The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1913-12-25


velop power must have good quality
Of gasoline and good method of get
ting rid Of waste (carbon,.
If there is congestion throughout the
capillary vessels. which may express
itself in the form of colds, rheumatism,
govt, umbago and that tired feeling
which is so familiar to most people, a
large percentage OF energy must be
devoted to relieving the body Of pol
sons caused by these congested condi-
tons. This Is the reason why every
thing we take into the body should be
pure and have some natural energizing
property. This Is also the reason why
the food question is today one of the
most important problems. 81,
When we add to the natural poisons
Of the body artificial poisons. such as
liquor, tobacco. coffee and the various
stimulants and so called health bever-
ages, we merely render the body less
able to throw of its natural accumula-
tons. and the effort Of nature to throw
of poison is disease.
Exercise.
Exercise or motion is one OF the
fundamental laws governing all forms
of life. Even inanimate forms such
as trees and shrubbery thrive best
where they can be blown about by the
wind, which causes them to strike their
roots deep into the earth In obedience
to the law of the survival of the fittest.
Exercise serves two distinct pur-
poses - first. to increase circulation
and thereby bring all body poisons
to the lungs to be burned with oxygen
and, second to tear down the old cells
and make place for the new. Exercise
and breathing therefore bear very
close relation each to the other.
The first thing after arising one
should take at least three to FIVE min.
utes Of vigorous exercise. filing the
lungs to their utmost capacity, holding
the breath for a moment or two while
bending from side to side.
The best exercises are those which
are taken when the vertebrae are hori.
Zontal. 1t should be remembered that
man is of anthropoidal origin. He
has merely got up in the process Of
ages and changed his two front paws
Into hands. His upright position sus-
ponds all Of the vital and intestinal
organs in the abdominal cavity. They
are prevented from dropping to the
bottom by ligaments that attach them
selves to the abdominal walls; there
fore walking. while better than none.
is not the best exercise. With every
step one takes in walking or running
the intestines and vital organs are
inclined to go downward, and chronic
constipation and other serious disor-
downward pressure Of these organs.
The true purpose of exercise. therefore
should be to relieve this pressure. The
movements l would suggest are as fol
lows:
Place the hands upon the rim Of a
bnthtub,- two chairs or low window
sill and bring the body down until the
chest touches the knee; rise first upon
one foot and then upon the other. thus
massaging the abdomen with the
thighs, breathing deeply in the mean
time. This movement can be taken
rapidly. swinging the body from side
to side. thus bringing into play and ex-
ercising the muscles Of the back, arms,
abdomen and legs. This is one of the
best forms of exercise to counteract
the downward tendency of the vital Or
gans which our upright position has
caused
Useful work is very much more con-
ducive to health than any other form
OF exercise. This is true because of the
mental assistance one gets while per-
forming useful labor. ....> "..
To show the influence Of the mental
over the physical body a test was
made in New York not long ago as fol-
lows: A man was placed upon board
and the board perfectly balanced upon
a pivot When he would think strong
ly Of dancing the board would 60 down
at his feet. When he would think
strongly of face massage or of some
thing delicious to eat the board would
rise at the foot and would 60 down at
the head.
This experiment merely proves that
the blood flow in the human body
obeys to certain extent mental con-
ditions. Ii also shows that to gain
the best results from exercise what
we do In the way of work should be
pleasant and useful. II useful work
cannot be found. then we should con-
vince ourselves that certain exercises
are necessary, and the mental convic-
ton Of doing something healthful will
make exercise much more beneficial
than to merely go through a certain
amount Of motion without knowing the
reasons why.
The lungs are susceptible of very
great development. If the capacity
without training should register $50
cubic inches, by practicing deep breath
ing for sixty days, night and morning.
the lungs Of the average person can be
increased from fifty to seventy five
cubic inches. When this has been done
one can rest assured that all Of the
blood forced IN the lungs nv pXarcisa