Ella Wheeler Wilcox - "Poems of Power"

Andrew Lang - "The Puzzle of Dickens's Last Plot"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - "Micah Clarke"

R. L. Alsaker - "Maintaining Health"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: Nature Cure

H >> Henry Lindlahr >> Nature Cure




What Is the Cause of Poor Skin Action?

Man is naturally an air animal. He breathes with the pores of the
skin as well as with the lungs. However, the custom of hiding the
body under dense, heavy clothing, thus excluding it from the
life-giving influence of air and light, together with the habit of
warm bathing, has weakened and enervated the skin of the average
individual until it has lost its tonicity and is no longer capable
of fulfilling its natural functions.

The compact, almost airtight layers of underwear and outer clothing
made of cotton, wool, silk and leather prevent the ventilation of
the skin and the escape of the morbid excretions of the body. The
skin is an organ of absorption as well as of excretion; consequently
the systemic poisons which are eliminated from the organism, if not
removed by proper ventilation and bathing, are reabsorbed into the
system just like the poisonous exhalations from the lungs are
reinhaled and reabsorbed by people congregating in closed rooms or
sleeping in unventilated bedrooms.

Who would think of keeping plants or animals continuously covered
up, away from the air and light? We know they would wither and waste
away, and die before long.

Nevertheless, civilized human beings have for ages hidden their
bodies most carefully from sun and air, which are so necessary to
their well-being. Is it any wonder that the human cuticle has become
withered, enervated and atrophied, that it has lost the power to
perform freely and efficiently its functions of elimination and
absorption? Undoubtedly, this has much to do with the prevalence of
disease.

In the iris of the eye the atrophied condition of the skin is
indicated by a heavy, dark rim, the so-called scurf rim. It
signifies that the skin has become anemic, the surface circulation
sluggish and defective, and that the elimination of morbid matter
and systemic poisons through the skin is handicapped and retarded.
This, in turn, causes autointoxication and favors the development of
all kinds of acute and chronic diseases.

The Importance of the Skin as an Organ of Elimination

Of late physiologists have claimed that the skin is not of great
importance as an organ of elimination. Common experience and the
Diagnosis from the Eye teach us differently. The black rim seen more
or less distinctly in the outer rim of the iris in the eyes of the
majority of people has been called the scurf rim, because it was
found that this dark rim appears in the iris after the suppression
of scurfy and other forms of skin eruptions and after the external
or internal use of lotions, ointments and medicines containing
mercury, zinc, iodine, arsenic or other poisons which suppress or
destroy the life and activity of the skin.

Therefore, when we see in the iris of a person a heavy scurf rim, we
can tell him at once: "Your cuticle is in a sluggish, atrophied
condition, the surface circulation and elimination through the skin
are not good and as a result of this there is a strong tendency to
autointoxication, you take cold easily, and suffer from chronic
catarrhal conditions." Therefore, a heavy scurf rim frequently
indicates what is ordinarily called "a scrofulous condition."

This certainly shows the great importance of the skin as an organ of
elimination and the necessity of keeping it in the best possible
condition. It explains why an atrophied skin has so much to do with
the causation of disease and why in the treatment of both acute and
chronic ailments air and cold water produce such wonderful results.

The favorite method of diagnosis employed by Father Kneipp, the
great water cure apostle, was to examine the skin of his patients.
If the "jacket," as he called it, was in fairly good condition, he
predicted a speedy recovery. If he found the "jacket" shriveled and
dry, weakened and atrophied, he shook his head and informed the
patient that it would take much time and patience to restore him to
health. He, as well as other pioneers of the Nature Cure movement,
realized that elimination is the keynote in the treatment of acute
and chronic diseases.

When Air Baths Should Be Taken

On awakening in the morning and several times during the day, if
circumstances permit, expose your nude body to the invigorating
influence of the open air and the sunlight.

During the hot season of the year and in tropical countries the best
time for taking air and sun baths is the early morning and the late
afternoon.

Persons suffering from insomnia or nervousness in any form are in
nearly every case greatly benefited by a short air bath taken just
before retiring, either preceding or following the evening sitz
bath, as may be most convenient.

