free it by slow degrees, and the motions should
at first be practised only a few minutes at a time. I can hardly warn
readers too often against the possibility of an unpleasant reaction, if
the relaxing is practised too long, or gained too rapidly.

Then should come exercises for freeing the arms; and these can be taken
sitting. Let the arms hang heavily at the sides; raise one arm slowly,
feeling the weight more and more distinctly, and only contracting the
shoulder muscles. It is well to raise it a few inches, then drop it
heavily and try again,--each time taking force out of the lower muscles
by thinking the arm heavy, and the motive power in the shoulder. If the
arm itself can rest heavily on some one's hand while you are still
raising it from the shoulder, that proves that you have succeeded in
withdrawing the useless tension. Most arms feel stiff all the way
along, when the owners raise them. Your arm must be raised until high
overhead, the hand hanging from the wrist and dropped into your lap or
down at the side, letting the elbow "give," so that the upper arm drops
first, and then the fore arm and hand,--like three heavy sand-bags
sewed together. The arm can be brought up to the level of the shoulder,
and then round in front and dropped. To prove its freedom, toss it with
the shoulder muscles from the side into the lap. Watch carefully that
the arm itself has no more tension than if it were a sand-bag hung at
the side, and could only be moved by the shoulder. After practising
this two or three times so that the arms are relaxed enough to make you
more sensitive to tension, one hundred times a day you will find your
arms held rigidly, while you are listening or talking or walking. Every
day you will grow more sensitive to the useless tension, and every day
gain new power to drop it. This is wherein the real practice comes. An
hour or two hours a day of relaxing exercises will amount to nothing if
at the same time we are not careful to use the freedom gained, and to
do everything more naturally. It is often said, "But I cannot waste
time watching all day to see if I am using too much force." There is no
need to watch; having once started in the right direction, if you drop
useless muscular contraction every time you notice it, that is enough.
It will be as natural to do that as for a musician to correct a discord
which he has inadvertently made on the piano.

There are no motions so quieting, so helpful in the ge