LADIES’ COLUMN.

Grey River Argus, 18 June 1927, Page 3 (Supplement)

LADIES’ COLUMN.

BEAUTY NOTES. BE SLENDER. SIMPLE EXERCISES. “No woman is to blame if she is not beautiful at sixteen. But she has only herself to blame if she is not beautiful at forty.”—Fra Lippe. The Middle-aged Need Not be Fat. How many middle-aged women have dieted and drugged themselves, in the effort to reduce, until thy have ruined their digestions, marred their complexions, made hollows, and drawn lines, where the soft contour of the cheeks should be. Steam baths have enervated and violent exercises have made havoc with their hearts. Anything, anything to be thin! It was all so unnecessary, for it is so simple, so easy.

No paraphernalia is needed, no pe-culiarly-arranged room, no assistance. It can be done quietly in the privacy of one’s own bathroom.

It is a matter of moment and perseverance, particularly perseverance/. She who would bo slender must approach the situation seriously, with

grim determination to go on, and on. if need be.

“But,” groaned a fat lady, “what can I do? .1 have tried everything!’’ “Will it make ,my muscless sag, and bring lines to my lace?” queries another.

The exercises are so gentle and so well balanced that the whole body is affected equally, consequently loss of flesh is not more apparent in one place than in another. “How long do I have to keep them up? I get so discouraged.” That is an essential point. Nothing that is worth while comes without working. Even a good figure. It is necessary for some to continue longer than others. One has to be the judge of that oneself.

“Did you have to do it long? How do you keep your hips down. Do you wear corsets?” A regular chorus of questions. I have done it for several months, and am still doing it. I do not wear i corsets any more —they are not necessary. I made up my mind that no one should ever call me comfortable looking, so I adopted these exercises to suit my needs. You can see the results. The Exercises. First movement. — Clothed in a single, short, loose garment, with her bare feet on a mat that her mind may be free from the dread of contamination. from a perhaps not perfectly clean floor, “Madame” stands beside the bath tub. Leaning over, she rests her hands lightly on its nearest ledge. The hands should be as far apart as though the arms were hanging at the sides in a natural position. The feet arc about fourteen inches apart, and the limbs may'be entirely free. Then, on the balls of the ;feet, Madame jumps lightly, very lightly, raising herself about three inches from the floor. The whole body is relaxed, the movements free and easy, and consequently graceful. This exercise may be done twenty-five times daily for a week, and increased as Madame feels

able, until the number reaches two hundred. At no time should there be a sense of effort, nor should it result in fatigue. That would mean that it is too strenuously done, that relaxation was not complete. During this movement the flesh on the thighs will move up and down with a snapping sound, wearing itself away. The Second Movement. — Mauame, still in her abbreviated garment, stands with her feet so placed as to ensure a perfect balance. Stationary from the hips down, the arms extended above her head, she sways and twists her body from the waist, thus causing a circular rolling sort of movement. This tends to make the waist slender while it strengthens the muscles of the torso, and reduces the flesh at the same time. And the pleasing part of it is that- these exercises are not too strenuous foi v. o men of any age. It must be borne in mind that no immediate results will be apparent. The body must be put in a condition to be reduced first. The muscles must be made elastic; the flesh, often in hard lumjps interladed with fa , must be softened; When reduction does begin, it will be rapid and gen oral. >