Where Air Baths Should Be Taken

If at all possible, air baths should be taken out of doors. Every
house should have facilities for air and sun baths, that is, an
enclosure where the nude body can be exposed to the open air and the
sunlight.

If the air bath out of doors is impracticable, it may be taken in
front of an open window. But indoor air, even in a well-ventilated
room, is more or less stagnant and vitiated, and at best only a poor
substitute for the open air.

It is the breezy, moving outdoor air, permeated with sunlight and
rich in oxygen and ozone, that generates the electric and magnetic
currents which are so stimulating and vitalizing to everything that
draws the breath of life.

This is being realized more and more, and air-bath facilities will
in the near future be considered as indispensable in the modern,
up-to-date house as is now the bathroom.

We predict that before many years the roofs of apartment houses will
be utilized for this purpose and people will wonder how they ever
got along without the air bath.

Our sanitarium has two large enclosures on its roof, open above and
surrounded on all sides by wooden lattice work, which allows the air
to circulate freely, but excludes observation from neighboring roofs
and windows and the streets below. One compartment is for men and
one for women, each provided with gymnastic apparatus and a separate
spray room.

How Air Baths Should Be Taken

At first expose the nude body to cool air only for short periods at
a time, until the skin becomes inured to it.

Likewise, unless you are well used to the sun, take air baths of
short duration, say from ten to twenty minutes, until your skin and
your nervous system have become accustomed to the influence of heat
and strong light. Prolonged exposure to the glaring rays of the
noonday sun might produce severe burning of the skin, aside from a
possible harmful effect upon the nervous system.

The novice should protect head and eyes against the fierce rays of
sunlight. This is best accomplished by means of a wide-brimmed straw
hat of light weight. In cases where dizziness results from the
effect of the heat upon the brain, a wet cloth may be swathed around
the head or placed inside a straw hat.

It will be found very pleasurable and invigorating to take a cold
shower or spray off and on during the sun bath and to allow the air
to dry the body. This will also increase its electromagnetic effects
upon the system.

The Friction Bath

While taking the air bath, the skin may be rubbed or brushed with a
rough towel or a flesh brush in order to remove the excretions and
the atrophied cuticle. The friction bath should always be followed
by a spray or a cold-water rub.

At the time of the air bath, practice breathing exercises and the
curative gymnastics appropriate to your condition. (See Chapters
Twenty-Eight and Thirty on "Correct Breathing" and "Physical
Exercise.")

If the air bath is taken at night, before retiring, the less active
breathing exercises, as numbers 1, 3, 7 and 13, may be taken with
good results, but all vigorous stimulating movements should be
avoided.

As the plant prospers under the life-giving influence of water and
light, so the cuticle of the human skin becomes alive and active
under the natural stimulation of water, air and sunlight. From the
foregoing paragraphs it will be seen why the air and light baths are
regarded among the most important natural methods of treatment in
all the great Nature Cure sanitariums of Germany.



Chapter XXX


Correct Breathing


The lungs are to the body what the bellows are to the fires of the
forge. The more regularly and vigorously the air is forced through
the bellows and through the lungs, the livelier burns the flame in
the smithy and the fires of life in the body.

Practice deep, regular breathing systematically for one week, and
you will be surprised at the results. You will feel like a different
person, and your working capacity, both physically and mentally,
will be immensely increased.

A plentiful supply of fresh air is more necessary than food and
drink. We can live without food for weeks, without water for days,
but without air only a few minutes.

The Process of Breathing

With every inhalation, air is sucked in through the windpipe or
trachea, which terminates in two tubes called bronchi, one leading
to the right lung, one to the left. The air is then distributed over
the lungs through a network of minute tubes, to the air cells, which
are separated by only a thin membrane from equally fine and minute
blood vessels forming another network of tubes.

The oxygen contained in the inhaled air passes freely through these
membranes, is absorbed by the blood, carried to the heart and thence
through the arteries and their branches to the different organs and
tissues of the body, fanning the fires of life into brighter flame
all along its course and burning up the waste products and poisons
that have accumulated during the vital processes of digestion,
assimilation and elimination.

