BEAUTY FROM BEASTS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 143, 2 June 1936, Page 10

BEAUTY FROM BEASTS

A Sensible Idea Animals are seldom out of condition. Even the tigers and leopards in the zoo, though they are caged, keep their lissom strength and grace. Dogs, when they are not spoiled or treated like humans, keep their figures and can run for miles. The baby instinctively knows that he must kick and squirm if he is to grow. Did it ever occur to you to copy the animals and the exercises they do to keep yourself fit? It is not such a crazy idea as you imagine at first thought! A famous Swedish masseuse in Paris tells her patients to copy the dog roll. But on a hard floor, not o i a soft rug or exercise mat. You have all seen dogs roll on their backs, and oil, and roll, and roll. If you fold your arms across your chest, while lying on your back on the floor with your knees pulled up and your feet close to the buttocks, which are slightly raised from the floor, you can begin at your neck and roll from side to side till every bit of your back is thoroughly masaged against the floor. This exercise gets rid of the “dowager’s hump,’’ that top vertebra which comes out in a lump as we grow older and keep our noses to the grindstone. It massages the lungs, from the back, the kidneys and the liver. Raise your head and shoulders as you roll, so that each vertebra gets its turn, and finally you are rolling from side to side and your waist is touching the floor while your head and shoulders are up. Then, begin at the bottom and lower your head and shoulders as you raise your hips and waist. It takes more wind and strength than you think at first, doesn’t it? And it’s fine to get unwanted fat off a back! Squat on your tip-toes, arms folded across your chest, body not too straight to keep the poise. Then spring with vim and vigour from the toes, jumping as high as possible and bringing the feet well up. You can hop up and down a corridor like this, or do a stationary hop, but keep lightly poised, hold your balance, and feel the stretch in every muscle of your feet and legs. It’s a glorious feeling, and very very good for you!—An exchange.