WAISTLINE CULTURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 59, 12 March 1935, Page 2

WAISTLINE CULTURE

To be slim all over you do not need to do a number of complicated exercises (says the Sydney Morning Herald). You only need to concentrate on one important part —the waistline. Keep at bay, round the waist, any trace of superfluous fat, and you need have no fear of fleshy hips, shoulders or legs. In other words, the region of the waistline is the generating station from which fat spreads to all other parts of the body. Stimulate the blood flow there, and fat cannot lodge. Blood flowing vigorously burns up fatty tissues more rapidly and more thoroughly than all the diets or drugs ever indulged in. Improved digestion following on the system of exercising is also an enormous aid to slimness; for, strange as it may seem, many women are fat because their digestive process is sluggish. A beautiful American actress, famed for her slender figure, said recently that her only form of physical culture was two specialised exercises for the stomach and abdomen which took only a few minutes a day to do. Well, no one should be too busy or too lazy for that. With spring frocks just ahead of use, we must all begin to turn doubly critical eyes on our contours, asking ourselves if our lines are really slim enough for exacting sheer materials. Make a pact with yourself, then, to devote just five minutes every day to “waistline culture.” Do not worry about anything else. Just concentrate on that and reap most unexpected results. The following two exercises are best done first thing in the morning, before any food has been taken:— Stand erect, the hands on the hips. Now —keeping the knees stiff—bend the body forward from the waist, as though in an effort to touch the knees with the forehead. This, of course., you will not be able to do at first, but as the waist grows slimmer and more supple your head will go further and further kneewards. Do this regularly and slowly for two minutes. It is almost miraculous in burning up fat and speeding up digestion. Remember that most of the vital organs are situated in the middle of the body. The increased bloodflow, in stimulating their functioning, brings about a more youthful figure line and a clearer complexion. The second exercise is as follows: Stand erect again with the feet slightly apart and raise the arms above the head. Now—keeping the knees and arms stiff—bend down and touch the side of the right ankle with the left hand, then straighten up, and, bending down on the other side, touch the left ankle with the right hand. You will enjoy these exercises when the first stiffness wears off, and you will find in a few weeks that not only-are your belts beginning to be too large for you, but that your arms, shoulders, and hips are more slender as well. Here is the best way of finding out for yourself just how much you have reduced. Before undertaking these two exercises regularly lie flat ou your back and place a ruler or stick across the body, from hipbone to hipbone. At first, maybe the ruler will touch the whole way across, but in a couple of weeks there will be a distinct depression in the middle, and the ruler will be resting on the hipbones alone. Then you will know that, you are really bringing about t*i'e wished-for result of a slim, youthful figure, and that the few minutes you devote to these exercises are the most profitable in your whole dav.