Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21

| If no one is handy hold them down Of
! themselves. Stretch the arms straight
out on the mattress before you. Raise the
| body slowly from the waist, keeping the
| legs and feet down upon the mattress.
This is no easy task, and the first attempt
Will result in a struggle with nothing to
show for 1t. An observer very likely
could not see that you had raised the
| body at all. Practice until you can.
Change Position.
! Now change the position of the arms.
Place the left hand upon the left shoulder
or let 1T clasp the neck at the left side,
while the right one clasps the right hip.
This Is based upon the supposition that
the right hip is the high one and that the
| left is the one to be raised. If the re-
verse is true in your case alter the exer-
cises to suit. Keeping the feet on the
ground as before, raise the upper part Of
the body in the same way.
Now up again and to the ladder. A COM
! mon ladder will do quite as we'll as one
made for gymnasium. Only see to it
that it is strong and firmly placed, for If
you are afraid of a fall you will not throw
good spirit into the work
Grasp the highest rung that you can
reach with the right hand. Give yourself
a sort of boost from within and grasp the
next rung with the left hand, and so on
up hand over hand. The higher you climb
the better. For this reason you will do
better If not restricted by a ceiling. Do
uOJ permit the 1eeL 10 IOucn Il TuHS, beIu
the knees, raising the feet and throwing
them out backward.
At another time you may practice simple
hanging on the ladder, raising the feet in
the same way. This is good for general
stretching. But afterward, specialize by
letting the right hand clasp a rung lower
than the left and so throwing the brunt
Of the stretching upon the left side.
Extend yourself, face downward, across
a small table or the seat of chair in such
a position that the body above the waist
line is not supported. Let some one sup
port your feet SO that the whole effort of
the body is to keep itself poised from the
waist up. The spine is Strengthened by the
effort.
Place Bar Firm.
Place your bar in vertical position 1t
must be firm. Stand with your right side
toward 1t at a distance of two or three
feet Bend the trunk toward 1t. letting
the hands follow, above the head, until they
can grasp the bar Keep this position for
ten counts, relax, standing, then repeat
The left side is stretched by the process
and the left hip drawn upward, so to
speak
Sit astride a chair. facing the back of 1t.
Let the hands and arms relax, falling
loosely at the sides. Bend the trunk to
the left as far as you can, bending in q
slightly oblique backward direction then
to the right in the same way. Continue for
twenty counts.
Lie extended on the mattress. face up,
hands at the sides. Raise the arms verti-
caly. Now raise the left leg slowly until
it is vertical, no bend at the knee being
permitted. The toe should be brought up
until it meets the left hand. Lower the
leg, go through the same process with the
right. Continue alternately for eight
counts. then raise both legs at the same
time.
If you will study the above exercises you
will that some are what might be
called one-sided, others are uniformly
stretching. You are not supposed to be
given only exercises that raise the low
hip, for stretching In general brings the
spine into a proper shape But never use
a movement which forces up the high hip.
Give yourself five minutes a day in which
to stand before a long mirror. Loosen your
dress to such an extent that you can see
the level of the hips clearly defined. Now
bring them into proper position and hold
them there, standing evenly for all Of the
allotted time.
Useful Suggestions.
Spots appearing on your face may be
moles, although they usually appear in in
fancy; sometimes, however, they develop