The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-01
REACHING UPWARD.

Women who have time to anause them- selves by getting all manner Of ailments are just now interested in the climbing cure. In the language of the common people, this Is merely walking briskly uphill. Tn the language adapted to the aesthetic apprehension of the woman who has plenty of time 1t is walking at regulated pace over measured distances on ascending roads," The accomplished person who writes for the fine lady's newspaper, however. tells the fine lady on no account to undertake the climbing cure except after examination by a physician who shall tell her whether her heart weakness is organic or functional. That being duly ,ascertained. the accomp- lished person says that very often func- tionally weak hearts are strengthened through walking at a regulated pace over measured distances on ascending roads," Just so. The climbing cure is a reaching upward.
 Meantime not long ago a young city woman moved into another flat She was careless of the manner in which she carried herself, and she had acquired sunken chest, high stomach and shoul- ders already rounding into that stiffened bowed shape expressive of hopelessness and lack of '.get up and go." The new fiat had been planned by a man; hence the hooks in the closets for clothing were two to four inches out of her reach. She grumbled over 1t and said she would have to get a stepladder. She did not, how ever, but kept grumbling on and reaching after those hooks At first she aimed at them and jumped up. trusting to good luck to land her frocks upon them. This went on three months and stiil she did not get the stepladder. One day she sud- denly noticed that she was reaching the lowest of those pesky hooks without either jumping up at them or tiptoeins. Good. she said to herself.
 It next ocurred to her to keep on reaching up to see how many of the far away hooks she could get at in course of time. It amused and interested her. At length she found that she was able to stretch up with the great muscles of her chest and shoulders till she could hang things on nearly every one of the lofty pegs without standing upon chair.
 She had not thought of improving her figure in this way. But after she had been reaching upward after clothes pegs a year she went to be measured for some new gowns. Whats the matter?" said the dressmaker. Your old waist meas ure is too large for you, the bust meas ure too small. Then the back measure ments I have had five years don't suit. Your back is fiatter. You've been taking physical culture"
 So she had without knowing It. The reaching up for a year after clothes pegs that were too high for her had lifted her sagged waist and chest muscles till she had a new and altogether superior figure. Any work that causes a woman frequently to lift her arms above her head as far as she can will have the same effect. It will go far toward pro- ducing a full, elevated chest and a sight ly, fiat back.
 For soul or body there is nothing so good as reaching upward. It is a mis- take, though, in either respect to think of the upwardness as outside of yourself. The Power that created your soul itself resides within you. You are to draw yourself upward within yourself.
 Sit by yourself in serene. sweet tenn pered mood and inhae and exhale deep | ly and slowly. Sit erect as possible 1 Now notice. In the center of your body | in the region of the waist. you will feel | that seems to be lifting you | gloriously while you breathe. From the | lowest part of your back to the top of ! your lungs you will feel it raising you. Cultivate that lifting power.
 Mary Gould Lytle.