As an appalling commentary on the neglect of proper breathing by the mass of mankind, we may consider the fact, now generally admitted by the medical profession, that fully one half of the world’s death-rate is due to consumption.
The fact could hardly be otherwise. Any experienced physician is well aware that only a small part of the lungs is ordinarily used by the average person. A large portion of the breathing apparatus is in most cases never employed at all. Naturally, inevitably, such areas in the lungs weaken and become degenerate. They offer a breeding place for the germs of various infections.
Why Ordinary Systems of Exercise Fail
The various systems of gymnastics are designed for the surface-building of the body. The exercises affect almost exclusively the outer muscular structure. The scientific cultivation of the breath, on the contrary, acts directly on the inner, vital organs. These are strengthened and developed from the outset. Thus a sure foundation is laid on which to build toward physical perfection, and the true beauty which is, or should be, the heritage of every healthy man or woman. Any ordinary method must of necessity prove itself as ineffective as it is illogical.
The majority of athletes exhibit exterior muscles of most impressive bulk. It is a curious fact, however, that the bony structure, which measures the chest cavity, shows only a trifling development when deprived of its muscular support. It must always be borne in mind that the strength of the body lies in its organic power—not in the surface muscles. In fact, the larger the surface muscles are, the more strength is taken from the organic vitality in order to support and feed them. It is by reason of this drain upon the inner forces that athletes so often die young. Abnormal development of the muscular system at the expense of organic vitality is a folly always dangerous, often fatal.
How We Live On Air
Air is the substance on which principally we feed. What we eat is of secondary importance. The purity of the blood and the strength of the arteries through which it throbs depend absolutely upon right breathing. The greater the quantity of air taken into the lungs, the more oxygen for the purification of the blood—the constant and prime requirement for health.
The system of breathing which I advocate in this work is not a mere matter of theory, something vague and experimental. It is concrete; it is exact; its worth has been definitely proved. I have demonstrated the merit of the exercises in my own case. During a year and a half of practice my chest measurement increased from thirty-eight inches to forty-two.
Breathing Color Into Pale Faces
With many flat-chested and anemic girls I have seen an equally astonishing improvement. I have seen their chest develop, their busts become firm and rounded, and tell-tale hollows under their collar bones fill out.