Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-03-25
CAlISTEENICS.
The Greatest Aid to Daintness of Fig
ure

Eft Nal Viz lldlltt IL lt4t me bllStl
must be paid for Il graceful figure by
III" woman whose aYocatIon keeps her
sitting in one spot all day long. The
business woman faces continually the
boSie of increasing weight. unlcss-if
of different physical makeup--her
particular boyle is the Ieanness. sal
loWness and angularity that come from
nervous strain.
But IS Is aeaviness Of Egure-that
gradual ard discouragng accumula
ton OF aesh about the waist and hips
that the woman WHO sits must tight
unremittingly. and with might and
main. And her weapon Cor the battle
must he, not diet. but exercise. Tie
Wonsan VINO works hard ali day can
not afford to diet, for diet OF a suffici-
emily stringent character to change
the figure is likely to sap the strength
when that strength Is constantly being
expended over daily tasks. Usually.
however. j listle exercise intelligently
undertaken and systematically pur-
sued. Will 10 more than the most aus
tere diet in keeping the figure trim
and supple.
:;traghteness of back is one of the
that demands constant sitting. Little by
little, aS the arms are spread over desks,
table or sewing machine, the shoulders
sag forward, the chest becomes com
pressed and that ugly little lump of
flesh which is 50 specially hard to re-
move once it is eSlablished-forms be-
tween the shoulder blades over the up
per spine. The woman who must sit
should cultivate a habit of sitting up,
away from her hips" that is the back
should be held erect and the upper part
of the figure should be allowed to slump
ldZllA down upon the waist and hip
muscles. The business woman. of
course, has no time to cultivate that
slo",.tly habit of sitting forward on the
end of the Suinc, but if the upper part
of the figure Is allowed to sag forward
from a bend in the spine just at the
Waistllne the result will be quite Us bad.
Gradually the flesh forming by reason
of tie sedentary position pushes the
corset up on the figure ard presently
the waist is found to be shorter and
thicker and the figure below it takes on
Il heavy, matronly look.
Half an hours brisk walking should
be daily habit, rcligiouslv adhered to
by every woman whose work keeps her
seated This walk is best taken in the
morning before the worker is tagged
with the days toll, ana no matter how
conveniently near is her home to the
street car line, Il part of the distance
downtown--if not all Of it--should be
traNersed afoot.
\ little business woman whose hours
are long and whose work is of the
nerve-trainng and harassinG sort was
so tired at night that it seemed that all
she could do at o'clock was to crowd
into Il street car and-after dinner
crawl into her kmono and lounging
chair. She Was persuaded into trying
the Walking-hoIne habit and soon found
that the brisk exercise and the oxygen
taken into lungs heretofore forced to
breathe the Initiated air on crowded
street cars, so revitalized her that she
gained II now strength for the evening,
and the music, light sewing and coca
sional theaters and concerts that had
before seemed out of the question be-
came possible in the evening hours. The
Woman who sits all day is really wea-
ried only mentally and nervously-not
lllHSiCdilN by cNe0rHS, ana often
brisk homeward walk, besides keeping
the waist trim and her hips slender will
clear the tired brain and restore tone
to the Jagged nerves.
The business woman who wants to re-
tain her good looks must give some of
the precious time that is hers for rest
and recreation to this end That is
she must sacrifice some of her reCrea-
ton hours in order to get plenty of
sleep for her needs and still have Il
minutes night and morning for the Gull
tivation of good looks. The - minutes
at night will be spent in the little min
istrations OF the toilet which keep skin,
hair and hands perfectly groomed; but
in the morning the time viii be given
to exercises. Light and systematic ex-
ercises every day Will do more to keep
the figure supple and slender than a
strenuous massage or really hard exer-
else once week. For particularly good
exercises for keeping down superfu-
Gus weight and an accumulation of fat
around torso and hips, are illustrated
There is no more efficient foe of far
than oxygen. Plenty of oxygen in the
lungs Will surely prevent an increase of
measurement in the waistline Five
minutes should be spent each morning
in deep breathing exercises; and these