The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 25, 1904, Page 11

THE SAN FRANCISCO SU U7x4/J ’ VERY now and then a cry comes from Paris “that hips wiil not be worn this season,” or “that sle is to be the proper if you will notice there never ¢ a cry for flat-chest- ed, stoop-shouldered wonfen. Whatever ise Dame Fashion demands, this last is always left strictly alone, for she 1 I that such a woman is a model for her to hang creations upon. Now, every once that a girl is g her chest e really ought n a while it chances d to look upon, but n is not what it How does she e times out of ten she 1} the least idea of it until it is suddenly thrust upon her that she is not capable of taking on ordinary long breath. In fact, there are few women who can. Test your lungs just for the fun of the thing and see wheth- er you are in her class or not. Inhale & full breath and then hold it a few seconds. Does it make you light-headed or dizzy? Because if it does you should not lose any time in rectifying the matter, for it is quite as easy to de- velop the lungs as it is the muscles. Few women realize the importance of this. They wear corsets all day long, &nd snug ones at that, which not only Tamps certain organs, but prevents the taking of a full breath at the tame time. In all probability they do oot know that the pure air never reaches the bottom cells of their breathing power, and when such is the case—quite by way of accident I as- sure you—it rushes in with such a vim end vigor that it is quite too much for them, end a fainting spell is the con- sequence. Did you ever visit a gymnasium “and #ce & new pupll join the class for the first time? She takes her place quite as & matter of course, and the instructor or his assistant takes his place imme- diately behind her, quite as a matter of course, too. She doesn’t realize where she is deficient, and they are not will- ing that she should find out by having it knocked into her head. Her ordinary half-breath does not go to the bottom of the lungs and enter all the little cells whose function it is to oxygenate the bleod. Consequently the air in these unused cells is valueless, and the blood which comes for its oxygen goes sway without it. be Well, to know 1t? you ask sn't This state of affairs can go on day after day, and each day the left-over air becomes more shopworn and more valueless. To furnish the shop again you must take deep breaths, for this is absolutely the only way that you can replenish. Of course, every one has his own theory on all subjects like this, but I heartily agree with the per- son who said that it requires seven full inspirations to clear the lungs of the old and to fill all the cells with pure air. After this the blood goes bound- ing through the veins, and a peculiar sensation comes and makes you feel as though you had expanded a few inches in all directions. And, of a truth, if you keep up the good work such will be the case. I know it seems such a little thing to breathe, but it frequently makes the difference between a con- sumptive and an athlete. Did you know that there are a class of fresh air cranks whose only medicine is one hundred deep breaths a day? Upon joining the club all mem- bers pledge themselves to follow out this rule just as soon as they are physically able and the results are amazing and lasting as well. For thera is no use denying the fact that per- sistent exercise will prevent you from growing stiff or stout and that it will correct & multitude of physical defects which are merely the results of by hibits and inaction. NDAY Just before retiring at night or be- fore getting up in the morning, when you are still in your loose night robes, place your back against the wall as in Fig. 1, inflate the lungs to their fullest capacity and then lightly tap the chest all over with the open hand. Do this regularly every day, morning and even- ing, and see what the results will be. Of course, you must be gentle at first, but increase the force of the blow and the length of the time of holding the breath as the lungs grow stronger. After this exercise has been con- quered to a certain extent lie down on the floor face down with the palms of the hands flat on the floor by CALL. side as In Fig. 2. Be careful to keep the body stiff and then slowly raise it up by the strength of the arms until it rests on the extended arms and toes. Then lower it again until the chest touches the floor and at the same time be careful to empty and fill the lungs. I want to warn you that this is a severe exercise at first and one that will tax your strength to the utmost. In fact, I very much doubt if you can accomplish it without slipping down now and then, but it is a splendid lung developer and besides this it brings into play all the muscles of the chest, arms, wrists and small of the back and de- culliice al rome = MIEHLING velops every muscle evenly and strongly. Do not try to rush this, but take it very slowly at first and be cer- tain to practice it until you can do it a dozen times with ease. Always open all