PHYSICAL CULTURE.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13168, 26 July 1911, Page 5 (Supplement)

PHYSICAL CULTURE.

LECTURE AND DEMONSTRATION BY MISSED GREENAVOOD.

3' Last night there was a large as- ;* semblage at the Druids' Hall at the in- " vitation of Misses W. and B. Greenlt wood, who aro exponents and instrucl" tors of the most modern and scientific :t methods of "Physical Culture*" Miss v \V. Greenwood gave a most interesting » and instructive -lecture on tho subject, the audience being evidently very ap--0 preciative of the ladyr.s reasoning. ;> Miss Greenwood began by saying sho ;• to deal with physical culture [■ "from two points of view—duty and beauty. It was tho duty of men and women alike to keep tlieir bodies at the highest point of physical health, but this app.ied in a double sense to women, as in married life their health not only affected themselves, but.their children also. It was the duty of parents and gur.r.lians to see that th 6 young people are trained in their habits of physical health and. well being. It was the duty of the adults tiiemsehes also, not only for their own sakes. but for the sake of setting an example and handing on an unsullied heritage of goodly physique to the coming generation, to see that their own bodies wore treated with the careand consideration which they are entitled to as "the temple 'of the son]." ifi.ss Grenwood wont on to say tha physical, education deserved at least as -much. furious attention as mental education, indeed more, as health culture was more important to the well IHng of the race than was mental culture. The first essential was character building, tho second lorlv building, and the third, ( )ra j n l building. ]n sonic, respects character building.and brain building were absolutely dependent; on body-building. -\n unhealthy child tended to be not merely mentally slack, but in addition +o bo cross, ?)-erish, and troublesome. Of course,."wh.it can't lie cured must i" endured." but, sometimes the cn■'t'rinjr itself.was only a form of men r *-?l and physical sloth—a foolish and unnecessary conclusion that the "euro" was unattainable. As a fact there were very few ills indeed that were "incurable." Nearly all were amenable to medical skill or health culture. Generally speaking, disease ■'tt.icked only the'weak'spots of the V>dy, and obviously the sensible thing ■vis not to have any weak spots. .But '•■'-ere was only on o way to prevent -lnt, viz.. regular and systematic and scientific health culture'; in a word "nhysical culture." It was quite a mis'•_'ke to imagine, as so many women li'l, that there was necessarily anything ugly about strength. ' Tlie strength of the blacl mith was one filing; the strength 01 the well developed woman was quite another. 7^auty of form implied strength, and •■bey might be quite sure tliat it was Miere in the graceful neck and tho Wt.ly rounded arm. There, were, as it \?\-:\ two forms of strength—muscular ••trength, and organic strength. Musc.i'ar strength in a normal healthy wo•mn did not, as many women thought, ♦":•() to make lie- masculine, as the feminine anatonu simply did not admit of this. The muscles in a woman iv.Tp long and tensile, distributing their increase oxer their full length, becoming firm, ami gi.ing the body a rounded and e;rai > ful effect; they also in. ll pod to mould 1 lie bones as it were, kreping the shoulders back, etc., thereby giving the body an erect and graceful carriage. Physical culture for uimen aimed far more at the developneiit of health and grac(> than muscu--1 \r strength. Many people wore mus•.•ulf.rly strong, but organically weak, in-] tliat was the reason a muscularly strong person though used to gardening, housework, (if., if attacked by disease would nuke a far slower recovery than a weaker person who was rendered organically sound by a proper syst: m of liealf'i culture. To the healthy woman noiv-a-days the gates of almost every avenue of life, stood .rir; equality r>f opportunity for women both in ill;, professions? and industries with their brother men was Dvnetieally at hand; but, in order to tike advantage of this they realised that they must have the physical ability to do so, and so it was found that n:> women were more alert and eager i'l the cultivation of their bodily powers than the women who worked in •shops and offices. This applied equally to both sexes. They needed voluntary '\'>rei.scs, etc., to keep up their stores >!' oiiergy and vitality. The lecturer went on 1o say that tho •insf generation regarded "calisthenics" for women, and "athletics and rymnastios" as satisfactory and suffi"i:'i)t for men. Now tho essential featucs of tho former were meaningless movements—and of the latter muscular .strength and endurance. The essential feature of physical culture on the other hand was the performance of movements designed for a special pur- '"■«', the purpose, of developing the b.i.ly as a whole, muscularly and or- • .--Jiifilly. Hence iho very foundation of physical culture was "lung cultiir •" ; regular and systematic breathing e::ereises formed tho most importin t part of physical culture and they ■formed no part at all of calisthenics or athletics or gymnastics. What was mrire important to life than good air? Without an, abundant supply of this, Mv lungs were always liable to have ■ve.ik spots which of course were open '..:> attacks of various diseases. Few I'-ople realised that important as was Mie matter of proper ventilation and !'ire air, the proper use. of the lungs ■■.'S of still greater importance. Deep Ve.ithiiifr W as not on!-.- a preventive ■f disease, but an ■ etual curative l'.r»itmont for many. Mich as incipient tuberculosis, etc. Of course the cultivation of henltli meant the oxpendi|"re ~f a ]ittl- iiire, efhrt, and money, '"it the micstion th-y should ask Hio m selves w:s mt ulr.it is it going to cost i>i time, money and trouble, but "•lint is it w-irtii 'o |) P W oll? Surely '1 was worth 10 <,v 15 minutes a day. A praetfcil deitvmstr.ition was then •riven to illnstraiv the lecturer's remirH. The examples shown comprised, health exercises and deportment, Y<\. which wore very well and prettily ((one by four smal, pimils, and "Arnas- »•',' and listen, drill by Miss B. Greenwood. Tii-- punils referred to ■ W°i'"r iV nry T?oI)ison» Knthlecn Cress;v"ll. Klersnor Lewis, and Lorna Childs. I ';'• music for tlie ex -irises was sup- ■,."'! Iv Misses [.'owe and Sharp and Miss Jiidsoii played an overture.