Beauty & health

Front matter

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XXIII. Xj Editor’s Introduction Xj

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The purpose of the author, a physician who has given much thought and study to her theme, and whose opportunities for practical knowl¬ edge have been extensive, is indicated in the comprehensive title of this book. Dr. Walker insists that beauty in women is to be obtained, heightened, and held for a lifetime, through the instrumentality of hygiene. Here is the fabled fountain of youth, an everyday modern reality.

Not by cosmetics, or other artificial make¬ shifts, by the use of doubtful remedies, or by any means beneath the dignity of a self-respecting woman, can beauty be achieved. Speaking from a professional viewpoint, Dr. Walker ad¬ vocates the building of tissues, the control of nerves, and the symmetrical development of the body, through the agency of intelligent hygiene. She believes that every woman may have bright eyes, a clear skin, a. cool hand, a steady head, and possess to the full the charm of unbroken health, and a calm equipoise, if- she will but obey a few simple rules, and follow Nature’s laws with precision and forethought.

Sleep, bathing, diet, exercise, the conservation of force, the prevention of waste, the restraint

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EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION of hysterical emotion, and the cultivation of cheerfulness are among the topics Dr. Walker has ably treated. We are told how to have a beautiful hand, and a beautiful foot, how to care for every member of the body, and for the body as a whole. The directions are simple, wo¬ manly, and safe. No young girl who reads, marks, and inwardly digests this book will be¬ come vain thereby, but every girl who assimi¬ lates its teachings will be more wholesome, in¬ teresting, and attractive. Why part with the woman’s birthright of beauty through ignorance, when here is a sisterly hand held out to guide into its fair domains?

This manual has been written with the direct purpose and deliberate intention to help Ameri¬ can women to a better understanding of their physical life and endowments.

Various forms of nervous exhaustion and de¬ pression menace busy women. The homedaughter and the young girl at college, or earn¬ ing her living, alike need information that only a physician can give, on points that may affect the entire life. This book, at once popular and scientific, minute and delicate, appeals to all women and should win lasting favor.

Margaret E. Sangster.

CHAPTER ONE £T tr

Effects of deep breathing. Vedanta philosophy. Effects of seden¬ tary life. Symptoms of sluggish circulation. Walking. Longevity. Week-end holiday. Summer vacation.

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I T is always more helpful to build up than to criticise, and in the arrangement of this book the constructive part is placed first. For the most part the later chapters deal with the correction of defects.

Of all constructive features of hygiene one of the most important is the simple matter of breathing.

Would you like to hear how one of the pio¬ neer teachers of physical culture in this country gained her inspiration for this work? I have heard her story from the lips of a close friend.

Her home was in a country village, where she taught school for her living.

She belonged to a “ consumptive ” family. She had no thought of correct position or of deep breathing. Her back was weak, and her lungs were weaker. She met with scorn any suggestions from her family to sit up straight.

This young woman was under the constant care of a physician, and one day he told her that her case was hopeless; he didn’t want to take her money, for he could give her no further help. She could live for only a short time longer, at the best. Other physicians confirmed this opinion.

The verdict irritated and aroused her. She made up her mind not to die.

As she went back and forth to school every day, she was so weak that she could take but a few steps at a time without holding on to the fence for support. As she crawled along slowly, step by step, it came to her that deep breathing was her only resource. She made desperate efforts to straighten up and to take a deep breath.

In telling her story, she says that no one knows the agony she suffered in making use of those poor, neglected muscles and contracted lungs. But the whole force of her being was roused, and she persevered.

In two weeks there was a remarkable change. She could stand fairly straight, and her breath¬ ing was more nearly normal.

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That was many years ago. And this woman, who had been given up to die by her physician, is now at the head of a large school for physical culture in an Eastern city. She stands as a living example of the curative power of deep breathing.

Breath is indeed life itself.

You are probably very weary of hearing so much about deep breathing. But have you ever faithfully tried it? If you have, you will realize so keenly the wonderful benefits that come from this practice that you will feel, as we always do when we have found a treasure, that you must share it with someone else. You never will feel this way until you have tried it faithfully enough to know what a wonderful help to your health and strength it is.

t I have often felt at the end of a walk, during which I took deep breaths of fresh air into my lungs, that I could not go into the house. The effects of deep breathing upon the general feel¬ ing and well-being were so marked that it was as if I had been taking some tonic which I felt that I could not give up.

Deep breathing will start your blood dancing vigorously through your veins. This will make you warm, and you will be astonished to hear some sluggish companion complaining of the cold.

