexibility is not an issue.

It’s good to know that in Lu Jong there are no performance levels that need to be reached nor any competition with anybody, simply you can do your exercises at your own pace, as long as you can, without pushing the limits of your body.

The continuous movement of the body calms the mind, while we focus our attention inward. In other words, this is meditation in motion.

Lu-Jong movements particularly pay attention to the spine, which represents the center of our energy. The spine is the base where all the organs, nerves, and body parts are connected.

An organ disease will start as a result of a blockage in the corresponding point of the spine. Therefore, by using movements that touch the entire spine and gently massaging each vertebra, we strengthen all our internal organs.

Benefits Of Lu Jong

From Tibetan medicine’s point of view, anything, including the body, is based on the five elements: space, earth, water, fire, and wind. The three bodily humors, wind, bile, and phlegm, are essential substances. Elements and humours must be in balance in order to maintain one’s health.

This series of movements gently works with the spine, the guardian of our being, and opens the body channels by releasing blockages and mobilizing misdirected energies.

In this way, we can effectively combat disease, transform our negative emotions and increase our vitality.

Benefits of Lu Jong exercises explained by Tulku Lobsang:

“The Lu-Jong Level 1 practice is composed of 4 groups of movements, plus two additional exercises.

The first group, The Five Elements Movements, balance and purify the space, earth, wind, fire, and water elements in the body.

If the elements are in disharmony, diseases of the wind, bile, and phlegm humors result, as well as the aggravation of negative emotions.

Therefore, this group of movements addresses these issues.

The second group is The Five Body Parts Movements. These exercises improve the mobility of the head, joints, spine, and hips. They open blockages and increase the strength and the range of motion of the body.

The third group is The Five Vital Organs Movements.

These exercises work with the kidneys, heart, lungs, spleen, and liver. Practicing these movements improves the functioning of these organs by removing blockages in the channels that supply them with blood, oxygen, vital nutrients, and energy.

The fourth group is The Six Conditions Movements.

These exercises address common ailments such as indigestion, tumors, water retention, low body temperature, incontinence, depression, and improve the five senses.

Finally, there are two side exercises that address difficulty falling asleep and difficulty remaining alert.”

Practicing Lu Jong:

Watch the video below.

Important Note:

These exercises should always be practiced as a group, in the order in which they are taught. It is not wise to pick just one or two of the exercises and practice them alone.

Doing this, one will unknowingly create more imbalance and work counter to the aims of the practice.

Final Words

These exercises involve body movements and specific breathing. Take a look on insightstate.com at Breathing ExercisesThe Five Tibetans RitesThe Yoga of Psychic HeatTsa Lung, and Nine Purification Breaths.

These exercises are part of life-long exercises and will increase the quality of your life.

These exercises are to be done every day, by any person. Physically, energetically and mentally, the body regains its balance and, in time, with the help of these exercises, you’ll feel better, in good form, and you will have better health overall.

References

http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=645500
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301792796_An_Exploration_of_the_Effects_of_Tibetan