The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-09
"STRETCHINC'' IS
 THE PRESIDENTS BEST RELAXATION

If the President really has a favor ito among his various physical exer- cises, it is said to be that of f1exing. This he employs almost entirely as an indoor exercise. and it perhaps is the one he practices more often than any other.
 F1exing, as Dr. Grayson put it into it's simplest, everyday term, is noth ing more nor less than just good, old fashioned stretching" expressed in scientific and systematized form of exercise.
 President Wilson practices his f1ex- ing exercises with as careful regard to system and a great deal more regularly and frequently, than any other of his varied physical exercises. When he arises in the morning and before going to bed at night, when closely engaged in the consideration of weighty problems, during his sea- sons of reading and study, and par ticular1y during his periods of con centration when at work at his desk, as in the preparation of his messages to Congfess and in the drafting of notes to foreign governments, the President at short intervals will eith- CT settle back in his chair and flex his arms and hands and the muscles across his back and chest, or he will rise and stand erect for more thor ough practice of the fexing move Fo o4f~ more on each occasion At these times he will throw his body into al- most every conceivable human atti- tude, twisting, turning, bending, stopping, arms down, forward, back, over his head, the muscles of the limbs and entire body being fexed a1- most to the point of tremor, fingers spread and muscles rigidly tensed.
 Dr. Grayson explained the effect of fledng as principally that of elimin- ating fatigue" or waste tissues. The arteries have three walls, outer, cen ter and inner. Waste particles, in the form of old, worn-ou blood cor puscles continually are attaching themselves to the inner wall of the arteries, much after the manner of barnacles to the sides of a ship, or as debris which lodges along the banks of canals or other streams, thereby confning the flow of the stream more and more to the cen ter. Then during seasons of flood the stream flow is so impeded that somewhere along it's course there will occur either an overflow or break ing of the banks.
 The fexing or stretching exercises have the effect of whipping up the circulation without producing undue pressure, and so freeing the arterial walls of wastes, thus keeping the channel clear and preserving the ar teries in normal elastic condition, so that when there is a sudden increase of pressure in the blood-stream brought to bear upon the arterial walls, they will be able to give way sufficiently to accommodate the flood" flow and avoid the possibility of a rupture in the vessel
 In the opinion of Dr. Grayson, if business and professional men and others, particularly those who work at high tension in the cities, would pause in their work at frequent in tervals during the day and give few seconds of their time to the energetic practice of the fexing or stretching exercises, there would soon come to be not only less, but possibly in time no cases reported of this or that noted man, the famous lawyer, mer- chant, financier, dropping dead at his desk or in his home or on the streets, due to apop1exy caused by hardened arteries.
 Aside from some of the more sim pie movements along the line O the splendid system of exercises originat- ed by the famous Colonel Koelller, Physical Director of West Point, one of MT. Wilson's principal practices is that of body-twisttng.
 With the toes at a slight outward angle, heels touching, body erect, he begins the movement by twisting the body a little more than halfway around, then swinging back in an arc, at the same time bending at the hips, until he has completed the circle and reaches hip-bending position, with the fingers of one hand touching the floor, the other extended vertically. This gives stretching movement to all of the muscles of the torso, side, back and abdomen, as well as con- siderable play to the muscles of the | legs and arms.
 Dr. Grayson keeps the Presidents back and abdominal muscles strong and flexible through the frequent practice of the familiar forward bending, fnger-to-foor movements, which makes for increased activity | in the functioning Of the kidneys, liver, lungs, stomach and intestines Admiral Grayson believes that this particular exercise serves as a prac- | teal answer to why it never is neces- sary to use drugs for the treatment of indigestion, constipation and other | intestinal disorders, as well as the
 many organic troubles originating in the liver and kidneys.-FTom ''The Presidents Health Message by Richard M. Winans in March Physical | Culture.