Rite 1: Spinning
Realign Your Energy, Balance Your Mind, and Return to Center
“The world moves fast. But when you spin with intention, you don’t lose yourself.
You find your center.”
What Is Rite 1?
The first of the 5 Tibetan Rites is simple: you spin in place, clockwise, with your arms extended. But it’s far more than a movement. It’s an energetic recalibration that demands our attention and action.
Spinning mirrors the movement of the Earth, the spirals within your fascia and DNA, and the rhythm of cerebrospinal fluid through your glymphatic system. In just a few intentional rotations, this Rite engages the whole body. From the soles of your feet to the crown of your head, inviting your systems back into coherence.
Why Spinning Matters
Nervous System
Vestibular Reset: The inner ear (vestibular system) processes movement and balance. Spinning gently activates this system, enhancing coordination, spatial awareness, and mental clarity.
Vagus Nerve Toning: Rotation stimulates the vagal pathways via head and neck movement. Paired with breath, this can support down-regulation of stress.
Circulatory & Respiratory
Blood Flow Boost: Movement enhances oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain and extremities.
Breath-Brain Connection: When breath is synced with spin, the diaphragm anchors the body, supporting both cardiac rhythm and nervous system tone.
Muscular & Skeletal
Postural Integration: Staying upright through rotation activates deep core stabilizers (psoas, obliques, spinal extensors).
Joint Awareness: Arms extended horizontally engage shoulders and scapula, gently stimulating proprioception in the joints.
Fascia
Spiral Activation: Fascia is organized in spirals. Spinning rehydrates fascial sheaths and helps unwind subtle restrictions.
Tensional Balance: The golden thread cue supports tensegrity, which is the balance between tension and structure that keeps you upright and fluid.
Endocrine & Reproductive Systems
Hormonal Rhythm Reset: The spinning motion, especially when paired with nasal breathing, may support hypothalamic-pituitary balance, the master regulators of hormonal function. Just like the Earth rotates to keep time, this spiral can act as a cue for your internal rhythms to recalibrate.
Energetic Axis Activation: Spinning stimulates the central energetic channel (Sushumna Nadi), which corresponds physically to the spine, where many endocrine glands (pineal, pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, reproductive) are linked through nerve plexuses and hormonal pathways.
Pelvic Awareness & Vital Flow: Though subtle, the stabilization required through your lower body and hips during spinning can help you reconnect with your pelvic bowl, supporting blood flow, lymphatic drainage, and energetic awareness in the reproductive space. This is especially supportive for those who feel disconnected from their root or sacral regions.
Lymphatic + Nervous System Insight
Spinning doesn’t directly pump lymph like the other rites, but it plays a key supportive role in the overall reset effect of the sequence. Think of it as the tuning phase. A subtle but essential primer that prepares your system for what follows by:
Activating circulation, including gentle lymph movement in the neck and chest
Stimulating the vagus nerves through vestibular input (inner ear activation)
Disrupting mental stagnation and initiating energetic momentum
Even without direct compression or muscular pumping, this Rite opens physical and energetic space for the systems that follow to perform their deeper drainage and release work.
If you often feel “stuck in your head,” spinning can help bridge awareness back into your body. Just go slowly. Spinning with presence is the practice.
Why This Rite Is Foundational
Rite 1 acts like a tuning fork for the body. Before energy can flow freely through the subsequent Rites, the system must be brought back into center. This simple spiral does exactly that by:
Waking up sensory pathways (nervous system)
Reorienting the mind through motion (vestibular)
Preparing tissues for movement (muscular, fascia, skeletal)
Helping release mental “spin” by giving the body a safe and rhythmic one
How-To
Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
Spread both arms out to the sides, parallel to the ground.
Begin spinning clockwise, to the right, slowly and gently, with awareness.
Inhale and exhale through your nose as you spin.
Start with 3 spins and gradually build up to 21 over time.
Let your breath anchor you. Keep your eyes soft. Feel the centerline of your body even as the world spins around you.
Pause + Ground
After spinning, bring your hands to your heart or forehead and stand still for 10–30 seconds. Let your body settle. This pause is part of the practice.
Somatic Awareness Cues
Keep your gaze soft, not fixed or frantic.
Let your breath guide your pace. You’re not rushing to 21.
Feel your feet on the ground as you turn. Imagine a golden thread running up your spine, keeping you upright and centered.
Stop immediately if you feel lightheaded, especially if you're new to spinning or working with nervous system dysregulation.
Final Note: Spiral as Symbol
In nature, the spiral is the architecture of growth. Shells, galaxies, water currents, our very DNA, all follow this sacred geometry. When you spin, you’re not just moving. You’re returning, resetting, and recalibrating.
It’s easy to get swept up in external noise, such as deadlines, emotions, and societal roles. Spinning reminds you that no matter how fast life moves, there is a still point within. A place you can return to. A presence that doesn’t spin out.
Reflection Questions
What pulls me off center most often?
Where in my life do I need to return to rhythm?
Can I let movement bring me back to presence, instead of control?
Practice It With Me
This Rite is included in my 2-minute guided video a full reset practice you can return to daily.
Start with just a few rotations. Let your body lead.
Ready for the Next Rite?
Once you've returned to center, the body is primed for flow.
Rite 2 picks up where Rite 1 leaves off… transforming spiral energy into a rhythmic dance between breath, core, and spine.
This next movement awakens the lower energy centers, opens the front body, and introduces the first real pulse of dynamic lymphatic pumping and spinal activation.
It’s a simple movement, but the impact is deep: balancing fire with fluidity, movement with stillness, grounding with breath.
👉 Explore Rite 2: Awaken the Spine & Ignite the Breath
Learn how this foundational movement regulates your energy, supports core strength, and moves stuck tension through your entire system.
Rites Journey
Intro: The 5 Tibetan Rites
Rite 1: Spinning
Rite 2: Leg Raises
Rite 3: Camel
Rite 4: Tabletop
Rite 5: Up Dog to Down Dog
Anchoring the Five Rites: A Return to Rhythm