After the blood has unloaded its supply of oxygen, it takes up the
carbonic acid gas which is produced during the oxidation and
combustion of waste matter and carries it to the lungs, where the
poisonous gases are transferred to the air cells and expelled with
the exhaled breath. This return trip of the blood to the lungs is
made through another set of blood vessels, the veins, and the blood,
dark with the sewage of the system, is now called venous blood.

In the lungs the venous blood discharges its freight of
excrementitious poisons and gases, and by coming in contact with
fresh air and a new supply of oxygen, it is again transformed into
bright, red arterial blood, pregnant with oxygen and ozone, the
life-sustaining elements of the atmosphere.

This explains why normal, deep, regular breathing is all-important
to sustain life and as a means of cure. By proper breathing, which
exercises and develops every part of the lungs, the capacity of the
air cells is increased. This, as we have learned, means also an
increased supply of life-sustaining and health-promoting oxygen to
the tissues and organs of the body.

Bad Effects of Shallow Breathing

Very few people breathe correctly. Some, especially women, with
tight skirtbands and corsets pressing on their vital organs, use
only the upper part of their lungs. Others breathe only with the
lower part and with the diaphragm, leaving the upper structures of
the lungs inactive and collapsed.

In those parts of the lungs that are not used, slimy secretions
accumulate, irritating the air cells and other tissues, which become
inflamed and begin to decay. Thus a luxuriant soil is prepared for
the tubercle bacillus, the pneumococcus and other disease-producing
bacilli and germs.

This habit of shallow breathing, which does not allow the lungs to
be thoroughly permeated with fresh air, accounts in a measure for
the fact that one-third of all deaths result from diseases of the
lungs. To one individual perishing from food starvation, thousands
are dying from oxygen starvation.

Lung culture is more important than other branches of learning and
training which require more time and a greater outlay of time, money
and effort. In the Nature Cure regimen, breathing exercises play an
important part.

Breathing Exercises

General Directions

The effectiveness of breathing exercises and of all other kinds of
corrective movements depends upon the mental attitude during the
time of practice. Each motion should be accompanied by the conscious
effort to make it produce a certain result. Much more can be
accomplished with mental concentration, by keeping your mind on what
you are doing, than by performing the exercises in an aimless,
indifferent way.

Keep in the open air as much as possible and at all events sleep
with windows open.

If your occupation is sedentary, take all opportunities for walking
out of doors that present themselves. While walking, breathe
regularly and deeply, filling the lungs to their fullest capacity
and also expelling as much air as possible at each exhalation. Undue
strain should, of course, be avoided. This applies to all breathing
exercises.

Do not breathe through the mouth. Nature intends that the outer air
shall reach the lungs by way of the nose, whose membranes are lined
with fine hairs in order to sift the air and to prevent foreign
particles, dust and dirt, from irritating the mucous linings of the
air tract and entering the delicate structures of the lungs. Also,
the air is warmed before it reaches the lungs by its passage through
the nose.

Let the exhalations take about double the time of the inhalations.
This will be further explained in connection with rhythmical
breathing.

Do not hold the breath between inhalations. Though frequently
recommended by teachers of certain methods of breath culture, this
practice is more harmful than beneficial.

The Proper Standing Position

Of great importance is the position assumed habitually by the body
while standing and walking. Carelessness in this respect is not only
unpleasant to the beholder, but its consequences are far-reaching in
their effects upon health and the well-being of the organism.

On the other hand, a good carriage of the body aids in the
development of muscles and tissues generally and in the proper
functioning of cells and organs in particular. With the weight of
the body thrown upon the balls of the feet and the center of gravity
well focused, the abdominal organs will stay in place and there will
be no strain upon the ligaments that support them.

In assuming the proper standing position, stand with your back to
the wall, touching it with heels, buttocks, shoulders and head. Now
bend the head backward and push the shoulders forward and away from
the wall, still touching the wall with buttocks and heels.
Straighten the head, keeping the shoulders in the forward position.
Now walk away from the wall and endeavor to maintain this position
while taking the breathing exercises and practicing the various arm
movements.

Take this position as often as possible during the day and try to
maintain it while you go about your different tasks that must be
performed while standing. Gradually this position will become second
nature, and you will assume and maintain it without effort.

