1322 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



Sit erect with the back unsupported, as shown in Fig. 6 (b). Place the 

 open hands at the waistline above the hips, the thumbs pointing backward 

 and the fingers forward. First uplift the shoulders and the entire trunk 

 as much as possible; then bend and stretch the trunk toward the right 

 side. Hold this position of energized side-stretching for a moment, then 

 come back to the position shown in Fig. 6 (b) and completely relax the 

 side muscles. Rest a moment, again bend and stretch toward the right. 

 Repeat the exercise by twice bending and stretching toward the left side. 

 Care should be taken not to allow the body to collapse at the waistline in 

 front when the side muscles are relaxed. At the beginning and during 

 the moment of rest, the back should keep its double curve of strength and 

 beauty. 



Keep the body young in spite of years 



There is another good to be gained by the practice of the one-minute 

 exercises described above. In a marked degree they help to keep the body 

 young — young in movement, in elasticity, in looks, and in feeling. No 

 one who can work is too old to gain favorable results from the practice of 

 simple, rejuvenating, restful exercises. The aging of the body is not a 

 matter of years; it is rather a matter of condition. The way one 

 habitually uses the body largely determines what its ultimate condition 

 shall be. Oldness of body means setness of muscles as differing from the 

 freedom of the child's muscles; it means stiffness of joints as differing 

 from the flexibility of the child's joints; it means a stooped attitude as 

 differing from the erect attitude of youth; it means heaviness of move- 

 ment as differing from the lightness and buoyancy of youth. Setness of 

 muscles, which is akin to the muscle-bound state sometimes found among 

 athletes, can best be overcome by stretching and relaxing exercises, 

 stretching the muscles in ways different from their customary use, and 

 then completely relaxing them; stretch and relax, stretch and relax, 

 three or four times in one or two minutes practice. A noticeable gain in 

 freedom and spring in the movement of the muscles often results from 

 even a few consecutive days of practice. 



Mrs. Bishop, in her book entitled " Seventy Years Young," makes a 

 distinction between organic old age and some of the prevalent old-age 

 bugaboos. She makes years the worst hobgoblin of all and declares that 

 years are only the arbitrary measurement of time, that they have terror- 

 ized victims into premature oldness of mind and body. Other old-age 

 bugaboos are gray hair or lines on the face, and pessimistic theories con- 

 cerning life. Robert Louis Stevenson gives good advice when he says, 

 ' Cling to your youth; it is an artist's stock in trade; do not give up that 

 you are aging and you won't age." Shakespeare says, " With mirth and 

 laughter let old wrinkles come." The person who moves about with diffi- 



