28717 mbs 112

MY BREATIIING SYSTEM

muscles while in-figliting, and lie also admitted that they had bcen quite rclaxed when he reccived Carpcntier’s body blows. I then cxplained to him the method of rcgular breatliing with braced waist-musclcs, and tlić best way of learning and practising it. 1 told him ho w to perform cer-tain movemcnts of " My System " in an extra severe degree, above all. Exercise No. 6, with very slow leg-circling and with heavy boots or weights on the feet. This excrcise spccially strengthens the muscles guarding the solar plexus, and, when combined with the prescribed deep breatliing, it produces the ability of respiring during the fixation of the lower ribs and the contraction of the abovc-mentioncd piuscles.

It is interesting to notę that it was just tliis lcg-circling exercise of minę that contributed so much to the improre-ment of the British Champion for the tirnc being, When the Swedish translation of “ My System ” appeared in 1906 it was severely critciscd, and I was callcd a charlatan and an ignoramus by the represcntatives of the Swedish gymnastics. Above all, the principal of the Central Institute in Stock-holm, Professor L. Torngreen, wrotc long condemnatory articles in ccrtain papers. It was my Exercisc No. 6, especially, which he declared ought to be cntircly rejected, because it was a physical impossibility to breathe during its performance. Which atfords a good example of how conceited certain public authorities arc, and how stupid, even when dcaling with their own special subjeets.

I also showed Wells another good exercise for practising tliis method of breatliing with rib« ńxed and the abdominal wali braced. Lying upon my back 011 the floor, I let him stand upon my “ stornach ” for a rather long time whilst I continued the regular respiration. And I furtker explaincd to him how it was possible to sit in a chair, c>r in a railway compartment, and practise this combined clavicular and

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