| Show CI lIB e NORMAL POISE uF THE BODY How to Acquire It in Six Positions Faithfully Practiced The maiden who desires above and beyond all things to acquire physical buoyancy and lithe movements give her attention a moment to her center l of gravity This perhaps she may not know should never be over her heels but over the balls of her feet When one first tries the experiment of balancing in the correct way the sensation is very much that of tumbling over But ten days later and one exclaims Oh I feel so much lighter and younger young-er than when my weight rested on my heels heelsis indeed the easiest position possible S pos-sible and worth taking some trouble to acquire The preliminary step in learning the art of true balancing is to practice heel elevation or toe standing as taught by Swedish movements Exercise el Raise the heels quickly from the ground and stand as high on > tiptoe as possible then lower the heels with moderate speed without tipping the weight of the body backward To increase the difficulty of balance after one has become a little expert go through this exercise with the arms raised uprightS upright-S Exercise 2 Keep the heels on the ground and lift alternately the balls of d < 5 5 HUHTI r1nn with a toe ree L auu ui u u nn slight pressure one foot moving up as the other moves down The sneed should be about 70 movements per minute Care must be taken not to move the shoulders from side to side a common fault Exercise 3 LJft the heels bend the I I knees straighten the body then sink the heels The knees must point in I I I the direction of the feet and remain I bent at right angles This Is a true I balance movement to be done with moderate speed I Exercise 4 Lift the heels bend the knees again at right angles to the body and sit down with the body erect Exercise 5 Band the knee lift the leg slowly upward and forward until hip and knee are bent at right angles The Instep should be stretched so that the toes point downward the knee J pointing sideways forward Common faults in practicing this exercise are to incline the body backward tip the 1 shoulder the opposite side and to 1 bend the knee of the leg which holds the body It must be understood that all these J movements are to alternate first with one foot and then with the other S Exercise 6 Standing with the hips firm move first the right iind then the I left foot parallel with itself twice its own length forward and place it on theground with a gentle pressure on the ball of the foot the weight of the body being carried equally by both feet The movements should be taken backward as well These exercises bring into play all the muscles of the legs as well as those about the waist Walking on tiptoe is an excellent balance bal-ance movement The shoulders should be kept level throughout the exercise which is then one of the best means of correcting the habit of tipping the shoulders from side to side when walk I lag In walking on tiptoe one lands 1 on the balls of the feet which is the point of the matterthe great desideratum desider-atum if a lithe graceful gait is to be I cultivated DIANA CROSSWATS |
