1. Eradication of certain defects hereinafter referred to. 2. Co-ordination in the use of the muscular mechanisms concerned with respiration. The result of (2) is not only to make that function efficient, but also to ensure that normal activity and natural massage of the _internal organs_ so necessary to the adequate performance of the vital functions and the preservation of a proper condition of health. F. MATTHIAS ALEXANDER. I THE THEORY OF RESPIRATORY RE-EDUCATION The artificial conditions of modern civilised life, among which is comparative lack of free exercise in the open air, are conducive to the _in_adequate use of breathing power. Indulgence in harmful habits of feeding and posture have caused these same habits, through heredity and unconscious imitation, to become “second nature” in the great majority of adults to-day and frequently in children, even at an early age. The normal condition of vigour in the action of the component parts of the respiratory mechanisms is greatly interfered with; general nervous relaxation is brought about, and a feeble, flabby action becomes permanent. Certain muscles of the thoracic mechanisms which should take the lead in the performance of the breathing movements remain entirely inert for the greater part of life, whilst others, which were never intended by nature to monopolise this particular act but only to serve as a relief or change, are used solely for the act of breathing. Hence arises a condition in which the posture, the symmetry of the body, the graceful normal curves of the whole frame, suffer alteration and change. The capacity and mobility of the thorax (chest) are decreased, its shape (particularly in the lumbar region, clavicles, and lower sides of the chest) is changed in a harmful way, and the abdominal viscera are displaced, whilst the heart, lungs, and other vital organs are allowed to drop below their normal position. Inadequate holding-space of the thorax—which means a distinct lessening of the “vital capacity”—and displacement of the vital organs within it, are great factors in retarding the natural activity of the parts concerned, which are therefore unable fully and naturally to perform their functions. Under these circumstances the natural chemical changes in the human organism cannot be adequate. The serious interference with the circulatory processes and the inadequate oxygenation of the blood prevent the system from being properly nourished and cleansed of impurities, for the action of the excretory processes will be impeded and the whole organism slowly but surely charged with foreign matter, which, sooner or later, will cause acute symptoms of disease.