Torso

“ We find that under the ribs in the torso are all the vital organs. The lungs, the heart, the stomach, all these depend for their normal position, their normal action upon the expansion of the chest.
When a man stands, the tendency for the chest is to sag. There are no bones to elevate it. Man has levitation as well as gravitation, and the expansion and elevation of the chest lie at the basis of all good position in standing, sitting and also walking. ”

“ For illustration, take the position of the torso in one who stoops or droops. This may be only a bad habit of holding the head, yet if this alone is corrected without having the attention called to the correct position of the neck on the chest, or the balance of the shoulder blades and the tonicity of the erector spinæ muscles, etc., erectness of the head may appear merely stilted and arrogant, and little is gained. ”

“ Your head is set logically on your neck, and your neck is correctly placed on your spine, and your legs and arms are properly attached to your torso—your entire body, anatomically speaking, is hinged, hung, supported, developed as the ideal body should be. ”

“ Male torso from the neck to the knees. The right hand lies across the breast; the left leg is to the front. The hair is cut square at the back, and in the front falls down on the shoulders.—Temenos of Aphroditè, Naucratis. ”

“ The lower part of the chest usually projects strongly, while the waist is drawn in, so that the profile of the torso is shaped like a very obtuse z. In the female body there is a general affection for rather heavy forms with a good envelope of flesh. ”

“ What splendour in your beautiful torso seated firmly on your solid legs, and in those half tones that sleep upon your breasts, upon your splendid belly, large like the sea! It is the rhythmic beauty of the sea without end.... You are in truth the mother of gods and of men. ”

“ From a ragged cavern in the Martian's chest there came a brighter flood of crimson. It stained the fabric of his dark-textured, tight-fitting garments, dripped from his garments to the ground and formed a widening pool at his feet.
He swayed a little, but he did not totter and fall. He died standing up, with the animation fading slowly from his eyes. The eyes clouded over, became opaque. But still the Martian remained upright, a standing corpse which maintained its equilibrium by the sturdiness of its firmly planted legs and the sheer massiveness of its barrel-shaped torso and dangling arms. ”

“ The limbs that take their shape from the muscles of locomotion, and the internal parts concerned in those high vital offices, of which minerals and vegetables are wholly destitute, are examples and proof of the configuration proper to the animal kingdom. The thigh, leg, arm, fore-arm, finger, the neck and shoulders, the chest, and the abdomen meeting it and resting on the pelvic bones, are felt to be beautiful or true to the standard form as they taper or conform to this intuitive life-type. ”

“ The upper part of the trunk is known as the thorax, or chest, and the lower part as the abdomen. The portions of the trunk to which the arms are attached are the shoulders, and those to which the legs are joined are the hips, while the central rear portion between the neck and the hips is the back. The fingers, the hand, the wrist, the forearm, the elbow, and the upper arm are the main divisions of each of the upper extremities. ”

“ Anatomy recognizes the fact, that in the number and character of the bones, joints, and muscles of the foot and leg, and the connection of the femur or thigh-bone at the pelvis, there is a strict similarity or correspondence with those of the hand and arm, and the connection of the latter at the shoulder-blade. ”

“ He lifts us to a sitting posture, places himself behind us, and folds his arms around our body, alternately tightening and relaxing his clasp, as if to test the elasticity of the ribs. Then seizing one arm, he draws it across the opposite shoulder, until the joint cracks like a percussion-cap. ”

“ All this while the feet are resting on a board placed underneath them, the lower extremities being thus impeded in their movements, the head falls more and more forward, the muscles of the back are weakened and elongated, while those of the chest derive considerable strength from their constant exercise; the clavicles are unable to support the shoulders in their proper position, and therefore bend, or are forced from their natural situation; the cavity of the chest is diminished, and the founda­tion of numerous disorders is laid. ”

“ You have seen pictures of our muscles. Those of the upper part of the body, you remember, spread out from the shoulder, in all directions, like a fan. Now if you hold the shoulder still, the muscles of the chest will shrink, the shoulders stoop, and the whole chest become thin and ugly. ”

“ A glance at our illustration will show that the waist is put in the natural position—that is, across the abdomen, below the floating ribs, and just over the hips; by doing this we avoid all injurious effects, which are laid—and that truly—at the door of the ordinary corset, and by placing the waist in its natural position give not only a more beautiful but a more slender appearance. ”

