Sex efficiency through exercises : special physical culture for women / by Th. H. van de Velde ; [photos, by E. Steinemann].

Of course, this exercise can only be attempted when the organs have recovered sufficiently for there to be no objection to the woman's prone (abdominal) posture. Like all exercises involving one limb at a time, this too should be performed alternately left and right. For the sake of clearness, Fig. 37 represents the limb as held from the inside, but, in fact, it is better to hold it from the outside. (25) Leg Lifting Backwards against Pressure (Fig. 38). Posture as in Exercise 24 (face forwards). The instruc- tress places one hand above the hollow of the knee, and the other just above the gluteal muscle, and exercises a certain degree of pressure which the patient must overcome by a rapid upward and backward movement of the leg. Then she must at once let her leg slip back again. Repeat with each leg three or four times in succession. (26) Knee Parting and Closing with Raised Pelvis and against Pressure (Fig. 39). The patient lies on her back, separates her legs and raises her knees. She then places her hands below her nates at the back and rests on her elbows in order to give herself better " purchase " for lifting her pelvis. The instructress clasps each knee and the patient alternately opens and closes them against pressure from the instructress. In the later stages of the puerperium (under normal conditions after about a fortnight), or in muscularly strong and expert women, apart from pregnancy and puerperium, the woman's hands need not support her pelvic region. When the mother has left her bed and as soon as she is sufficiently recovered, the following exercises may be performed :— (27) Turning the Trunk Sideways (Fig. 40). (a) Passive.—The patient sits on a chair and grips the chair-legs firmly with her lower limbs as is clearly shown in the illustration. The instructress stands behind the patient holding her round the shoulders and turns her trunk so far