The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-02-22

Any woman can have a pretty figure
and graceful carriage if she walks cor
rectly, but to do this she must avoid
the two most common faults. One is
bringing forward the shoulders until the
back between the blades is curved
C"Bible Backed it is called; the other
is distributing the weight so unevenly
that the abdomen protrudes. The lat
ter will mean big hips as well as dis
| torted figure.
There would be no doubt of a woman
having her chest well expanded when
she walks if she would try to hold her
! self as when having a dress fitted.
| Then she appears at her best, a full
| length mirror showing her precisely
what she looks like. She will continue
to hold herself well when first putting
on a new gown. Its lines and tightness
assist in the reformation, but quickly,
as she becomes accustomed to it, she
Stacks back into the old carelessness,
and that frock becomes as the others
out of shape and stretched.
In standing correctly the body is
thrown forward a little, SO that the
! weight comes on the balls of the feet.
This mades a perpendicular line of the
spine, on which the whole frame is
swung. and by balancing an erect car
riage is possible. Throwing back the
shoulders does not mean, as many Wom-
en- seem to think, that the abdomen also
is to be thrust forward. On the con-
trary, this must be held in a trifIe, as
ii wall be when the weight is balanced
between the balls of the feet, and the
spine, for 1t is impossible then to make
the lower part of the torso prominent.
The tendency to lean forward in an
exaggerated manner, which is some
times seen, is ridiculous and affected.
1t will eventually develop the hips to
abnormal proportions, because they are
thrown out of place and the gait will
be awkward.
One great advantage of all calisthenic
exercises is the suppleness given by
which ones walk becomes graceful BY
having control of all parts of the body
and keeping them timber, they work
in harmony, precisely as woman who
is a good horseback rider gives uncon-
sciously to every move of the animal
she is on.
In walking there should be uncon-
scious rhythm and unison between feet
and hips and knees and shoulders
The ankles must be flexible and
spring with every step-that is, in adj
vancing. the front of the foot goes down
an imperceptible second before the heel,
and to do this the ankle joint must
NOIh. w Icil TIE WHOl6 IOOL goes down
at once there is the flat" footed gait
that is shuffling and stiff. Simultan-
eously with the ankle action the knee
must be ready to fall into work, bending |
easily and without effort. Otherwise a !
person will appear wooden in the walk |
The hips are not absolutely rigid. but
move slightly in the sockets. To exag-
gerate this in any way is to have vul-
gar walk
The arms, hanging free, move slight |
ly, but should not be swung, and the |
whole upper portion of the body has |
slight but perfectly unimpeded action, |
which might be called a sway in unison.
The head is held erect and the chest |
we'll expanded.
A woman who walks in this way will |
retain the youthfulness of her figure
long past middle age and she will have
what, for want Of another word, is
called presence" 1t makes for distinc-
ton as well as grace, and is worth prac-
ticing to achieve.