Sex efficiency through exercises : special physical culture for women / by Th. H. van de Velde ; [photos, by E. Steinemann].
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the whole, the exercises herein prescribed do not result in any undue foetal movements—that is, if they are carried out with proper care and caution. In the English language there is a beautifully appropriate term for the right pace and way in which the exercises should be performed : the term is measured. Measure is essential: and, just as the expres- sion " with measured tread " conveys a suggestion of dignity and deep reverence, as of a priest carrying sacred emblems, so it may also be applied to the strengthening bodily exercises of the woman with child. If the expectant mother works regularly and appropriately day by day, together with the wonderful organic processes which are building a new life in her body—she will make that body full of vigour and elasticity, and she will enshrine in its inmost sanctuary the most precious gift that life can give her—enshrine it gladly and proudly. For the expectant mother should carry her child, not as one overburdened with a heavy load, but as a cupbearer guards and lifts a precious chalice of the wine of life : a Holy Grail. Vigilance that has naught of fear but that incessantly cherishes and protects is the keynote of the bodily care due to the woman with child. As Leonore Geibel has said :— " Heavy I pace and my slow swinging calm Shall lull thee gently without fear or fret, My little son, no burden but sweet balm, The melody whereto my days are set. Deep in myself withdrawn, I brood apart, But fearing naught—for thou hast banished fear ; Bearing new worlds, new dawns beneath my heart, Nor looking backward, as the hour draws near." * * * What of essential details in exercise during pregnancy ? First and foremost: adequate amount of and control of breath. During the complicated development of the child's body, the metabolic processes of the mother undergo changes and stresses which make the maximum amount of oxygena- tion (through the lungs) necessary for the welfare of both. And most people breathe insufficiently. Either they do not know how to breathe aright, or they " do not think it