Until recently I never realized the importance of playing relaxed. I had always done my best to remain as calm and relaxed as I could in any given musical situation. Then I was involved in a car accident and over night my life changed. My passion (drums and drumming) was put on hold. I found it painful to do a lot of things that used to be second nature to me. After drumming for 28 years I  now had to retrain myself in the art of drumming. Posture became extremely important to me. My chiropractor (also a drummer) reminded me about setting up my drums with the Economy of Motion in mind. I once again was rearranging my drums and cymbals with the Economy of Motion in mind. I needed to setup my drums in the most comfortable way that I would. These are just a few questions to ask yourself when evaluating your own playing. When you sit at your drums are you comfortable? Is everything easy to reach? Are you slouching when you play? Do you get tired easily when playing the drums? Do you experience back pains? Do you stretch and warm up before a performance? Before sitting down at your drums to practice try to clear your mind of all the stress life has to offer and think about drumming. I always try to play free