ivities of the thyroid gland. You
cannot go through the process of training for a wrestling match
without stimulating this organ to an exceptional degree. Therefore, in
following the suggestions which are given in this chapter, you are
securing the full benefit of a vitality-stimulating process that
ordinarily can be obtained only by going through a prolonged course of
wrestling. There is no necessity for you to develop a "bull neck," but
you should make the most strenuous efforts to acquire a sufficient
development of the back of the neck to give it an arched appearance. The
more nearly you can approximate a development of this character, the
more vital will you become. And along with this superior power will
come a similar improvement in every other capacity, mental as well as
physical.

That there may be no mistake, let me reiterate: That the spine must be
held erect at all times when sitting or standing. That frequently
during the day when sitting or standing the chin should be brought down
and in with a backward movement, the head being turned at times far
either to the right or left side, with a vigorous twist of the strongly
tensed muscles.

That on every occasion when this movement is made, the abdomen must be
fully expanded-not held in or drawn upward.

That great emphasis must be given to the importance of bringing the chin
slowly but vigorously downward against the chest before the inward and
backward movement is begun. This insures a proper stimulation of the
thyroid gland.

CHAPTER V: Stimulating, Straightening and Strengthening the Spine

The human spine bears the same relation to the body as a whole as the
trunk of a tree does to the rest of the tree. If the trunk is strong
the entire tree is sturdy and vigorous. If the spine is strong the body
as a whole possesses a similar degree of strength. Therefore, the
necessity for a strong spine is readily apparent.

This strength is necessary not only because the spine is what may be
termed the foundation for our entire physical structure but also
because therein are located the nerves that radiate to each organ and
every minute part of the body. These spinal nerves control the
functional processes of all our bodily tissues and structures. If the
spine possesses a proper degree of strength, if the bony structure
is properly proportioned, and if the alignment of all the vertebrae is
everything that can be desired, you are the