HOW TO BEA.tifY THE THROAT

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1686, 22 June 1904, Page 25

HOW TO BEAUTIFY THE THROAT

A clever young woman with a thin neck and a thinner purse has invented the simplest and the cheapest gymnasium apparatus in the world. A few l>ence is all the apparatus cost, and now the young lady is adding beauty to her throat simply with the aid of a yard and a half of broad elastic ribbon. -She had visited an up-to-date gymnasium where a neck strap was attached to one of the pulley weights, and she had seen the necks of several pupils put through their paces. The strap, was placed around the neck, and then, i bv bending in various directions, the neck was exercised while .it strained at ] the weights. •Now she realised that this training was exactly what her own neck needed. She had a habit of looking her mirror in the face and telling it the truth. The day before she had put on a locket and chain which belonged to her pretty sister, and the cnain, meant to fit closely, had sagged low, while the locket fell into a miserable little hollow at the base of her throat.. lot the sistqr was by no means stout. But. when the neck strap in the gymnasium suggested lier own invention, she plucked up courage and went to work to adapt her neck to the even- , ing dress instead of the dress to the neck. When she began her neck exercises she took them alone, nailing one end | of the elastic to the wall, but she • afterwards developed a double harness. In this she and a girl friend are practising together. To make an exerciser for two, a loop must be made at each end of the elastic. A little more than a foot of the elastic is used for each loop. The loops will not be large enough to pass over the head easily,' but must bo fastened with a pin or a knot. A still neater device is to make a buttonhole in each end of the elastic, sew a button 12 or 15 inches from each end, then button each *girl into her harness.

When this is done there will be a band of two feet or more between the persons. This ’band will give resistance while yon work. For the first exercise, stand face to face, just far enough apart to let the band be stretched without straining. Place the heels together. Hands on hips, thumbs meeting at the back. Throw the chest forward, raise the head erect. By way of preliminary, take five long breaths, inhaling with the mouth closed and exhaling, with it open. One of you must count, for if you do not work in harmony there will be some sorry tugging and jerking. At count one,' throw the head back as far as possible; at two, bring it back to an erect position. Twenty counts of this will be enough for the beginner. You should feel it a decided effort to stretch the elastic, and if not, you must stand further apart. The neck muscles must' feel that they are working hard.

Now turn back to back, taking the same position as before. You will find that the ribbon loops adjust themselves naturally as you shift. Go through the same preliminary breathing ai before. Now, counting in the same way, bend the head forward until the chin touches, and raise the head to an erect position,.

In this, as in ail similar exev jises, be sure that your neck does ah the work. Do not allow any bending at the waist.

Next, stand so that you both face in

the same direction. Bend the head outward. Count as above while you bend away from each other. Now, turn about so that your positions will he reversed, and the one who before bent to the right will now be bending to the left. These sideward bends will exercise the muscles at each side, as the other exercises used those in the back and front. If you have no partner in your exercise, make the wall do the work of the other girl. In this case there will be a loop in only one end of the ribbon* The other end is to be nailed securely to the wall.

This work can *be combined with other exercises, so as to break the monotony. For instance, when two are standing back to back, you may place the fists oil your shoulders, backs of your hands upward and elbows out at the side. Then, on the first count, while the head is bending forward, extend the hands and arms together until they reach outward horizontally, making a long, level stretch from shoulder to finger tip. At count two, while the head is becoming erect again, curl the hands into fists, at the same time bringing them back to the shoulders. If you are ingenious you will think of many other foot and arm exorcises to combine with neck work. Twisting is as valuable as bending, and is practised without any apparatus whatever. Taking a standing position, twist the neck as far as possible to the right side, then to the left, four times each. Alternate for four more counts* Increase the number of counts daily.