The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1903-01-18
HOW TO MAKE THE BODY
1.-THE AND GRACEFUL

In infancy begins the training OF the
Japanese acrobat or the Oriental dane
ing girl who comes among Western ma
tons and astonishes them with feats Of
physical agility and grace. In early child
hood should begin the education Of every
little girls body. 1t Is then that phi ysical
exercises Of all kinds are q delight. A
girl from infancy to Is can perform with
without some training even to q young
woman of 20.
The really up to date mother dresses
her little daughters very simple nndi n
such way as not to obstruct at all the
free motion of the frisky young muscles.
There are some plain and not difficult ex-
ercise5 for securing Timber, active body
that suit equally any member of the fem
mime sex from 10 to 80. II q certain for
mer famous expounder of so called Del
sartism had attended to these as persist
emily as she sought to obtain pupilsA at
high prices, then at public entertainments
she would not have shown herself of as
an awful example of all that woman
should not be physically. She had classic
poses enough in a way, but she showed
to her audiences a kegiike body .draped in
white and 1t Is doubtful II she could
have tied her own shoes or IL when in q
standing posture she could have seen
her own toes
Now, let us say a mother has a little
girl of 10 and that she wishes to keep
the daughters body 1.-THE and willowy
and to make her own so. The two to-
gether can take the exercises here given.
Let all obstructing. clothing be removed.
Then let the two lie fiat upon their backs,
| full length, upon the floor, arms crossed
upon the breast. Next, without moving
| the arms. let each try to raise herself to
a sitting posture. The act must be ac-
complished with the muscles of the back,
| body and lower limbs, without any assist
ance whatever from the hands or arms
| 1t is well for this exercise, as in rising
| from or sitting down in a chair, to imag-
Inc for the time that one has no hands
or arms.
Possibly the little girl will be able easily
to rise from the fat of her back to the
| sitting posture without releasing her
| hands and arms from the crossed position
upon her breast. Probably her mother
viii not he able to do 1t at all at first.
But let them keep it up. Let mamma
leave her daughters new frock untucked
and without catstitching-it will look
| quite as pretty and In fully as good taste
| for a child's frock-and attend to this
| physical exercise at least once a day
for; say, ten minutes. 1t will pay them
| both.
After the mother has made her body
and leg muscles timber enough to rise
| from the fiat of the back to a sitting
| posture easily without the help of her
arms let the next step-be taken. That
Is to rise upon her feet, get straight Up
| from the floor and stand erect without
the help OF hands or arms. Again the
| mother will find difficulty; again the
| daughter win do 1t easily. 1t may be
mentioned that this rising from the fiat
| OF ones back straight up upon the feet
| without using the arms Is one of the
| exercises policemen use in their gym
nastic training.
After this feat has been practiced till
1t is easily accomplished. take another.
That is TO lie upon the back las before
and raise the legs and bend them over
forward till the toes touch the floor at
the top of the head as 1t lies upon the
floor. DO this many times, the arms
folded across the breast, as before. The
feat is really not 50 dificult as it looks
/ to be. Any woman can perform Il with
practice and perseverance,. Lying across
a chair. the head. If possible. touching
the floor on one side, the feet on the 9TH
er. and extending the arms beyond the top
of the head till the hands touch the floor
is strengthening and Strengthening to the
| back. Glory in strong back.
Let matrOn and maid remember this:
| Fixing the mind calmly and firmly upon
the task during a gymnastic exercise,
| keeping always before you the perfected
act as you wish to perform 1t. goes far
| toward accomplishing athletic culture as
! we'll as other things.
Mary Gould Lytle.