EXERCISE 165 



Then slowly lower hands as far as you can without 

 bending the knees, expelling the air as the body goes 

 downward. These movements compel great expan- 

 sion of the lungs. For this reason the exercise is very 

 helpful in developing breathing power, when practised 

 faithfully. If the arms are forcibly crossed just as the 

 body reaches its lowest point in this movement, com- 

 plete expiration is greatly assisted. It is far more 

 necessary for most people to practise for better ex- 

 piration than for improved inspiration, for it is in the 

 former that breathing is usually defective. If effective 

 expiration is accomplished, the inspiration of air will 

 naturally follow. 



All exercises should be taken in pure air and, when 

 it is feasible, with wide-open windows. One should 

 begin moderately, gradually increasing the amount as 

 the muscles become stronger and more accustomed to 

 the work. It is most surprising how rapidly such 

 exercises will develop breathing power. Where they 

 are kept up regularly, even once a day, a gain of several 

 inches in chest expansion in a few weeks is not at all 

 uncommon. Gain in expansion, however, is not al- 

 ways due to increase in size of lungs or chest walls, but 

 to growth in muscle or to pulling the abdominal organs 

 up into the chest. Care should be taken to secure the 

 right kind of development. Otherwise efforts to in- 

 crease chest expansion may be easily overdone. 



Each inch of expansion means greater capacity for 

 taking into our bodies ; every time we breathe, this 