the windows to ad- mit the fresh air and sunshine, for both are deadly enemies of Mr. Microbe and are never so happy as when they are exterminating him. A good plan is to stand head and shoulders in the window and take a simple exercise. Do not be afraid of & breath of fresh afr. It will not harm you in the least; In fact, it will drive all the cobwebs away from a sleepy brain and give you a I'm-glad-to-be- alive feeling. Stand perfectly streight, heels together and the arms extended straight in front with the palms touch- ing. Separate the palms and move the arms backward, and at the same time draw In a deep, full breath. Next throw the arms as far back as possible while the lungs are expanded and then re- verse the exercise and exhale a breath. The simpler the exercise the more people seem to object to it. For some unknown reason they want something that is difficult, that requires time, pa- tience and practice to master and when they have reduced it to a sclence they are happy. The simpler exercises do not make such a showing, to be sure, but they are frequently as effective and that is what counts in the long run. Here is one that is absolutely simple. The arms are dropped close to the hips and then slowly raised above the head without bending the elbows. During this movement the breath {s drawn in and as the arms are dropped to the hips again it is ex- pelled. Some peopls advocats dumb-bells fow bullding up of the chest, but I do not deem them necessary, as the same ex- ercises can be gone through without them and with the same results. For instance, one of the best known exer~ cises is to rest the hands easily en the shoulders and then throw the arms out and back ten tir:cs, alternating first the right and then the left. The bells add a little weight to be sure and I will admit they are a tangible something to hold on but the clenched fists do quite as well and it 15 not necessary to go to this additional expense. The great point about taking any exercise is to be persistent In it. After a certain time there is bound to come a period of deadly monotony and it is at this time that you must get right éown to business, for you have reached the place where the work is telling and really benefiting you. You cannot develop your chest in a day or a week, or any other part of your body for that matter, but you can do a great deal toward it In three or four months. No matter how inpatient you are to forge ahead, never exercise when overfatigued, or directly after eating, for it will do you far more harm than good. Do you know what makes girls flat- chested? Simply this: When the lunge are fully expanded they press the ribs and the breast-bone outward and of course it follows that when the alr cells are never opened the ribs are not forced into their proper place and the result is a caved in appearance. And for this reason the simplest ex- ercises are correct. Anything that will call for repeated lung expansion. Hop- ping, skipping and jumping are all good, especially for children, and after one has passed a certaln number of years singing lessons take their place and are truly excellent. There are few women who read & great deal, who write persistently or who are afflicted with defective vision that are not more or less troubled with round shoulder This is one of the most exasperating afflictions in the world to cure and the first thing to do is to make up your mind fully straighten up I!mmediately. You will have to exert your will power just the same as every one else has to deter- mine fully to break a bad habit. Whi round shoulders are sometimes the re- sult of weakness they are more often the result of absolute carelessness and when such is the case it should be a mental and not a physical exertion. Nearly every stooper sleeps on a very high pillow, and this should be the very first change, for really no pillow at all is necessary, and particularly under these circumstances. But during the waking hours try to remember to stand erect. Stand up and look up, net down. Round-shouldered persons are not gen- erally aware of the fact that they rarely look people In the eyea as they walk. Thy are too busy thinking of their own troubles, and it is the easiest thing in the world to acquire the habit of prowling about looking at the ground and just glancing up often enough to keep from being stepped on. Now for this there are two cures. One is to practice walking about your reom with a book balanced on your head, and the other is to lace your hands behind the back and pull the shoulders back and force the arms downward as far as is possible, as In Fig. 4 Then raise the arms as high as you can and re- peat some ten or twelve times up and down. At the end of this time hold the arms down and roll the shoulders from front to rear, alternating the up and down exercise with the rolling one. And I want to tell you a little some- thing about this particular exercise. It has been adopted for general use in the German army and has been bor- rowed for West Point as well and all on account of