Evening star., 1939-07-26
Exercise Can
Teach You
Swim
Practice at Home
A Few Minutes
During Day
BY PATRICIA LINDSAY.

personally, think the best way
to be taught to swim is to be thrown
into water at an early age and told
to sink or swim! OF course, you mus
be Of tender years when danger Is
just lark, for the older you grow
the greater your fear of the water, il
you never have learned how to keep
up on its surface!
But If you are truly interested In
wanting to learn to swim there is a
certain exercise you can practice at
home, balanced on a stool or over a
chair. This is presented through the
courtesy of Victor Lawson, former
English long distance swimming
champion. He has taught many a
lady the various strokes and crawls,
with no more water near her than a
bowl of 1t under her nose!
l. Balance yourself across a stool
which is as high as the ordinary
chair. Lie face down and support
yourself with your hands in any
manner you wish, but keep your legs
and feet free of the floor as high as
the supported part of your body.
2. Stretched out in this position
pretend to walk on air, taking short
mincing steps, the toes turned slight
ly inward, with your feet a few
inches apart. Move your feet up and
down in rhythm, first one then the
other. This is used in the Olympic
crawl.
3. Continue this movement until
you can get more action in your leg
work, pretending you are trying to
shake your feet off from the ankles
as you kick. The kick up and down
should not be more than 10 inches.
Keep your legs relaxed, not tense,
with scarcely any action in the knees
The power in the kick comes from
back and stomach muscles, not from
| the hips and knees. (As the knees
pass each other during the kicking,
they should barely brushD If you are
Kicking correctly, the upbeat is felt
IN the stomach muscles, the down.
beat is felt in the back muscles.
Practice this for about two min
utes, rest and repeat. Do it every
single day until it becomes a
rhythmic habit.
One OF the easiest ways to con-
vince yourself that you will not
drown If you gulp a mouthful of
water as you swim, is to duck your
face into bowl of good drinking
water. Breathe in the water, do not
swallow 1t, breathe it out again. You
may keep your eyes open all of the
time as the water will not harm
them. AS you swim water may rush
in and out of your mouth without
you swallowing bit Of it. Through
forceful breathing you push it out,
much as a porpoise does.
The secret of good swimming
technique Is rhythmic breathing and
kicking which permits coordination
OF your body muscles. 1t is best to
learn in shallow water so the fear
OF drowning will be dispelled. It is a
good idea to hold your nose and
squat under the water and come up
again just so you will feel the force
OF the water pushing your body to
the surface. In this way you will
lose your fear.
Swimming. particularly the good
old-fashioned breast stroke. is ex-
cellent for your beauty. The breast
stroke is one of the finest chest de-
velopment exercise there is. If done
correctly 1t also distributes pounds
OF flesh to where they belong!
In my Fashionable Bust Contour"
leaf1et there are several excellent
breathing exercises which will aid
your swimming. Write me care of
this paper and inclose a self-ad-
dressed envelope bearing a Scent
stamp If you request it.