The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-02-28


strike the uninitiated with terror. Life
seems too short to delve into their awful
mysteries. and so TO the average mind
theosophy signifies clever sleight of hand
| tricks, and Delsarte is ever associated
with wabbling, wild-eyed women who
! pose in greenery gallery tea gowns and
| talk vaguely about "the cult But
when You hear a sweet-faced, soft
| voiced little woman in a dream OF an
ivory Grape gown. with cunning little
| silk bowknots all over 1t and great
puffy sleeves that suggest the wings OF
| Sandolphin. the angel of glory, talk
downright sensible things about health
| and grace and the relation of the body
to dress and how to keep from growing
old and ugly and fat, and when she tells
you this is "Americanized Delsarte" YOU
begin TO think that maybe, after all,
| there's something in it. and that Fran
! co.'s Delsarte knew what he was talking
about.
Mrs. Emily NJ. Bishop, who is the
teacher and expounder of Delsarte and
| physical self-culture at the great Chau-
tauqua summer school. has been lectur-
ing at Pratt institute, Brooklyn, on these
For breathes there a woman with soul
so dead who does not long to keep young
and slim and attractive?
Mrs. Bishop. who is a striking Illus
tration of the logic and good sense Of her
precepts, IS not a bit of a faddist. She
does not atttudinize, nor does she wear
costumes calculated to give any self
| respecting scarecrow an attack of nerv-
Gus prOStation. She is a tiny woman,
full of fire and dew-a sort of unpatented
physical dynamo. Her department at
Chautauqua is the largest numerically
! and financially. having achieved twice
the revenue ever secured by any special
class of work there and that too, in
spite of the handicap by certain limita
tions in the organization
saw Mrs. Bishop at the close of one
Of her lectures and asked her, How may
women keep from growing old?'
odd age is going out of fashion,
laughed the lady. "Seventy-five now.
you know, is only considered a reason
able maturity. Old age is not the lines
on the face that are the carving of
thought apd erudition nor the soft halo
OF white hair. 1t is rather the loss of
elasticity of the body, Of the power to do
physical acts that We're once as play to
us. If people will think old age and ex-
pect 1t they will not be disappointed.
Many woman of forty has the form and
expression of a woman of eighty. We
can keep our bodies young by systematic
exercise. Muscles that are not duly ex-
erclSed, you know, lose their shape firm
ness and strength. Look at the dancer
who at seVenty-five has the fiexibility of
a young girl. It is a we'll known fact
that women who are actively engaged in
literary, social and reform movements
remain young longer than those whose
lives run in uneventful. narrow grooves.
This is not so much the difference in the
kind of work, but the difference in the
thoughts back OF the work, for when
ones thoughts are not given to general
interests one becomes absorbed in self
FieXibility, the distinguishing character
istic Of youth, may be preserved by Ger
tain physical exercises. Obesity. that foe
OF women. should not be starved away,
but routed by certain exercises. Above
time"
viii you give some exercise for the
mitigation of abdominal corpulency?"
Yes. Stand normally. Slightly but
IlrmIy contract the abdominal muscles.
Raise the arms laterally to the level of
the shoulders. with the hands extended
palms upward. Keeping the arms and
hands in this position. slowly bend the
torso TO the right side After holding
the position q moment, raise the torso
10 Its normal poise; then let the arms
sink TO the sides as the breath is gently
eXhaled. Next inhale and raise the arms
as before. twist the torso to the right and
bend backward in a direct line with the
right arm. After holding the position for
a moment. raise the torso. untwist it and
then let the arms sink to the sides as the
breath is exhaled. These bending and
twisting exercises develop heNibility, give
rounded contour to the waist and pre-
vent an undue accumulation of adpose
over the hips"
You have given an exercise to prevent
a0lDOSe. for
wrinkled?"
"Onc of the places where the marks Of
age are first seem replied Mrs. Bishop
lis In the muscles Of the neck From
lack Of exercise these muscles become
weak and faced. \ very good exercise
is this: Sit erect, keeping the head well
poised and the arms and legs relaxed.
Slowly turn the head until it is directly
over the right shoulder; then bend il
backward diagonally until the face is
turned directly toward the ceiling, and
then rotate the head around to the other
shoulder; then slowly lift il and turn
it forward and to the right shoulder
again.
This is an excellent remedy not only
for wrinkled necks. but for nervous head
aches and pain at the base Of the brain"
What other advice do you give wom-
en- with which 10 fight off old age?''
stop worrying promptly and en-
phatically answered the lady. MANY
woman nuggets nerSeiI nearly frantic
useleSsly-stews, as they call it in re-
mote rural districts. If women would
but trust-learn the beauty and the
power Of repose. Think how much nerve
force is frittered away in little meaning
less MISUNDERSTANDING the feet hitch
ing the shoulders. drumming with the
fingers, jerking the head, clasping and
unclasping the hands, working the lips,
contracting and elevating the eyebrows
The majority of women are in state of
chronic tension. Tension causes fatigue,
inability, self-consciOusneSS. nervousness
and insomnia, and these ills are enough
to make any woman old and ugly before
her time The gospel Of relaxation is
the message to be preached to the nerV-
Gus. tense, high-Strung American woman
Of today. There are many exercises to
assist and accomplish this relaxation.
The hands. being the direct agents of
the mind by their tension and restless
ness report the mental strain and agita-
ton Therefore they are the first MEM
beers to deal with. Let the arms hang
heavily at the sides and agitate the
hands until they feel lifeless. Shake
them forward and backward. lateral v
and in circles, from each other and
toward each other When the hands
become relaxed. raise the arms above
the head. Hold the position for mo
ment; then drop the arms like dead
weights. There are many other exercises
for relaxation of which there is not time
10 speak. But every exercise is q phys
ical expression of the idea Let gol Let
go the worry and fret Drop it now
relax, rest N Y. Herald.