Retain Those Youthful Lines

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 947, 14 April 1930, Page 5

Retain Those Youthful Lines

How often have you admired a I woman simply because of her graceful lines, and there- is no denying that the simplest and least expensive of clothes look quite different when they are draped on a lovely figure. And there is no reason why the woman •of fifty should not possess the slim, supple lines of eighteen. It is so easy to keep supple, and even ! easier to become stiff and old-looking, if you don't pay regular attention to your muscles. You would not dream | of going to bed without cleaning your | teeth, and if you are wise you always j cream and massage your face every- ! night. But tyw many people let their muscles get stiff and clogged until it is almost impossible to make them young and elastic again. Yet there is really no reason why, in this age of science, we should not be as young in muscle at fifty as at eighteen, and if you will be guided by common sense you can restore your elasticity even if you have lost it. NO DRASTIC MEASURES It is a great mistake to be too violeat or drastic in your efforts to regain your youthful suppleness. So many people get carried away by the desire to make their muscles young again that they are too quick in their methods, with the result that they probably overstrain themselves. For instance, you should be able to touch your toes every morning at least ten times, but to do this you must educate your ligaments. Have a very hot bath (it is quite a good plan to put in a packet of mustard if you are not going out immediately afterward), and after you have soaked yourself well, try to bend as far down as you can—hut begin very gradually. FStop directly it begins to hurt, and after you have finished rub the small of your back with your hands. If

| you find that you are very stiff next day, bend as little as possible, but don’t give up altogether. NO EXCUSE Having passed forty is no reason to j allow your bones to stiffen and so cie | prive yourself of health and pleasure.! Unless you are really a sufferer from severe rheumatism you can do every-1 thing that is needed for yourself with I the exercise of a little common sense. Of course, if you get an attack of lumbago, go and have electrical treat- j ment, for it will cure it quickly, aud j very likely prevent it recurring. I Now, if you arc middle-aged and i

want to become youthfully supple ag'ain, take up dancing. It is one of the easiest ways of combining health and pleasure. You are tak ing exercise, and at the same time you are using your muscles, and almosi imperceptibly you will find that they will become more elastic. And il you are middle-aged and wish to keep your muscles young you must seize every opportunity of using them. Don’t confine your bending exer cises to the morning, although that is the best time, but occasionally during the day bend down or do some foru: of exercise. It will only take you a minute or two, but it will prevent your muscles getting “set.” Another form of exercise that is really excellent for the middle-aged woman is golf. There is no doubt j about it that a good brisk walk is the I finest and easiest method of taking general exercise, and when combined j with the swinging of clubs very few | muscles have time to get stiff. Your j leg, arm and back muscles all come in i for a share of the work, j Apart from that you will be posii tively surprised how slim you will get and remain so, even if you only i play a round or so a week.