Fitrah Forum

ALLEVIATING LOWER BACK PAIN

Elongating the spine decompresses the discs and relieves muscle and tendon strain. The spine is constantly impacted by gravity. Excess curvature of the spine causes muscles and tendons to work that much harder to keep us upright. There are deep muscles that are never at rest when we are standing or sitting.

Posture is all important. By removing most of the excess curvature of the spine we use our skeletal structure more and our muscles less.

One of the best ways of doing this is an exercise recommended by Mantak Chia. He called it "Using a wall to develop the Iron Horse Stance."

1. Stand with the left foot a few inches away from the wall, The feet should be the right distance from the wall so that with the spine flattened to the wall you do not feel like you are leaning back. If the all were suddenly removed, you would not need to adjust yourself to keep from falling back.

2. To measure the distance between the feet, kneel down and touch the knee of the right leg to the HEEL of the left foot. Then stand up and you'll see how your feet are supposed to be apart.

3. Grip the ground with the balls of your feet. Allow the toes to grip secondary to the balls. Now equalize the weight over the whole foot, the ball of the large toe, the ball of the last two toes, and the middle of the heel. Allow the toes to relax and not be grasping the floor. (The ball does any grasping.) The feet are the foundation. If you are going to grasp, accentuate the grasping at the ball of the big toe and the big toe.

4. Bend the knees no farther than the ends of the big toes. The knees can be bent less than this, but no farther. (Knee strain will occur if you bend past the toes.)

5. Now we get to straightening the spine. Allow the lower spine to flatten against the wall. Gently roll the sacrum and the lower lumbar against the wall. There is an excess curvature in the lower back you are eliminating so be gentle and take a few minutes to just flatten your lower spine against the wall.

6. Now push back gently and roll the vertebra up the wall. The middle vertebra will roll straight fairly easily, but there is an excess curvature in the upper spine between the shoulder blades. As you gently but firmly push back, you will feel the middle and lower back lengthen.

7. Bring as much of the upper spine flat to the wall as possible without strain. Then imagine your head is being gently pushed back from the upper lip and simultaneously lifted by its crown. The back of your head may not touch the wall, depending on the excess curvature of your upper back. This excess curvature will be eliminated over time.

8. Now lean forward at T-11 and gently roll the spine up the wall pressing the head back from the upper lip. Repeat several times.

9. Now let your butt sink down, bend your knees a little, and feel your lower back stretch downward. Feel your vertebrae pulling apart and stretching. Breathe deeply and feel your spine lengthen and become straight. When you can stretch the lower back no further, lift your head a little and feel the upper vertebra pull apart. Breathe deeply and gently.

Tuck in your chin. Push back at C-7. Relax. Feel the stretch.

Once you have stretched your spine for ten, fifteen or twenty minutes, now you can gently bend, twist, touch your toes, whatever.

Soon, with practice, the excess curvature in your spine will disappear and your posture will be so improved all strain and pain will be a thing of the past.

Peace

Robert Hemmerle

YOGA POSTURES NEEDED

Letters are spiritual symbols. In some wisdom systems letters form the elements of oracles. In the Yoruba Ifa divination system the Odu symbols are letters.

In the ancient lunar-based astrology system 28 constellations were used to study the primary energy patterns. The 28 Arabic letters symbolize those constellations.

There are yoga postures which correspond to the letters and help to draw that energy down to the physical body.

I am writing a series of essays on these letters and would like to include photographs of the postures with the articles. See the Alif or Ba letter articles for a sample of the series.

If you’d like to have your photo included please mail me one or more photos of yourself in yoga postures (no Polaroid's please). Mail to:

Amir Fatir #137010
Delaware Correctional Center
1181 Paddock Road
Smyrna, DE 19977
USA

or e-mail your picture to the address below

I want to thank you for writing such a profound book "Why Does Muhammad... Murder the Devil". I am so happy that finally someone sees the inner meaning of these lessons. I know so many people who get caught up in the exoteric side of the lesson and scoff at a possible esoteric meaning of the lessons. I guess the inner meaning is not meant for everyone. For each individual is on a different level of consciousness and spiritual evolution. I became aware of your book through your website which also speaks about some of the Lost-Found lessons. I noticed at the end of the book you mentioned that if it be the will of Allah you will decipher other lessons in the future. I was wondering if you wrote any other books on the lessons?

Dear Amir

I just read your description of the six sounds, thank you.

Interested in your discovery of the links between different spiritual traditions. I'm a recovering alcoholic and former journalist now living in China.

Tracing these traditions helps me to heal, would like to know more about the connections between these different traditions.

Thank you

J

Dear J

Thank you for your letter. I'm glad you're healing and pleased that spiritual traditions have played a positive role.

Most of what I know about the links between the spiritual traditions is on my page, probably scattered among a hundred articles.

I use to be a cigarette smoker. I used a magical banishing procedure called I.O.B. (Identify Objectify Banish) to greatly reduce nicotine desire and the Egyptian Men Ab to finally eradicate it altogether.

Now I find it hard to believe I ever smoked.

Some say smoking is just as addictive as hard drugs or alcohol. I dunno. Never used hard drugs and rarely drank.

I learned the Men Ab from Ra Un Nefer Amen's Metu Neter and the I.O.B. from Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick.

Best wishes with your spiritual studies and recovery.

Peace

Amir