When the body is in this position, the viscera are in their normal
place. This aids the digestion materially and benefits indirectly
the entire functional organism.

Persistent practice of the above will correct protruding abdomen and
other defects due to faulty position and carriage of the body.

The following breathing exercises are intended especially to develop
greater lung capacity and to assist in forming the habit of
breathing properly at all times. The different movements should be
repeated from three to six times, according to endurance and the
amount of time at disposal.

(1) With hands at sides or on hips, inhale and exhale slowly and
deeply, bringing the entire respiratory apparatus into active play.

(2) (To expand the chest and increase the air capacity of the
lungs.)

Jerk the shoulder forward in several separate movements, inhaling
deeper at each forward jerk. Exhale slowly, bringing the shoulders
back to the original position.

Reverse the exercise, jerking the shoulders backward in similar
manner while inhaling. Alternate the movements, forcing the
shoulders first forward, then backward.

(3) Stand erect, arms at sides. Inhale, raising the arms forward and
upward until the palms touch above the head, at the same time
raising on the toes as high as possible. Exhale, lowering the toes,
bringing the hands downward in a wide circle until the palms touch
the thighs.

(4) Stand erect, hands on hips. Inhale slowly and deeply, raising
the shoulders as high as possible, then, with a jerk, drop them as
low as possible, letting the breath escape slowly.

(5) Stand erect, hands at shoulders. Inhale, raising elbows
sideways; exhale, bringing elbows down so as to strike the sides
vigorously.

(6) Inhale deeply, then exhale slowly, at the same time clapping the
chest with the palms of the hands, covering the entire surface.

(These six exercises are essential and sufficient. The following
four may be practiced by those who are able to perform them and who
have time and inclination to do so.)

(7) Stand erect, hands at sides. Inhale slowly and deeply, at the
same time bringing the hands, palms up, in front of the body to the
height of the shoulders. Exhale, at the same time turning the palms
downward and bringing the hands down in an outward circle.

(8) Stand erect, the right arm raised upward, the left crossed
behind the back. Lean far back, then bend forward and touch the
floor with the right hand, without bending the knees, as far in
front of the body as possible. Raise the body to original posture,
reverse position of arms, and repeat the exercise. Inhale while
leaning backward and changing position of arms, exhale while bending
forward.

(9) Position erect, feet well apart, both arms raised. Lean back,
inhaling, then bend forward, exhaling, touching the floor with both
hands between the legs as far back as possible.

(10) Horizontal position, supporting the body on palms and toes.
Swing the right hand upward and backward, flinging the body to the
left side, resting on the left hand and the left foot. Return to
original position, repeat the exercise, flinging the body to the
right side. Inhale while swinging backward, exhale while returning
to position.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

The diaphragm is a large, flat muscle, resembling a saucer, which
forms the division between the chest cavity and the abdominal
cavity. By downward expansion it causes the lungs to expand likewise
and to suck in the air. The pressure of air being greater on the
outside of the body than within, it rushes in and fills the vacuum
created by the descending diaphragm. As the diaphragm relaxes and
becomes contracted to its original size and position, the air is
expelled from the body.

(11) (To stimulate the action of the diaphragm)

Lie flat on floor or mattress, the head unsupported. Relax the
muscles all over the body, then inhale deeply with the diaphragm
only, raising the wall of the abdomen just below the ribs without
elevating either the chest or the lower abdomen. Take about four
seconds to inhale, then exhale in twice that length of time,
contracting the abdomen below the ribs.

(12) (Internal massage)

Lie on your back on a bed or couch, knees raised. Relax thoroughly,
exhale and hold the breath after exhalation. While doing so, push
the abdomen out and draw it in as far as possible each way. Repeat
these movements as long as you can hold the breath without
straining, then breathe deeply and regularly for several minutes,
then repeat the massage movements.

Next to deep breathing, I consider this practice of greater value
than any other physical exercise. It imparts to the intestines an
other abdominal organs a "washboard" motion which acts as a powerful
stimulant to all the organs in the abdominal cavity. Internal
massage is especially beneficial in chronic constipation. This
exercise may be performed also while standing or walking. It should
be practiced two or three times daily.

