Evening star., 1894-01-27
IN FAVOR OF SYMMETRY
Exa-.. a., rI2u
exercise the Abdominal Muscles 70
Decrease the Gfrth.

the Abdominal Muscles tn
Decrease the Girth, -
from Harper's Bazar
me tendency Of women in middle age is
toward that something which has been
oiteh delicately characterized as .embon.
point Given a certain number of wars
ana tendency to avoirdupois and tnva.
riaoiy the fatal signs appear: the Ian when
enc is seated, disappears, the girth below
.he waist line Increases out of proportion
10 tne rest Of the body and men and women
Vi miooie age find themselves suddenly
encountered with properties that never
seem r1ghtfully to belong to them-pron.
eiues as difficult to be rid of as the hold
'n .he Tabled Old Man of the Sea is
SAD TO have had upon his victim.
on the miseries of these properties ana
proportions it is quite possible to descant
at endless length without exbaustinp the
'heihe. every sufferer knows what they
are and has added to her own sense of
personal discomfort the painful conscious
ness of feeling the eye of every observer
taxing, as 1t were, her measurements and
condemning her outlines. Few sufferers.
however, understand how simple are the
means by which relief may come The
purpose OF this article ic to point out some
of them.
exercise of the abdominal muscles mas
peen found to be the most effective way of
overcoming this tendency to undue size
oeiow the belt. No part of the body is
generally exercised SO little. The easiest
ana simplest OF the exercises for the re-
ouctlon OF the abdomen is bending back
and forth from the waist Raise the arms
over the head, take in a full breath apf3
oeho the body back from the waist without
allowing the hip or knee to move. Do this
very slowly at first. Careful people insist
that the movement should stop the mo-
ment it in any way causes the woman main
or discomfort, while other authorities main
tam that done rightiy-that is, slowly
surely, gracefully and with precision-the
most oeiicately organized of women can
suffer no possible discomfort from it,
Great care should then be taken to do the
exercise carefully. After having bent back
as Iar as possible. with the arms still
above the head bend forward, still very
slowly, while exhaling, and with the hips
ana knees still unmoved, see how near the
hands can be brought to the floor. Prac-
tice this ten times daily.
An exercise rather more difficult to ac-
quire depends for its efficiency upon tbe
power Of the individual to stand upright
ana contract the abdomen at will Stand
ing erect draw in the abdomen. While
hoiding 1t in draw up the chest mot the
shoulders). moving the upper part of the
body a little from side to side to get the
chest well up. This pulls as it were the
abdomen after it, In this way the inert
muscles are strengthened and the weight
or the flesh Is overcome and distribut ed
ana opportunity for accumulation dissi-
pated. Women in whose families there is
tendency to large stomachs can entirely
overcome this, even on a milk diet. Try
this twelve times night and morning
A very severe exercise and one which
only sound women should undertake is as
1ollows: Lie f1at down on the floor with
c IN fhn ell ,f -
then raise the body from the hips Do this
two or three times. 1t will need great
practice to acquire this. but it is worth It.
With the arms akimbo twist the upper
part of the body. making it perform a
spiral movement from the right round to
the left. a given number of times. and then
from the left round to the right for an
equal number. With the arms still akimbo
bend the body again from the hips at an
angle. first on one side, then on the other
Standing perfectly straight. place the
hands lightly on the breast, keep the hips
and knees still, then turn the head and
upper part Of the body very slowly and
carefully to first one side and then the
other. as II to look at something back of
one. The muscles Of the abdomen will all
be called into play by this movement and
the weight of flesh overcome. The position
Of the hands prevents ones using the arms
to pull ones self about. The abdominal
pectoral muscles are therefore forced into
play.
If the size of the abdomen. as is fire.
quently the case. is the result of a certain
costiveness of habit. relief will come from
standing upright with the hands to the
sides OF the body and exhaling every par
tice of air in the lungs. contracting the
abdomen while doing so, in order to let the
diaphragm have fuller play afterward: /:
then raise the arms from the side till they
meet overhead take in full breath
while doing this, till the lungs are filled to
their utmost capacity: then let the arms
descend again as one exhales. Do this
twenty times twice a day. Not only win
the abdomen decrease in size. but the cos
tive habit will disappear as well.
While performing any of these exercises
no corsets must be worn, and the body
should be as free from clothing as possi-
BILE.