Improve Your Energy with Proper Posture
Correct, upright posture is essential to maximizing your energy.
The spine is the major conductor of nerve messages. Its health is critical to the proper functioning of the organs.
A straight, elongated spine supported by strong, limber musculature is critical to 
boosting your energy levels. Most people have the opposite: a weak, compressed spine surrounded by chronically tight, even painful, muscles. In fact, it's been reported that 80 percent of us will suffer from lower back pain at some point in our lives.
One of the easiest and simplest ways to improve your posture is to visualize that your sternum (breastbone) is on a string that is hanging straight down from the ceiling.
First, attend to how you are sitting or standing right now. Are you a little slouched or hunched? Are your shoulders rolled forward? Is your head inclined forward?
Now, imagine a string is attached to your sternum. An invisible someone hidden in the ceiling is pulling the string straight up. What happens? If you do this correctly, your sternum lifts, your chest sticks out a bit, your shoulders naturally rotate back, and your back straightens.
You should be vigilant about your posture, whether sitting or standing. It's so easy to slump or hunch, especially when you are tired.
I particularly have to watch myself when I am clacking away on the computer. I have trained myself to periodically check and adjust my posture. On the days when I don't do this, I find that my shoulders, neck and back are stiff.
We were watching the Eastern Conference hockey playoffs last night between the Bruins and the Lightning. (Since my Caps are out of things, I am rooting for the Bruins.)
Every game in the playoffs is hard-fought and action-packed. Hockey players are among the best conditioned athletes. However, toward the end of games, you will see some of them hunched over, their sticks on their knees, gasping for breath.
You see this in other sports as well. Basketball comes to mind. Toward the end of the game, as they become more fatigued, many players will bend forward and put their hands on their knees during any break in the action. (I did this plenty of times when I played hoops.)
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