It will take practice to make you a devotee of deep breathing, but when you have once become as it were addicted to the habit, you will never give it up, and you will wonder how you ever lived before. Deep breathing throws off a vast number of impurities, and it takes in life itself.

Fig. i.—I mproves respiration.

It adds buoyancy to your spirits and makes you feel that you can overcome mountains of ob¬ stacles. Until you try it, you will never know how much it will add to your beauty.

I have been interested for some time in col¬ lecting various articles on this subject. These clippings have been taken from various sources, professional and popular. It has simply aston¬ ished me, in looking over this collection of years, to find the immense amount of material that has been written on this subject from many stand¬ points.

One writer would have one object in view, and another a different one. The lessons they teach are all so true, yet each one differs from the other, with varying shades, but at the same time all embrace the one essential truth—the great benefit which always comes from deep breathing.

A woman of many interests—indeed she is a noted writer—is to a certain extent a student of occultism, which has become a subject of such general interest since the Swamis, those masters <bi the Vedanta Philosophy, came among us. She says:

“ I combine the occult principle with deep breathing, night and morning, inhaling with the pure air all of those beautiful qualities of love, health, wisdom, usefulness, and power for good, cheerfulness, and opulence,—these seven covering the whole ground of my desires,—filling the chest and abdomen fully. In exhaling I get rid of all the opposite qualities, which would do me an injury, such as, prejudice, weakness, folly, pov¬ erty, etc. I rise on my toes while breathing in, inhaling slowly, desiring with all of my concen¬ trated power all good to come to me. I also declare myself for beauty and symmetry in every¬ thing, physical, mental, and moral. My mind being in this attitude I must acquire that which I reach out for.

“ In the same way I repel all that is unbeau¬ tiful in mind, heart, and spirit, as well as in body. In all of the different postures which I take, either in the early morning or during the day, I carry out these same impressions that I am inhaling the best and getting rid of the least desirable qualities.”

A most interesting article that has recently appeared in one of our medical journals speaks very clearly of the various remarkable effects that the breathing of fresh air has upon the or¬ ganism.

We all know that girls who lead a sedentary life, whatever their occupation may be, breathe very poorly and shallowly. Respiration is partly suspended, owing to a nervous preoccu¬ pation.

The result of this is a scanty supply of oxygen to the brain, and this condition gradually leads i7 to neurasthenia. All who lead an indoor life belong to this class.

The girls who are devoted to society are al-

Fig. 2.—Shoulder-raising for developing the lungs.

most invariably poor breathers. They become mentally excitable and physically weak.

An extreme emotion, such as anger or worry, affects the respiration; it becomes shallow, with consequent brain excitability, and weakened physical endurance. If you are depressed or nervously unbalanced, you may be certain that there is an insufficient and irregular supply of oxygen to the nerve centers.

In cases of extreme nervousness, where there is no organic trouble, the best remedy consists in two periods each day of vigorous physical exercise which will supply so much fresh air that the blood will become properly oxygenated. The energy that this oxygen supplies to the entire body finally brings quietness to the brain, and a full return of power to the body. It pro¬ motes sleep and calms all of the nerve centers.

The dark circles under the eyes with or with¬ out puffiness, with which so many girls are troubled, indicate always a certain degree of passive congestion, that is, sluggishness of the circulation of the vessels of the brain. When these brain vessels are engorged, there can be no clear brain work.

Depression of various functions is sure to fol¬ low. For the condition of sluggishness seen in so many young girls I know of nothing of more value than the inhalation of pure air.

*9

WALKING

A recent writer on the means for the prolon¬ gation of life, emphasizes very strongly the value of walking.

He says that it is the most natural form of exercise. It acts not only directly upon the heart, but by the action of the muscles of the legs, more blood flows to them and all of the vessels carrying off the waste matter are thus made more active.

The organs and tissues are all better nour¬ ished in this way.

The entire circulation is greatly increased by the act of walking as well as by the more power¬ ful action of the heart.

All of the abdominal organs share the im¬ proved state of circulation.

The muscles themselves receive an extra supply of nutrition, and this method is one of the most effective and simple ones of counteracting the natural tendency to decay, for wasting of the muscles is one of the first signs of old age, and is one of the main causes of the loss of weight in old people.

This writer goes on to say that the amount of walking necessary to maintain health varies widely in different persons and under different circumstances—from half an hour to two or three hours a day.

Those girls who have fair health will gain more benefit from gentle up-hill exercise than from walking down-hill or on level ground.

