Page:Massage & exercises combined (second version).djvu/34

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that complete fatigue results. The same may be true in the case of stout people who wish to reduce, when the heart and other vital organs are not essentially weakened.

Men, women and children who use the exercises daily for improving and preserving their health will undoubtedly follow a moderate course and do each exercise only until slightly fatigued. However, more strenuous performances may be executed, but care should be taken to avoid all extremes.

If any exercise provokes fatigue, the fifteen seconds deep breathing between that and the next will probably serve to eradicate this. If not, the pause between the massage exercise and the breathing may be prolonged. However, the fatigue feeling resulting from a vigorous or prolonged massage exercise will not last as long as that which results from other exercises with similar exertion. This is due to the influence of the massage movements.


THE BEST TIME FOR THE EXERCISES

While it is well to do exercises in the morning, the majority do not feel inclined to exert themselves vigorously immediately upon arising. Neither is it scientifically correct, since the body has been inactive and in a prone position for several hours. The following procedure is advisable:

Upon arising, practice the general and special breathing exercises without strain, about two times each. This will benefit the heart action and the circulation. Subsequently, or after the bath, practice all the massage exercises from five to ten times each. If there is no time for all, practice exercises No. 7 or 5, or both.

Get the habit of proper breathing from early morning.

If a bath is taken every morning, a warm shower gradually getting cooler is preferable.

The afternoon or evening, about half an hour before dinner, is also a desirable time for exercising, since the flow of the