this. Some of the men, especially in Germany, wers powerful, big fellows, but they couldn’'t stand erect to save their lives. Perhaps their work had been picking up vegetables or working with a hoe, where they weras continually bending over. In all other ways their bodies wers strong and powerful, but in this respect they were sadly lacking, and the looks of the army were anything but pleasing. Yet the fault could not be laid at the door. of the soldiers. They honestly tried to stand up, but it was a physical Impos- sibility. Instead of giving them all sorts and conditions of exercises to de- velop first this part and then that, the officers put them to work at this one alone, and to-day there is not an army that boasts of more erect soldlery men than that of Germany. There is but one more exercise that 1 wish to speak of, and that is Na. 3. The dlaphragm is drawn up inte the chest as far as is possible, and the breath is exhaled by saying “ho!” Don't think this is a bit of foolish- ness, but, belleve me, unless “hol™ is said In a loud, sharp tone, the results are very far from being satisfactory, for it is this sudden pressure that ls 80 beneficial. to DON'T want to stay on this earth after I have outlived my enthusiasms,” said a. bright, ambitious young woman the other day. Let us hope that life will deal kindly with her, and that her pluck amd courage will be sufficiently abundant to satisfy this desire. But the cold fact is that multitudes of per- sons have outgrown their enthusiasms, if they ever had any. They have lost their relish for life. They have become routine men and women. Even that disagreeable adjective blase fits some of them. And yet sometimes you find living in the same house with them, working in the same office, men and women whose hearts are not extinct craters in which repese the cinders and ashes of former hopes and desires. For them every day is a new beginning; life to them is no treadmill, even though they are chained to routine. Expectancy, eagerness, ardor are writ- ten in the lines of their faces. ‘What is the secret of this perpetual enthusiasm? One cannot easily with- stand the enthusiasm of a crowd. Even unresponsive natures are stirred by a great political convention hurrahing for its candidate or by a splendid mass meeting in the Interests of some great reform or missionary enterprise or by a jolly college reunion. But such ex- citing occasions come but infrequently and if we depend on them only our store of enthusiasm will speedily run out and from the pinnacle of our tem- your porary mouml_.[!_mn!! we -hnl{b. no strong central purpose to plunged into the abyss of the reaction which always follows moments sur- charged with unusual feeling. We may avoid such an unfortunate outcome by having a definite and worthy object in life. If you really want to do something, to acquire profi- ciency in musie or art, to be the best housekeeper on the street, to succeed in business or in a profession, to write a book, to become an authority on some subject, to lift the tone of politics in *Ghe Secret of Enthusiasm your district, to straighten some crook- ed path, to remove the stumbling stones that impede your neighbor’'s advance, to bring an influence to bear upon one other life that shall keep it true, pure and aspiring—why, then you have a reason for being enthusiastic, for you have something worth while to live for and that constantly renews one’s inter- est in life. The main trouble with our unenthusiastic friends is that they are drifting along from day to day animate stroy and inspire them. But enthusiasm depends alse upon leadership. We are so built that the best that is in us is drawn out when some person, living or dead, by the nobility of his character or the glory of his achievements, or by both, lays hold on our imagination and our affection. kindles within us a desire to be like him and knits out hearts to him in bonds of a deep, undying attachment. The hero- worshiper in us dies hard, and when it is dead our capacity for enthusiasm usually dies also. There are many lead- ers of thought and action available out of the ranks of the heroes and heroines of this and of past centuries. Somse ons or two each of us must choose. And the enthusiasm that lasts must have, as the make-up of the word shows, something of the divine in it. Enthusiasm really means to be or “possessed by a god.” One may find it hard to be enthusiastic over himself, in view of the Iimitations of one's knowledge and strength and one’s nu- merous shortcomings and misdeeds, but if we are children of the highest then the divine nature is surging to and fro in our veins, though we often fail to realize the splendid fact. To be linked with God is to have a share in his vital- ity, his exuberance of being, and out of this fellowship must come an enthu- slasm great and enduring enough to buoy one up am!d all the tempests, to speed us onward despite every ob- stacle. Only let us respect this divine nature and guard it from every influ. ence that would contaminate and de- it £ THH PARSON.