Bad weather should never offer an interrup¬ tion to walking. The daily walk should take place in all kinds of weather, cold or warm, rainy or sunny; almost anyone can become ac¬ customed to every state of the weather. In doing so, the tendency to rheumatism and catarrh from chills is either totally overcome, or at least much diminished.

It is very difficult for microbes to find a lodg¬ ing place in those who are breathing fresh air continually. One of the first directions given to patients with beginning tuberculosis is to live an outdoor life. Indeed they are often advised to sleep in a tent. This element of the treat¬ ment seems to bring more success in this disease than any other.

I remember being impressed by the sim¬ plicity of the treatment recommended for anae¬ mia by one of our greatest masters of med¬ icine: fresh air and sunshine, good food and iron.

From chronic catarrh, too, it is said that a patient can “ walk away.” It has been observed by officers in the army that while on the march coughs and “ colds ” disappear, only to return after the soldiers take up life in the barracks again.

An interesting explanation has been given of the old “ miracle ” of the King’s Touch for “ scrofula.” Although these patients were wretchedly fed and miserably dressed they were often obliged to walk several hundred miles, and this is said to account for the cures. To be sure, the king got all the credit, but I fear that from our modern point of view of hygiene we should not have cared to touch him with a tenfoot pole.

The great General Moltke, when asked by what means he had maintained his health and activity, replied: “ By great moderation in all things; by regular outdoor exercise in all weathers, good and bad; never a whole day at home.” He was at that time in his ninetieth year.

I cannot resist speaking a little further along the lines on which this brilliant author writes. He discusses the week-end holiday and the sum¬ mer holiday, emphasizing first the value of taking a day once a week for more prolonged exer¬ cise—from four to six hours.

If you live in the city it would be especially beneficial to take this day in the country, where you will get purer air and change of scene.

The benefit of this long walk will be increased if you take only a very small quantity of food and fluid for the trip—a few biscuits, an apple or an orange.

After you come home you will generally find, on weighing yourself, that you have lost several pounds. This loss consists almost wholly of water which has been passed off through the skin, the lungs, and the kidneys. In this way more waste matter is gotten rid of and the slightly starved tissues are in condition to take up more new material. You will generally re¬ gain within two or three days the weight you lost.

Martin Luther’s motto was “ Rast’ ich so rost’ ich.” (If I rest I rust.) Even without exercise, life in the open air increases the power of re¬ sistance.

One of the great advantages of this tramp in the country is exposure to the open air; it strengthens the nervous system and the skin; the digestive system, and indeed the whole organism.

It makes you cheerful, it increases your resist¬ ance to the influences of the weather, and the tendency to chills and other morbid affections is decreased. This power of resistance is one of the great factors of longevity.

To get the most out of your walk, see to it that your chest is high, the legs moving freely from the hips in a long, swinging step. The arms should hang easily, moving slightly, but not swinging. With head up, and inhaling long deep breaths you are in the best possible condi¬ tion for your tramp. A noted traveler is au¬ thority for the statement “ that the accomplished pedestrian is the only independent traveler.” As to the summer holiday, it is even more bene¬ ficial than the week-end exercise. It is well to take once or twice a year a walking or climbing trip of from three to four weeks in moun¬ tainous or hilly country, spending from three to six, or sometimes even eight hours in walk¬ ing or climbing nearly every day in the week.

Such a trip absolutely makes one over. Every organ of the body is benefited. The power for mental work is increased; worry disappears. This same writer has observed that the hair of the head and beard which was commencing to turn gray, resumed more or less the original color after a climbing trip of this kind.

Probably the greatest factor in the benefit that comes from these trips is the deep inspira¬ tions which are necessary in walking and climbing. People who desire long life should make a practice of taking forced respiratory exercises.

Hill climbing is an exercise of endurance. Although it allows opportunity for great exer¬ tion, there is not the corresponding degree of fatigue. There is a rhythmical succession of exercise and rest in climbing.

This exercise is splendid for the heart and the lungs, indeed, all of the vital organs are stimu¬ lated to extra exertion.

Before you take a mountain trip it is well to make some preparation for it. You can easily do this by walking up and down an inclined board which a girl can arrange in the yard without any trouble. Or you can walk up and downstairs, or up and down low hills.

It is better to begin gradually, and, as you try steeper hills, take fewer and shorter steps. Try first a gentle ascent, then increase until you can climb a steep hill with little trouble. Do not make any sudden change from a slow to a rapid walk. Your training must all be done gradu¬ ally.

