Centuries ago, India, Egypt and Palestine, with the Essenes, discovered and used body and breathing exercises which, when put into words, are called “Salute to the Sun”. It consists of 12 positions to be performed one after the other, so as to exercise all the muscles in order to be able to move on to the other exercises by which you can learn how to sit down and develop the control of the chemical and energo-vital breathing, before beginning the meditation.

The “Salute to the Sun”, addressed to the day star, bestower of radiation and vitality, we dedicate to Christ, because, from the first centuries of His teachings, the Therapeutists of Alexandria of Egypt and the Essenes of the Dead Sea, converted by Christ, gave Him the title of “Sun of Justice”.

 

These few and simple gymnastic positions should be carried out repeating:- Salute to Christ - There are 12 positions, but only 7 are different, the other 5 repeat the previous positions, as you can see from the illustrations. These can be done always, all your life long, before all other exercises; if possible do them at dawn before beginning your meditation.

 

The length of the 12 exercises is 3 salutes per minute, but in the first six months they can be done in 5 minutes; after six months, you can do 40 in 10 minutes. To do a “Salute to Christ” means completing the 12 exercises in the sequence shown in the illustrated diagrams. Teenagers of average strength and of both sexes should do 26 salutes a day.

 

Children from 10 to 15 should do from 10 to 15. From 16 on, and with good training, you can arrive even to 300 daily salutes (remembering that each salute has twelve positions); but in maturity, from 60 on, you should reduce them according to your energy. When you are tired, stop and rest for ten minutes.

 

When doing these gymnastics direct your thought to the part of the body to be developed. When doing the movement imagine that part. At the beginning, the Archeosopher will find it difficult to harmonize the breathing with the movements, but then, through continuous practice, the perfect results will be reached. By doing them in a room with large and well-positioned mirrors, and with the help of a friend, you can correct any possible mistakes.

Physiological effects of the ‘”Salute to Christ”.

 

The healthy effects of the exercises, accompanied by breathing, are felt on three fundamental systems and their organs:

 

1st)- the digestive system, with the stomach, liver, pancreas, intestines, etc, to whose insufficiency a major part of ordinary illnesses can be attributed;

 

2nd)- the respiratory and circulatory system, with the lungs and the heart, whose poor functioning causes coryza, coughs, asthma, tuberculosis, cardiac decompensation, etc;

 

3rd)- the nervous system, with the brain and the backbone, whose disturbances or disorders weaken the vitality and the mental and moral conditions.

 

Obviously, these three systems also act on the skin and endocrine hormonic glands.

 

Contra-indications: none.

Tommaso Palamidessi

excerpt from "SALUTE TO CHRIST - WITH EXERCISES AND BREATHING"

of the 13th Booklet