THE GRACEFUL CARRIAGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 636, 12 April 1929, Page 5

THE GRACEFUL CARRIAGE

HOW TO ACQUIRE IT By a Masseuse The present fashions, with their revealing lines, are merciless in emphasising a poor carriage. Hollow chest, rounded shoulder, clumsy hips —all are made painfully apparent by the gowns of the moment. A good carriage has, therefore, become of extreme importance to every woman. And it is so easy to acquire that anyone who is willing to devote a few minutes each day to practise may speedily gain a grace that is synonymous with endurance and efficiency. All she lias to do is to carry herself in the way that conforms to the standards of beauty of the artist and the sculptor.

One of the greatest artists the world has ever known discovered that there was but one way of making a statue so that it could support its own weight, and not crumble away. His discovery is what is known as the “Leonardo da Vinci Line of Balance.” A sculptor drops a plumb-line from the crown of the head to the base and builds his statue round it, so to speak. A human being Avould find this plump-line test difficult to establish. But if you turn to a full-length mirror and hold your body so that a line could be drawn through the shoulder and hip to the instep, it will be in perfect poise. You «will find it easy to stand in this position without fatigue longer than in any other, and after a short time you will be well on the way to acquiring a graceful carriage. Physical instructors of an older day used to tell their students to hold up their chests, put their hips back, and measure the correctness by placing their heels and shoulders against a door; if both touched the door, the position was correct. They forgot that the curves of every human body are different. Students tried to follow these directions, with queer results. They looked as if they were encased in cardboard, and their muscles refused to bear the unnatural strain put upon them. No one could retain such a position for any length of time. A raw potato cut in slices or grated finely makes an excellent poultice for burns. It allays the heat quickly, after which sweet oil or carbolised vaseline can be applied. A thick felt pad attached to a pair of adjustable garters does away with a kneeling mat for household duties. The same idea, but with leather instead of felt, can be applied to gardening and motoring jobs.