d strained and elevated until the eyebrows never fall to their
normal height," or the brows are contracted until the hard lines
graven between the eyes ever bespeak either pain or care.

The founders of the Benedictine nuns caught some echo of this truth
when, by a rule of their order, no sister among them is permitted to
wear a frown upon her brow. And the placid-faced sisterhood evidence
in their sweet expressions the close relation between the exoteric and
esoteric of our natures; the reflex action between the physical and
the spiritual entities of our being.

Art of Breathing.

There are a few general points that may be given here to the
improvement of many little habits that unconsciously enslave us and to
the "letting go" of the "officious personal endeavor" that we make, as
it were, to hold ourselves together--never believing that nature is
more capable of the task. After the decomposing exercises comes the
practice of one of the first Delsartean axioms: "Control at the
center, freedom at the extremities." Without this control the newly
acquired flexibility will be weak and affected.

To obtain this control the art of breathing must first be acquired. To
do this properly the chest should be inflated and thrown forward by
the action of the diaphragm and held as the most prominent part of
the body; a position too often usurped by the inferior abdomen. The
same motion which throws out the chest should draw in the lower part
of the trunk, hanging it from the curve of the spine. In the proper
attitude for good breathing the hips turn slightly inward and the chin
goes back, but not up. There should be no effort to throw back the
shoulders. Take care of the chest, and the shoulders will take care of
themselves.

Position of the Shoulders.

Mrs. Edmond Russell says she would "like to make a call that would
reach every man and woman in the country. 'Lift up your shoulders.'
When one says this nine-tenths of them stiffen at the neck, throw
themselves backward and project the body below the waist, the whole
figure out of line. No, you should get the poise of a Greek goddess."
Lift the chest, with the shoulders down, until it is on a line with
the toes. This throws the extension on the center of the body where it
should be. The heart and lungs now have full play. Close the lips;
draw in the air through the nostrils, using the muscles below the
diaphragm as a bellows, until the pressure against the ribs has a
burs