The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 3, 1901, Page 3

ATTITUDE IN WALKING, FROM SIDE VIEw _ ¢Photos by Alisky.) e e ol 0 WHAT TO DO. 1—Throw the weight of your body on the balls of the feet. 2—Take long walks in the early morning. 3—Thrust your chest for- ward. 4--Hold your head high. 5—Breathe deeply. el HROW away your bottled tonics. iet rid of paints and enamels. Learn to walk, Learn to stand. These two tricks comprise a big part of the secret of ‘“how to be beauti- ful.” You very probably think that you know all about them now, that you al- ways have known, that everybody knows instinctively. So we all do, Jikely enough, but we for- get. If you carried yourself when stand- ing and walking as you did when Yyou were a wee bit of a youngster you would be a better and a prettier woman to-day. Perhaps you are one of the few women who know how. This is not for you, thed, The rest of you, come forward. There is a tip or two that may be worth your while, The word *‘better’” was not used care- Iessly. It meant better. Ior correct standing and walking induce good health and good health ipduces goodness. You know that yourselves. Don’t you always make allowance for the bad temper and unreasonableness of cripples and blind pecple and invalids cn the ground of their ill-hegith? You call it an excuse for bad- pess, for cussedness in general. Can't you reason, then, to the converse? Correct standing and walking are val- vable as a means of improving one's ap- pearance, besides being conducive to good health, 1t is surprising how few women stand or walk well, Many go along with a slovenly, slouching gait, their shoulders bent forward, the waist line on a curve and their heads down, thus making a god-forsaken appearance, Not only do they mar an otherwise beautiful figure, but they utterly destroy their vitality. This is one of the greatest and most corrmon faults to be found the worid over. Women frequently appear to lack pride when they assume ungainly posi~ tions, but this is often not true at all; they may simply lack muscular vigor of the chest and shoulder muscles, which through disuse are allowed to starve and so weaken, In the end they refuse to do their duty, There are eertain muscles of the back, around and between the shoulders, which if not exercised by holding a proper posi- tiorn of the body and other daily exereise weaken and naturally incline to let the shoulders droop forward. This in a short time gives what we call round shoulders, or & bottle back, Never resort to the aid of shoulder THE SUNDAY (‘/\'Jl’l. i This is all that its title implies—“An Easy Lesson in Physical Culture.” No apparatus is requircd. Very little time is needed. All you have to do is to keep a few simple rules in mind and then see that you live up to them. Other papers will follow this one, every one of which will aim at common sense and the greatest benefit for the least trouble. These articles have been written by a woman who has made a life study of physical culiure, and they are written entirely for women. « braces, for they only tend to make mat- ters worse, Exercise the shoulders dally by the use of dumbbells until they be- come strorg enough to keep from droop- ing. You will be surprised how easily the shoulders will "assume their proper position, Carrying the body properly tends to produce a better mental condition. One is more cheerful and capable of doing bet- ter mental work. Standing improperly is noticeable in its influence on the digestive organs. When the shoulders are held correctly the stom- ach is held higher and is more free; in this way it more readily performs the work of digestion. The same with the lungs; the chest being thrust out, the lungs are mnrv‘[rvu, and one is able to breathe much more deeply, People as a rule do not seem to realize how necessary aireis to.the lungs, and yet they know they could not live twenty minutes without it. Then if air is of such vast importance, if it is so necessary to life, why rot take in all the fresh air we can get? The failure to breathe properly un- doubtedly causes many cases of consump- tion yearly. If those who have a tendency to lung trouble would take early morning walks in the bracing fresh air, first sipping a i e glass of very hot water before starting out, and if they would pay a great deal of attention to breathing, inhaling long and deeply through the nostrils, and ex- haling slowly through the mouth, and if they would walk with a guick, regular stride, holding the body erect with chest prominent, it is more than probable that in a few months they would forget that they ever thought of lung trouble, There is no need to rob yourself of needed sleep for this walk; 7 o'clock in the morning is early enough for bracing air. You can walk briskly, for about twenty-five or thirty minutes just before breakfast. If walking is very agreeable to you take an hour's walk, but not as long as that if it tires. Gradually in- crease the walk. It is too bad that most women do not take more plegsure in this exhilarating exereise. How often they exclaim: *“Oh, how I hate to walk! I never walk when I ean ride.” This ac- counts for the slove nly gaits so often seen and ridiculed. 8o long as these women think' walking so disagreeable they will never know that there is more real, throbbing, pulsating joy in it than in any other exercise. Cultivate your deter- mination and carry yourself past the period when walking tires. Try walk. ing a short distance at first, and gradu- ally increase until the exercise becomesg a CORRECT POsITION FOR WALKING e ——— - - —_— | WHAT NOT TO DO. 1—Don’t throw the weight of your body on your heels. 2—Don’t let your shoulders droop forward. 3—Don’t let streetcars spoil you. - - 4—Don’t carry your head down. 5—Don’t slouch. 5 1 i () pleasure. Here are a few suggestions for walking and standing which any one can follow without special instruction: Women generally stand and walk with the weight of the body thrown on the heels. This position throws the body backward and makes the abdomen pro- trude, which is decidedly to be avoided, as it has a tendency to enlarge the abdo- men. The weight should rest on the balls of the feet; this throws the body slightly forward. This will seem hard to do at first, but practice will overcome the feel- ing of tipping forward. Y Do not hold the shoulders back; this gives the appearance of rigidity. Any- thing that shows effort is incorrect. Sim- ply raise the chest and let the shoulders ¢all naturally, thus giving the chest that appearance of fullness and strength which is so desirable. Hold the head proudly, which, of course, means high; this gives moré fresh air to the lungs, helping them to cast off dia~ ease, . Always be careful to carry the skirts gracefully; nothing looks quite so untidy as to drag the skirts through the dirt of the streets. It is not only untidy, but it is tempting disease, Tailors’” or dressmakers’ best work never shows to advantage on a bad fig- ure; well-hung skirt or finely fitting coat is wasted on the woman who stands or walks improperly. Why? Because standing and walking badly throws the lines of the garment out of their beauti- ful curves, Proper attention to the attl- tude is essential in preserving the lincs of ‘the figure and giving that desirable combination of good health, style and dig- nity, The kangaroo walk is to be very fash- jonable this coming season, One shouldl be careful in trying it, otherwisge one pre- sents a very ridiculous figure. Do not bend the upper body over too far; sim- ply rest the weight of the body on the balls of the feet as far forward as possi- ble, and the kangaroo walk will follow naturally. Lillie Langtry, Leslie Carter ani Blanche Walsh rest the weight of the body on the balls of the feet, which ae counts for the graceful forward inclina- tion of their figures, Once more--throw away toniecs, and learn to walk and stand, NOTE—-Next Sunday the lesson will be on some simple exercises es- pecially beneficial for stout women, If you are too fat throw away your bottles of flesh reducing drugs aud try the advice you will find in our next easy lesson in physical cultuse,