Preparation for the Exercises
The clothing should be loose, especially around the neck and chest. It is advisable, when convenient, that the collar should be removed for the duration of the exercises. The buttons of the coat and vest, too, should be unfastened. (After a short time it will be found that these buttons must be placed nearer the edges of the garments.)
The girl or woman who wishes to get the best results from these exercises should be sure to have no clothing on that may bind her about the waist, constrict her diaphragm, or press upon her abdominal muscles.
It is almost superfluous to say that she should never attempt her exercises without, at least, first divesting herself of her corset—if she wears corsets. It is better to wear merely the comfortable union suit that so many sensible girls and women now wear. For this affords perfect freedom of movement and permits every muscle to be properly tensed and relaxed by the deep breathing exercises, and the gymnastic movements that accompany them.
The first requirement throughout all the exercises is a preliminary releasing from the lungs of the old, dead air, which is a continual source of self-poisoning. This accumulation must be driven out from the points of the lungs before the new breath is taken. It is repeated also on the conclusion of all the exercises. It must never be neglected.