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MY BREATHING SYSTEM

Even if the heart has been weakened by athletics badly per-formed, it is wrong to cali it an “ athlete’s heart,” because a man ccases to be an athlete the moment his organs are weak. Xevcrtheless, we often see tbis error in the daily papers. A paragraph such as the following is typical : —

" A doctor stated at the inąuest to-day conccrning the sudden dcath of a naval cadet, N.N., that he had an athlete’s heart. Aftcr taking part in Swedish drill on H.M.S. X he collapsed. The parents of N.N. live at Y, and he has rowed in races for St. Z’s School, where he had good health.”

This example also proves that Swedish drill is not capablc of curing or strengthening a weak heart, such as often has been the case with “ My System.” Even if this young naval cadet had formerly weakened his heart by rowing without paying attention to his breathing, it could have been strengthened by scnsible free exercises, combined with correct deep-breathing—and his life would then have been spared.

Any sort of gymnastics and drill where the aim is homo-gencity and simultaneousness of the movements is, moreover, everything but adequate for strengthening hearts and lungs. Such drill can, and even must, be harmful to these organs when they arc weak. The reason is that it is not possible for the individual to breathe exactly in the manner and measure most natural and convcnient to him. This fact is very obvious in cases where smali boys arc drilled together with bigger boys.

Therc will, naturally, be an aggravation of the evil if the ultimate aim of the drill—as that of the Swedish, for in-stance— be to maintain an exaggerated stiff carriage with arched chest and in-drawn abdomen, throughout the wliole performance This sort of ” gymnastics,” which has hitherto been deemed by the public at large and, unfor-tunately, by most “ authorities ” as well, as e\cellent in every

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