The Washington times., 1931-01-26
EXERCISE AID.
IN DIGEST
OFFOOD
BY ARTIE McGOVERN

There is an old saying that
"men and horses feed best when
we'll worked, and work best when
we'll fed" But it is with the feed
best when we'll worked" that We
are most concerned.
The average person, and par
ticularly those engaged in work of
an office nature, requires definite,
systematic exercise to burn up the
flood which he takes and to
strengthen the muscles used in its
digestion. Exercises designed to
meet the abdominal organs are
most important and can be prac.
ticed at home without grea'
trouble. Early in the morning IS
best, and not more than 10 or IS
minutes is required. You can lie
flat on your back in bed and praC-
tice raising the legs, first right,
then left, and then both together.
These movements are simple. but
will strengthen the organs Of the
abdomen which are so important
to perfect digestion.
Regular Eating Hours
Other rules which will aid the
dySpeptic include thorough maSti-
cation, eating without hurry, and
regularity in the hours for meals.
Practice common sense in the Sc
lection of your foods, and avoid
freak diets, if you would enjoy
your meals and increase your
bodily efficiency.
Fresh air is the first essential
of life and health, but it Is so
abundant in nature and so free
that many persons have grown
careless of the simplest means
for providing the supply needed
for health.
What would you think of a
person who was in need of
nourishing food, and, yet, ate
only a few morsels of what was
set before him? But this is
exactly what countless numbers
of people are doing in the matter
of breath. All about them is
fresh air, and, yet, they make no
effort to obtain it. They live and
work in closed houses and shops,
sleep in bedrooms with windows
shut, and sit and lie in cramped
postures which hinder the lungs
from drawing in their full
quantity of clean, fresh air.
Breathe Through Nose
Most people do not use the full
capacity of their lungs. They
consider breathing as an auto
matte action, which takes care of
itself. When we come to a
practical study of right breathing,
we find that ignorance of this
vital function is responsible for
impairment of the general eff
cheney of the body. If the lungs
become weakened through lack
of proper use, the whole body
suffers, since every organ is so
closely related to all the others
that weakness or injury in one
harms every other.
The primary law in correct
breathing is to inhale through the
nose and never, in regular breath
ing, through the mouth. BY
breathing through the nose, you
protect your lungs from dust and
germs which would be taken in
If we breathed in gulpS Of air
through the mouth. In ordinary
breathing, exhale through the
nose. but when doing any special
breathing exercise, the air
should be expelled through the
mouth.
In proper breathing. one does
not take a consciously long or
a consciously short breath.
Take the breath in slowly and
notice whether or not your
chest rises and your stomach
draws in.
This indicates that you are
breathing from the upper chest
and is the correct method for
ordinary breathing, Many people
have the erroneous idea that
lower diaphragm breathing is
correct, and while this particular
form of inhalation has its uses
in certain types of exercises de-
signed to develop the abdominal
muscles, it should never be substi-
tuted for upper diaphragm breath
ing.