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Show Transformation The S.orr of .b Comeb.ck of . Wom.n Cone to Seed By MaryCulbeo INSTALLMENT XV. Improved Standing Po.it.on STANDING is ot a matter of "S throwing back the shou t ers, holding your head up and keipl the lower part of your body a flat as possible," said the rhythm instructor. in-structor. "This may be true, but you never will stand properly until your whole body learns the lesson of relaxation re-laxation and of a perfect control. When you get the feeling of individual indi-vidual rhUhms that underlie their everv movement, then it will be as natural for you to stand correctly as it is for you to stand at all. "I think I've slouched all my life. Helen responded. ' I "Well, vou appear to have been do- j in" It for some little time," the in- . structor smiled. "However, the Idea t Is Mrs. Crane, to stand as comfortably comfort-ably erect as you can without making conscious effort for a correct posture. I I'd like vou t" try to vision cool slim reeds. From them a lesson may be learned. What Is your Idea of them, I Mrs. Crane?" I "They ure straight." The Instiuc- : tor noddeil encouragingly. "A n d " Helen hesitated. "Thev are straight, but not stiff they are unbroken and whole," the instructor in-structor announced. "And the sap Hows up through them unimpeded by crooks and bends. I want the feeling j of those slim reeds to permeate your being I want your body to be relaxed re-laxed nnd under control. That Is the only condition, Mrs. Crane, under which it will properly obey. You must lose that seif-consciou.-ne.-s that is the bane of human beings. It is that . that makes our bodies awkward and j our lingers clumsy." j "I've been conscious of my bulk for so long. It will be diliicult to forget about my body," Helen smiled. ; "Hut you must. Crnce can be nc- , quired only after vou have learned how to manage your body, and then have forgotten about it." came the emphatic rejoinder. Helen's Ungainly Attitude. Here was a ridiculous slounch. She stood wilh one hip sagging, the opposite oppo-site shoulder drooped, her stomach thrust forward as will as her neck and head, licr body was thrown o-i: of its natural line and made ti e Internal In-ternal organs labor nt a disadvantage. "Here is a caterpillar look at It well, pba-e. You'll note that lie has no spinal column such as we have. Hut since ours is In snail sections we can at least try to Imitate his graceful curling and uncurling." A small maid received the worm nr. 1 carried It off afler Helen Lad carefully care-fully examined It. "Where he lies stretched out yon must stand, (in you both the hot sr.n beats down. Can't you feel the heat seeping through tin soft hairs? Ami oh. how drowsy nnd hot you feel. Slowly very slowly you begin lo curl, segment by segment. Your head drops over lirt, lie n the next section nnd the next. The hot sun Is still beating down on o.i and you grow drowsier and sleepier. At last you lire one big curl. Are you bent over from the waNt ns far as you can bend?" Helen man lged an allinn:i-tivo allinn:i-tivo noil. Now It Is the cool of the CM'niim nnd Helen begins to uncurl. Section by section straightens, starting from the base, until she Is ns straight as she had been, which was not symmetrical, sym-metrical, a" we know. It took many such movements before be-fore she felt the spirit of the thing the rhythm. The vertebrae in her neck were so tight and unyielding from holding her head In that thrust-out thrust-out side position for years lhat even when she tried lo I oen Ihem and hold her head erect she could not accomplish It. The caterpillar exercise did nun h for Helen; each time she came to a more erect position posi-tion of the bend than the lime before. She forgot the specific reasons for her movements In the Interest of feeling Ihe movement of the caterpillar and so unconsciously straightened nnd limbered her neck to n surprising degree. de-gree. She loved being a caterpillar, it nuiile her feel so warm, so cosy, and oh so sleepy. Learn From Turtle. "Can you recall a turtle perfectly, Mrs. Crane?" "Not pcrfeolly but I've a har.y Idea of lis size and inoveuieiil s." Helen was standing erect. "Try to feel on your back the hard shell of Ihe tnrlle. Can yon do It?" the Instructor In-structor asked nfler a moment. "I'm try ing." The Instructor nodded nnd went on In a droning voice. "Your neck strelcbes way down to the base of your spine. II Is confined by that hard shell, so that your head hangs over. The hot sun is healing down on you and begins to crack yoni shell. You feci It cracking around your tied; first, then It 'flrops off. Drop your head a Utile. Mrs. Crane. More and more It cracks and drops to ihe floor. Kurt her and further your bead and long neck droop over. Now - ihe shell has all dropped off and all the neck has been freed nnd hangs from the base relaxed." HO by 111.. 11.11 Synillcntn. m. ) |