The best time in the day for a mountain climb is the early morning; then you can spend the afternoon quietly. In walking up a hill the feet should be turned out, while in walking down they should be parallel or turned slightly inward. The exercise in climbing a hill is much greater than in the descent, when the exer¬ tion is borne chiefly by certain of the knee muscles.

Climbing develops the thighs and calves. It is fine for obesity, for it brings about rapid changes of materials in the body, the fat espe¬ cially being consumed.

The skin and kidneys are stimulated to greater exertion, so that more waste material is thrown

tfff.

The lungs, too, do harder work and take in more oxygen.

The heart pumps faster, and its muscles are strengthened. The general circulation is quickened and stimulated.

Appropriate clothing should be worn. A short skirt is very necessary. The dress should be loose and of light weight and the waist of flannel.

The shoes should be comfortable and easy with thick soles and broad, low heels. If the climb is to be long and hard, spikes or nails in the heels would be of great assistance. An al¬ penstock will also be very helpful.

Hill climbing should never be undertaken when the health is delicate or the lungs weak, without the special advice of a physician. It may be of the greatest benefit, but it needs ex¬ pert supervision, for there is danger in case of a weak heart of its being over-exerted to the point of exhaustion.

Great care should be exercised in regard to food and drink taken on a climbing expedition. Water should be taken only in moderate quanti¬ ties from time to time, and it should not be too cold. Be sure that it is pure. It may be made very refreshing by the addition of a little lemon juice or vinegar. The food should be nourish¬ ing and it is often convenient to take that which is concentrated in form.

It is not necessary to go to a gymnasium to get the best effects of exercise. Gymnasiums are excellent in their place, but you must spend some unnecessary energy to attend one. In the first place you are obliged to go there; and there is the trouble of changing your clothing. Then

2 7 again many girls have no opportunity of at¬ tending a gymnasium at all for one reason or another.

But one thing we can all practice, which will benefit us, I feel certain, fully as much as a regu¬ lar gymnastic course—that is the systematic prac¬ tice of deep breathing. Indeed, it is now claimed by some authorities on the subject that all the good effects of exercise may be obtained through deep breathing alone.

SUGGESTIONS FOR BREATHING EXERCISES

Let me tell you exactly how to practice deep breathing.

Stand as relaxed as possible, arms hanging at side, chest, neck, and head erect. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose until the abdomen is distended. Continue to inhale until the breath is forced up into the apexes of the lungs. You will note that the abdomen is now contracted, and the chest raised far above normal posi¬ tion.

Hold for a few seconds, letting the thought pass through the inside of the body ; now slowly exhale through the nose, lowering first the chest and then contracting the abdomen again. Three minutes of such breathing night and morning will prepare you for the day’s work, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The Hindu has a wonderful breathing exer¬ cise for quieting the nerves. It is called alter¬ nate breathing.

Place the thumb on the left nostril, closing it; inhale slowly and deeply through the right nos¬ tril; with the lungs full, close the right nostril, leaving the left open and exhale through the left. Second, inhale through the left, the right being closed; exhale through right, with the left closed.

In a few weeks a change will be noticeable. The breathing exercises should be practiced with the eyes closed for the best results.

There is a very simple device which aids greatly in expanding the unused cells of the lungs. Inhale deeply through the nose, then expel the breath, slowly hissing it through the teeth. In this way the lips form a tiny aperture.

The same effect can be obtained by holding a child’s whistle in the lips, or an empty spool, al¬ lowing the breath to pass out through the open¬ ing. The breath should pass out evenly, and necessarily will come slowly.

The object of this method of expelling the breath is to expand the little used lung cells.

The breath passes out so slowly that the volume of air which has been inhaled is virtually dammed back in the lungs, thus distending every tiny air cell.

So do not be weary of the subject of deep breathing, but give it a fair trial. Begin your practice on your next walk. Take a slow, steady breath till the chest is quite full. Do not strain yourself in any way, nor try to fill the lungs to their utmost capacity. Simply take a good full breath. You will help yourself very much if you hold your neck against the back of your collar. Your shoulders will get along very well by themselves.

Now exhale the breath slowly and quietly. When it is all out by this natural method, force out a little more, though do not carry this to the extreme. You will find that you will breathe more deeply at the next inhalation after this forced expiration. This is well worth re¬ membering.

No amount of forced inspiration will give you the power of taking in air like a forced expira¬ tion. Do not, however, allow your return inspi¬ ration to be taken quickly.

Take ten of these breaths, then breathe natu¬ rally for three or four minutes; then repeat the ten breaths. If you feel any dizziness from this breathing you have probably taken it too rigorously.

