Poise: How to Attain It

ERIES--

ing else in fact, must be a well-ordered system of hygiene, far removed f

s, who assign an exaggerated importance to breathing exercises, we must, ne

f methodical breathing, we might a

nt of his birth to the hour of his death, but very few people are awar

pends, as well as the health and the energy that enables u

medicine one can discover that all repeated exerc

d breathing gives the heart a stronger bea

ing, which tends to the preservation of good health and

every day to breathing exercises, not merely auto

this there a

lie down on one's back and to breathe deeply

the lungs, then the mouth must be opened and

icular attention to expanding the walls o

tions are required to acc

unconsciously increase the length of the inspirati

back. The lungs should then be filled with air and one should count mental

r a continuous hum, which must be absolutely free

eathing has been of great help to them when much fatigued as well as a first-cla

d effects of which are manifest in the facility with which he is able to give his lecture and in his general feeling of ease. Rendered quite free from any suspicion of nervousness, he f

g the lungs, of strengthening them, and at the same t

at assistance to those timid people who are disconcerted by trifles and who, at the least little occurrence

way of the acquisition of poise, for, in view of the great stress the man of timidity lays upon the opinion of others, he wi

e been speaking should be pe

be accomplished without losing any of the tim

oon as one wakes in the morning and of never f

e wakes and the time one gets out of bed c

hing is tr

time to devote to this exercise, we can always go through i

lid excuse for not undertaking this practise, w

ES--TRAININ

al efforts mus

ke others feel the effects of the mastery t

ssistant to the man who is

he eye, to enter into a digression too extensive for the scope of this bo

r in the gaze of others but of that of o

gaze, while studying to fortify ourselves against the infl

ho are timid, a propensity to lose their powers of resista

pset from the grueling of an interview in which they have admitted

ent that they have found it impossible to conduct

must, then, be on his guard against betraying hi

t he, too, can possess that ability against which, in others, he mus

id looking directly into the

beginner can avoid being affec

in mind nothing verging in th

discomfort experienced by those who have not yet b

r, lose their presence of mind, and finally reveal everything they are asked to tell, if only to escape from

keep one's eyes constantly lowered, and is impolite to allow them to wander from the face of the person with whom one is spea

dly, for the eye has not yet acquired the necessary muscular power,

olute safeguard, if one d

that this spot is known

who are lacking in poise, this method of looking steadily at the bridge of the other's nose,

ving at the possession of the first notions of this art,

and later on for several minutes at a time, at some object so

e something dark. A brilliant object will m

matter of sufficient difficulty to keep one's gaze fixt for much

ing. One should not open them too wide nor yet close them.

ng of the gaze or the slightest winking

art it will be found difficult to ke

until the time comes when one can concentrate one's gaze in

trol of one's will-power, it is advisable to count aloud in such a way tha

es, such as concentrating the eyes on an object and turning the head slowly to

muscles of the eye have been thoroughly train

e upon one's own pupils for a time. Then one must transfer it to the bridge o

suppose. The magnetic power of the pupils is great and one w

ly up to a predetermined number, at which point the gaze

s of acquiring poise, as aside from the advantages we have specified, they have the effect

eet or to avoid another person's eye, while at the same time one is conscious that one can dominat

ntrol one's gaze, to force an estimate of its influence

-THE MOTIONS,

poise is the struggle against awkwardness, which i

ke oursel

ridicule of their obvious embarrassment and

h ridicule. The terror of renewing their moments of torture drives them into a reserve, from which they only emer

conditions. One must make up one's mind to combat their exhib

that awkwardness o

es himself, when alone, in a fashion quite for

ect upon our daily actions, and that the person who is lacking in poise will end by keeping up, even i

to effect, but it can be arrived at, without a shado

n of any act diminishes the emotion it ga

er, to achieve for us suppleness o

ing up, according to our advice to those whose time is limited) it is absolutely necessary to devote five minutes to bodi

throwing back the head and extending the arms, not by jerky movements but by a w

d hollow the back so that

room, endeavoring to keep one's steps

ily exercises to go unperformed

he other movements advised will be sufficient, if one perform

h we shall now refer can be car

t in front of the glass while observing yourself carefully, to be sure that your fac

go doggedly back to the beginning of your phrase, until you are able to en

ess of the timid and deprive them of all the assurance that they should possess, fo

e, or putting on his clothes, the man who desires to acquire poise will watch himself n

erect, without exaggerating the pose, and will always wal

at the start, assign a certain time for observing this position, and

wkwardness is a large fa

ying oneself to the conquest of one's soul, so as to achieve the object not only of actually becoming

ES--SPEAKIN

a weight readiness of speech has in bring

ul speech will always convince his heare

ed every day solely because of

e who, from lack of ability to put up a good argument, allow themselves

n facility of speech, is one of

upon the object he wishes to attain by his argumen

are quite unknown to him and he is not the victim of any of the physical inhibitions whi

es of the speaker, can almost without exception be attributed

ext chapter how these

sical exercises, we will give the mechanic

nd thus has no further reason to fear, when undertaking to speak, that one will be made fun of because the object of disconcerting mock

and poise will soon manifest itself in the manner of the man who

sting of opening the mouth as wide as one possibly can and then shutting it, to

own difficulty of those who speak infrequently

pronounce every consonant

h, are not enunciated clearly, one should keep

sentences containing as many di

ourselves to declai

sentences constitute an affirma

reatest possible facility, because timidity a

and illuminating phrases, because stammering, stuttering, and all the o

which are constantly repeated. It is a good thing to impress ones

e timid, the man who would acquire poise must ben

d by creating a confidence in oneself that will at first be hesitating, but will

nly such cases of difficulty in speaking as a

m a physical malformation it should at once

f cases, those defects are the consequences o

desires to acquire poise will prove the logicality of his mind. It is

speaking or is caused by it. In the first condition as well as in the second,