This is a really simple chest opening stretch that does the opposite of what we do to ourselves all day long by sitting and slouching. When you sit and slouch, you turn off your posterior chain that holds you up against gravity (basically your back muscles) and your anterior line like your pec muscles, as well as contract and shorten the anterior part of your shoulders.

By lifting up your chest and taking a big breath into your lungs, turning your palms to face forward and gently pull your shoulders back as shown, you can open and stretch your front line, as well as activate your posterior line. Hold this stretch for 15-60 seconds as often as you want during your work day and you can help combat the effects that sitting does to you all day every day!

This is a simple spinal twist and it is designed to rotate all of your spinal joints in the same direction and hold for at least 15 seconds. This should not be done to a point of pain or a point of muscle spasms.

Spinal motion is the best way to stimulate and 'power' your brain and rotation to end range of motion gives you the strongest stimulation of this physiologic process in your body.

Think about a dog, cat, or baby and how they each have a way of stretching their body when they wake up. We are the only animal right now that doesn't move and learn at the same time because we have unhealthily conditioned ourselves to since we were 5 years old. This easy stretch is the best way to stimulate your brain and give it energy.

Standing up from your seat at work and twisting in both directions like this is a great way to feed your brain and keep it working for you through your work day. Everyone has 30 seconds every hour to get up and do this exercise to keep their brains active. If spinal motion feeds your brain, and you need your brain to work, then it is essential to do this! Regain your spinal and brain health by twisting and holding every day at least 4 times a day!

Here is a really great and easy side stretch. Pull one of your wrists up over your head with your other hand and tilt your body away from the stretching side as in the pics above. Hold this stretch for 15-60 seconds on each side.

This is a great third stretch in a routine that you can use 4 or more times a day with the twist and chest opening to help change the pattern of breakdown that your spine gets into from sitting too much. Each of these three stretches all do very different things for you and your spine to help change the pattern of the breakdown that we all get from our modern sedentary lifestyles.