The next time that you are in the open air breathe in this manner again. In a day or two increase the number taken by five. The total number of breaths for each day will thus in¬ crease rapidly.

You will also find that by stopping every now and then while in the house, giving several minutes to deep breathing, being sure that the air is quite pure, that you will be very much re¬ freshed and more ready to resume your work, for your mind will be clearer.

After two weeks of this faithful practice you will be rewarded by better chest muscles; your bust will be firmer and larger and your whole body will be invigorated.

Deep breathing improves the brain circulation and thus affects the mind. It will frequently relieve a headache. It will fill out the flat chest. It sometimes decreases the size of the abdomen. It is an excellent factor in the cure of constipa¬ tion or “ biliousness.” For those who have weak lungs there is no one remedy of greater value than deep breathing.

You can complete your work in deep breathing by exercising on your back. This is most conveniently taken on getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. Clothing then forms no hindrance.

Lie flat on your back on a blanket which is placed upon the floor. Inhale and exhale vigor¬ ously but slowly, ten times. Then rest for half a minute.

Now as you inhale, raise the arms along the floor until they are extended straight above the head. Next, bring them back straight to the sides, expelling the breath at this time.

Rest a minute more and then repeat the exer¬ cise ten times, raising the arms up into the air, dropping them on the floor back of the head, as in the first position of extension. Inhale slowly with the movement. Exhale as you bring the arms back to resting position. Note the effect of this exercise on the chest.

A short period of practice in deep breathing will so expand the muscles over the diaphragm that you will never again allow yourself to sit or stand in any but an erect position. You will hunger for the effects of oxygen.

Deep breathing does more than any other form of exercise for circulation, for respiration, and for digestion.

Another useful movement is swinging the arms round the shoulder joint.

Of course if there is any reason why the erect position is not convenient, the respiratory movements can be made by themselves in the horizontal or sitting position.

But do not satisfy your conscience with a few minutes of these breathing exercises, but in¬ crease their number gradually each day, espe¬ cially while you are walking.

If you sit a great deal and lead a sedentary life, thus not having the opportunity for the ordinary methods of exercise, they will be espe¬ cially valuable to you. An excellent time for getting in a set is just after your morning bath, when you have slipped on your flannels.

Remember that we are now talking to healthy girls, and if there is any organic trouble, in this matter, as in all others, you should first seek the advice of a physician who can personally know your case.

Chapter Two

Morning routine, breathing, bath, exercises. Exercises for two girls together.

W HEN you wake, first get rid of all the residue of poisonous gases left in the unused corners of the lungs during the night. Of course the air in your room is pure because it has been well venti¬ lated all night long. But the lungs need their bath at the beginning of the day.

Lie flat on your back, legs straight, feet un¬ crossed and arms relaxed. Take slow full breaths for three minutes.

Follow this by a thorough kneading of the ab¬ domen in order to stimulate the circulation of the intestines.

Now you are ready for your morning spray. After your bath, polish your skin with a Turk¬ ish towel as the shoeblack polishes his shoe.

Slip on a kimona and take your morning run. This doesn’t mean that you must shake the house or run around the room, for you can run in one spot.

Spring lightly from the ball of the right foot to the ball of the left, throwing the feet back as in ordinary running. Accelerate the speed of this alternate motion. Begin with twenty-five steps, increasing each day until you reach one hundred or more without fatigue.

After your run dress loosely and take your second lung bath. Use common sense, and do not get chilled. Do not allow yourself to feel hurried in this part of your exercise, and break¬ fast will taste better than ever before.

During the day practice some good exercises to keep every part of the body in condition. Try to make some one hour convenient each day; persevere and do not give them up even once.

There is a wide choice in the exercises which you may take, but a few suggestions may be helpful.

Take good standing position, and then a posi¬ tion exercise; arms overhead, stretch upward in a long, elastic movement, then stretch arms out at the sides and down, at the same time reaching up and back strongly with the crown of the head. The chest will come up and the shoulders go down to proper position if it is done correctly.

Follow by a poising exercise for a graceful carriage; a good one is to raise and lower the weight slowly and rhythmically on the toes; this will develop the calf of the leg, as well as the muscles of the back which keep the trunk and head erect. It will also make the ankle flexible, bring the body into poise, and quiet the nerves. Practice this with the eyes fixed on some point straight ahead; balance on one foot, and then on the other.

Now strengthen the spine and increase circula¬ tion by the following: Stretch arms high over¬ head, bend gently forward and backward, breathing slowly through the nose.