The Woman Beautiful; or, The Art of Beauty CultureJameson, Helen Follett
Science
The Woman Beautiful; or, The Art of Beauty Culture
Jameson, Helen Follett
Beauty, Personal
We all know--at least, we all should know--that the general size of the
human body depends on muscular development. The same bony frame which
makes a slim-jim girl that tips the scales at seventy-five pounds can
be padded with good solid flesh until it boasts of a triple chin,
fingers like wee roly-poly puddings, and a full 200 pounds in weight.
The framework of the body counts little toward size.
The muscles are like the various bits of machinery which go to make up
a steam engine. In performing their work they produce heat and motion.
The fuel which supplies this force is taken into the body as food,
prepared for use in the intestinal tract, and from there carried by the
blood to be stored up in the muscles and various tissues as latent
force. Through the circulation of the blood the whole body is heated by
muscular exercise. It stands to reason that continual exercise of a
certain kind will develop certain muscles. For instance, there's the
arm of the blacksmith or the firmly developed legs of the danseuse. The
same muscle that grows when used within certain limits will waste away
when deprived of proper exercise.
In physical culture the object is the symmetrical development of all
the muscles, not one at the expense of the other. So, for that reason,
don't pin your faith to dumb-bells and Indian clubs and neglect more
necessary exercise. If you do you will in time find yourself possessed
of big Sandow arms that will make the rest of you look as spindle-like
as a last year's golden-rod stalk.
Walking is as good a form of exercise as anything yet discovered. But
walking as most girls and women walk won't do you one bit of good. You
might just as well spend your time trying to count 700 backward or
while away the hours talking 1880 fashions with the woman next door,
for all the health or happiness or physical development that you will
get out of it.
Corsets and bands and belts must be done away with. You must have full,
free use of your lungs. Then, don't wear heavy petti-coats that will
retard the free movements of your legs and make your hips ache with
their tiresome weight. Dress warmly but as lightly as possible.
Above everything else don't stick your fingertips into a muff and
waddle along like a little duck in sealskin and purple velvet
trimmings. Your arms must swing easily at your sides. Thus equipped
walking should not be a task, but a great, big, lovely joy, no matter
if the frost does nip your nice little nose and make your cheeks feel
as if they had been starched, dried, ironed and hung on the line to
air.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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