Breathing Exercises to Be Taken in Bed

(13) With hands at side, inhale slowly and deeply, as directed in
Exercise Number (1), filling and emptying the lungs as much as
possible, but without straining. Practice first lying on the back,
then on each side.

(14) Using one-or two-pound dumbbells, position recumbent on back,
arms extended sideways, dumbbells in hands. Raise the arms with
elbows rigid, cross arms over the chest as far as possible, at the
same time expelling the air from the lungs. Extend the arms to the
sides, inhaling deeply and raising the chest.

(15) Lie flat on the back, arms at sides. Grasping the dumbbells,
extend the arms backward over the head, inhaling. Leave them in this
position for a few seconds, then raise them straight above the
chest, and lower them slowly to the original position. Exhale during
the second half of this exercise.

As a variation, cross the arms in front of the body instead of
bringing to sides.

Rhythmical Breathing

It is a fact not generally known to us western people (our attention
had to be called to it by the "Wise Men of the East"), that in
normal, rhythmical breathing exhalation and inhalation take place
through one nostril at a time: for about one hour through the right
nostril and then for a like period through the left nostril.

The breath entering through the right nostril creates positive
electro-magnetic currents, which pass down the right side of the
spine, while the breath entering through the left nostril sends
negative electro-magnetic currents down the left side of the spine.
These currents are transmitted by way of the nerve centers or
ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system, which is situated
alongside the spinal column, to all parts of the body.

In the normal, rhythmical breath exhalation takes about twice the
time of inhalation. For instance, if inhalation require four
seconds, exhalation, including a slight natural pause before the new
inhalation, requires eight seconds.

The balancing of the electro-magnetic energies in the system depends
to a large extent upon this rhythmical breathing, hence the
importance of deep, unobstructed, rhythmic exhalation and
inhalation.

In order to establish the natural rhythm of the breath when it has
been impaired through catarrhal affections, wrong habits of
breathing, or other causes, the following exercise, practiced not
less than three times a day (preferably in the morning upon arising,
at noon, and at night), will prove very beneficial in promoting
normal breathing and creating the right balance between the positive
and the negative electro-magnetic energies in the organism.

The Alternate Breath

Exhale thoroughly, then close the right nostril and inhale through
the left. After a slight pause change the position of the fingers
and expel the breath slowly through the right nostril. Now inhale
through the right nostril and, reversing the pressure upon the
nostrils, exhale through the left.

Repeat this exercise from five to ten times, always allowing twice
as much time for exhalation as for inhalation. That is, count three,
or four, or six for inhalation and six, eight, or twelve,
respectively, for exhalation, according to your lung capacity. Let
your breaths be as deep and long as possible, but avoid all strain.

This exercise should always be performed before an open window or,
better yet, in the open air, and the body should not be constricted
and hampered by tight or heavy clothing.

Alternate breathing may be practiced standing, sitting, or in the
recumbent position. The spine should at all times be held straight
and free, so that the flow of the electro-magnetic currents be not
obstructed. If taken at night before going to sleep, the effect of
this exercise will be to induce calm, restful sleep.

While practicing the "alternate breath," fix your attention and
concentrate your power of will upon what you axe trying to
accomplish. As you inhale through the right nostril, will the
magnetic currents to flow along the right side of the spine, and as
you inhale through the left nostril, consciously direct the currents
to the left side.

There is more virtue in this exercise than one would expect,
considering its simplicity. It has been in practice among the Yogi
of India since time immemorial.

The wise men of India knew that with the breath they absorbed not
only the physical elements of the air, but life itself. They taught
that this primary force of all forces, from which all energy is
derived, ebbs and flows in rhythmical breath through the created
universe. Every living thing is alive by virtue of and by partaking
of this cosmic breath.

The more positive the demand, the greater the supply. Therefore,
while breathing deeply and rhythmically in harmony with the
universal breath, will to open yourself more fully to the inflow of
the life force from the source of all life in the innermost parts of
your being.

This intimate connection of the individual soul with the great
reservoir of life must exist. Without it life would be an
impossibility.