Bent Out of Shape

[dRider]

I hurt my back (and my pride) lifting stupidly recently. I live in a public dorm unsuitable to rituals or extensive meditative practice, yoga or qigong. Does anybody have any suggestions for healing practices? While I can't perform overt rituals, I have a pretty good imager and can internalize/visualize simpler spells fairly well.

Thanks for the assistance.

dR

[Vashta]

Ok, here are a couple of subtle techniques, which you can perform mentally if you wish...

They're from Serge Kahili King's "Urban Shaman"...

The first is called "Kualike", it is usually performed on another person, but if you can visualise yourself as the other person who you're doing the healing to, then it should work...

First, you need to adopt an attitude of freely giving and receiving, which you should keep up throughout.

For the first set of movements, touch each point lightly with your fingers, using alternating hands. So, touch each point first with one hand, then the other, then move to the next point (I felt the extra explanation was necessary to differentiate between this and doing each point with one hand, then doing them again with the other).

Touch for a couple of seconds, with an attitude of freely giving and receiving, then the other hand, then move on to the next point.

• Crown
• Throat
• Chest
• Solar plexus
• navel

Next, touching in the same attitude, but now with one hand on each side of the body, touching with both hands at the same time on both sides of the body:

• Jaws
• Shoulders
• Elbows
• Wrists
• Hips
• Knees
• Ankles
• Toes

Finally, raise your hands out beside you, up above your head, and sweep your arms, palms facing the recipient, across the front of the body, to about hip level.

I know this one is intended to be performed on another person, but you can perform it using visualisation. You would visualise yourself sitting infront of you, and you performing the above on the you that is infront of you. That is easily the most confusing thing I've written today

Another technique, from the same book, but unfortunately I can't remember the name of this technique. This one is really simple, and you could do it physically without drawing much attention to it.

The crux of the technique is maintaining a tunnel. Visualise your hands as being connected to each other by a tunnel, through which energy can pass in both directions, so by placing your hands on two things, you form a bridge between the two, allowing energy to flow freely in-between.

Now, place one hand on the afflicted area, and the other on another part of your body, and maintain the tunnel effect. That's it ^_^

Reposition your hands according to your intuition, but just keep up the tunnel thing. Don't try to push healing into the afflicted area, but allow it to expel and absorb energy as it requires. Your body knows what it needs, and will largely take care of the finer details for you, so you just need to focus on maintaining the tunnel.

I hope this helps, or gets you started at least I'll be happy to send some reiki your way too, if you would like that. Let me know,

[dRider]

Hey, I felt some tingling just visualizing while I read! It was due to trying on the notion of "freely giving and receiving."

Thanks for the over-explanation. I sometimes have a tendency to misinterpret things, so excess exactness is always appreciated. I'll perform this a time or two a day, probably. Back pain is a lose-lose-win-die situation. Really tricky...

And most certainly could I use some reiki. I have a friend in a pagan yahoo group who is also streaming live feed to my recovery.

[akimbomoss]

DRider: welcome to a world where you get the healing you want.

EDIT: A few seconds after writing this a lot of spirits just went to you for healing. It Happens TM (copyleft).

[dRider]

Thanks for the assist. I've tried it two nights in a row now, and on top of other things, have felt a friend working on me, sitting on my leg. Don't know how to explain it; I got the glimpse of a female and I'm not sure I'd met her before. I felt that vibed sensation of pure energy [Kundalini] running up and down my legs.

During that, I had a "vision" of sorts of a past experience, like a reliving, where in retrospect I realized how this one guy had taken me for a fool many times. I've known this for a few months now, but I started to feel embarrased at my stupidity at the time. However, as is my nature these days, I just realized that there's nothing I can do about it now except learn to be more vigilant in the future. There was a sharp twang in my lower back, and some of the pain went away.

[adawehi]

I practice an exercise similar to the one mentioned and since you're having success,, GOOD DEAL!

I feel some 30 or so feet from a pipe rack some years ago that left permanent injuries. I would also suggest to you to do some simple exercises to strengthen your abs and some light stretching.

The best ab strengthening that doesn't cause harm to your back is to lie on something flat and firm and position your legs as if you're sitting in a chair. Both hands at the sides and flat on the floor. Without using your hands, do a crucnch and hold for ten seconds. Do as many reps as possible daily.

Stretching shouldn't be done with cold muscles and this involves the legs so, make sure your legs are warmed up..

Stand with hands on your hips.
Lift one leg up as high as possible and hold it, then slowly rotate that leg holding it as high as possible to your side for a three count, then continue towards your back and holding there for a three count, back to the side and then to the front.

These exercises are ones I employ in my practicing of martial arts. I've used them for some years and found it's true that fit abs and flexibility decreases back problems. Of course, we all have to remember to squat to pick things up and only the Hulk can lift cars. [grin2]

[Rin]

Not magical advice exactly, but have you seen a doctor and a physiotherapist? I've had back trouble for years so I know what it's like, but the techniques and stretches I learned from a physiotherapist helped a lot.