The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-01-10
Breath Gymnastics.

Breath Gymnastics.
The importance of breathing plenti-
fully Of fresh air Is an essential Of health
u generally admitted. Well ventilated
rooms, open air exercise and excursions
into the country are appreciated to some
extent by all classes. But the art OF
breathing is very much overlooked.
Being process not depending on the
will for its exercise, it is too much left
to the mere call of nature. 1t is, how
ever, an act which can be influenced
very materially by the will. Properly
trained singers are taught to attend very
carefully to their breathing.
When brisk muscular exercise is taken
breathing is naturally active without
any special effort. But when the body
is at rest or engaged in occupation re-
quiring . confined posture, and espe-
cially when the mind is absorbed in
thought, the breathing naturally be-
comes diminished and the action Of the
lungs slow and feeble. The consequence
Is that the oxygenation OF the blood is
imperfectly carried on. Even in taking
Q constitutional walk the full benefit is
not attained for want of thorough
breathing.
As q remedy for this it has been sug-
gested that there is room for what might
be fifty termed breathing gymnastics
to draw in long and full breaths, fill.
ing the lungs full at every inspiration,
and emptying them as completely as
possible at every expiration, and to &C
quire the habit of full breathing at all
times. This mode of breathing has a
direct effect in supplying the largest
possible amount of oxygen to the blood
and more thoroughly consuming the
carbon and so producing animal heat.
It has also the very important effect OF
expanding the chest and SO contribut-
ing to the vigor of the system.
The breath should be inhaled by the
nostrils as well as the mouth, more es-
pecially while out of doors and in cold
weather. This has partly the effect Of
. respirator in so far as warming the
air in its passage to the delicate air cells
and in also rendering one less liable to
catch cold.
This full respiration is of so much
Importance that no proper substitute is
to be found for it in shorter though
more rapid breathing. In short breath
ing large portion of the air cells re-
mains nearly stationary, the upper por-
ton of the lungs only being engaged in
receiving and discharging small por-
ton of air.
Profound thought, intense grief and
other similar mental manifestations
have depressing effect on respiration.
The blood unduly accumulates in the
brain, and the circulation in both heart
and lungs becomes diminished unless in
deed there be feverishness present. An
occasional long breath or deep-drawn
sigh is the natural relief in such case,
Nature making an effort to provide q
remedy. This hint should be acted on
and followed up. Brisk muscular exer-
else in the open air even during inclem-
emit weather is an excellent antidote of
q physical kind for a "rooted sorrow. -
And the earnest student instead of tying
himself continuously to his desk might
initiate q friend of the writer of this who
studied and wrote while on his legs.
Pacing his room, paper in hand with pen
Gil attached, he stopped as occasion re-
CURED to pen q sentence or para
graph.
Breathing is the first and last act of
man and is of the most vital necessity
all through life. Persons with full,
broad, deep chests naturally breathe
freely and slowly, and large nostrils
generally accompany large chests.
Such persons rarely take cold, and
when they do they throw it off easily.
The opposite build of chest is more pre-
disposed to lung disease. The pallid
complexion and conspicuous blue veins
show that oxygen is wanted, and that
every means should be used to obtain
it. Deep breathing also promotes per-
spiration, by increasing the circulation
and the animal warmth. Waste is more
rapidly repaired, and the skin is put in
requisition to remove the used materials.
Many forms of disease may thus be pre-
vented, and more vigorous health en-
joyed.-Chambers's Journal.