system 83

S3

ping it in the fuli bucket If you <lo not Iike absolutely colfl water, which is only good for the ncrvous system so long as one docs not sutfer from "nerves," you shoukl use lukewarm or wami water.

To all weak or nervous persons X would rather recommend a hot bath, perhaps linished by a short coldcr douclie.

The bath itself can. of course, be taken in different ways. Sonie are in the habit of talcing a large sponge, dipping it in the water, and squcezing it over themsehes. I will describe the most practical modę of procedurę.

Stand up in the middle of the “ spongc-batłi,” and pour the contents of the sprinkler over yourself. Thcn sit down in the middle of the bath, and pour the rest of the water in the bucket over you. With a little practice you can manage so that the water divides and runs down the body, without any worth mentioning bcing spilt. But be cureful not to make water-jets of your elbows. If it be absolutely necessary that not a drop shall be spilt, you should sit down straightaway, before beginning to wet yourself. But even if you are standing up, you need not upset morę water tlian if you were sprinkling the door for sweeping —and that is a good thing to do.

Then Ue down on your back in the bath, which will cause the yolume of water to rise. so that by rolling a little over on the sides you tan get botli arms and sides undcr water. Scoop the water up from the sides, ftrst in one hand, then in the other, to get it up to the front parts of the body that the water cannot reach. Then sit up, well back in the bath, and pour water some few times down tiie sides of the chest, forming a cup with the two hands. Aftcrwards pour water in the same way over the upper and under side of the thighs, then bathe the seat, and finally stand up again and wash the lower part of the legs and the feet.

When once a week you liave used warm water and soap, swill yourself all over afterwards with cold water, using a jug or hand shower-bath.

If you have got no tub at all you can still have a sort of bath by simply standing on a mat and slapping the body smartly all over with a towel dipped in cold or lukewarm water, or, in the event of only one towel being handy, by wetting the body with the hand.

Drying the Body

While stili standing in the bath. wipe or rub yourself down a few times with the hands, with similar action to that dcscribed under Exercise i r. but of course you must also rub down the front of the legs. This will get rid of most of the water. Tn the same way wipe the water off the arms and hair, into the bath. Then shake the water from your feet, stand on a smali rug or mat* and begin the actual drying of the body with a towel. First dry your hair, face, and neck, so that the water shall not drip from them on to your body whilst you are drying it. Next rub the front of the body seeeral times up and down from the neck to the abdomen, and several times up and down the sides from the armpits to below the liips. The best way of doing this is to fold the

• If you use one and the same mat or carpet for all the exerv:se$, you ought. while drying yourself, to have it double, with the wiong side up. and then wben you have hnished the eaercises ilshould be hang out to dry.