“ The line of the back from the shoulder to the bent knee of the resting young body is of a unique softness; the transition from the thigh to hip is like velvet in the softness of the body; the feet and toes are of classic beauty. ”

“ Which are the parts of the limbs of the human frame where no amount of fat makes the flesh thicker, nor any degree of leanness ever diminishes it?
The thing sought for in this question will be found in all the external joints of the bones, as the shoulder, elbow, wrists, finger-joints, hips, knees, ankle-bone and toes and the like; all of which shall be told in its place. The greatest thickness acquired by any limb is at the part of the muscles which is farthest from its attachments.
Flesh never increases on those portions of the limb where the bones are near to the surface. ”

“ For the preservation of the erect position no less than five layers of powerful muscles are placed along the spine, many of them taking their origin from the back of the head, and being inserted into various pro­cesses of the vertebral column; and it is by their action, combined with the elasticity of the spine and its cartilages, that we are enabled to stand upright, and to perform all the varied movements of which the human form is capable. ”

“ Where the leg, for instance, has been lost, they feel as if the foot was present, but as though the leg were shortened. If the thigh has been taken off, there seems to them to be a foot at the knee; if the arm, a hand seems to be at the elbow, or attached to the stump itself. ”

“ The Measures we advuse are as follows:— Chest, Waist, hips, depth of scye, length to waist, full length, width across back, continue to elbow, continue to cuff, neck, front shoulder,over shoulder, across chest, and height of neck. The only measures we need specially refer to, are the depth of scye, the front shoulder, and over shoulder and the cross chest. ”

“ Again, the muscles passing from the shoulder-blades to the trunk, on which depends much of the erect carriage and strength of the chest, which have become wasted from disuse while the woman sat at the desk or bent over her sewing, are the very muscles by which the movements of the upper half of the body are executed, while all the muscles of the lower extremity are brought into use. ”

“ At these times he will throw his body into almost every conceivable posture—twisting, turning, bending, stooping, the arms down, forward, back, and over his head, the muscles of the limbs and entire body flexed almost to the point of tremor, the fingers spread, and the muscles rigidly tensed. ”

“ Finding that I made no attempt to withdraw my lips from his thrilling pressure, his arm which was around my neck he removed to my waist, thus drawing me more strongly to his bosom; his right arm became closely confined between his body and mine, my hand being placed and held firmly between his thighs. ”

“ As the formation of bone predominates upon the side exposed to the light or the nervous, so does that of muscle upon the shady or vascular side. The abdominal side of the animal is the muscular, just as the dorsal side is the osseous. Upon the thorax, abdomen, on the members which belong to the anterior region of the body, and on the face, the muscular layer is by far the most predominant. ”

“ The second part, or middle one, extends from the hip to the thorax, and is destined to confine the region of the abdomen, which contains those moveable organs that, from their nature, may be compressed without much inconvenience, for the purpose of producing the slender waist so much sought for fashion's sake, and which so many ladies will obtain at any price. ”

“ As for the arms, it is noticeable that they still retain the ordinary mammalian habit in being hairier on the back than on the front; and this also is quite in accordance with our present suggestion, because the same differentiating causes have not worked upon the arm as they work upon the back and legs. The peculiar position of the anterior extremities in man, together with the erect posture, makes the arms come much more frequently into frictional contact with the body or clothing on their inner than on their outer surface. ”

“ The shoulders are stooped, the backbone out of plumb, the chest sunken, the hip bones protruding or twisted from a parallel, the facial muscles are wrinkled and the eyes squinted out of all normal balance. ”

“ To set the shoulders back and square them evenly, to keep the chest high and well arched forward, the stomach in and the neck per pendicular, like a column, and the chin in, are simple fundamental measures that most people know and many people disregard. ”

“ On the other hand, the femur is united, as with us, to a massive pelvis; the articular surfaces of the knee, the knee-pan, and the two immovable bones of the leg, are just what the exclusive function of locomotion requires; the foot is plantigrade, with a prominent heel and close toes, and is articulated perpendicularly by its arch with the leg, as in man. ”

“ These, whether taken conjointly or singly, present the greatest analogy with the muscular arrangement of the same parts in man. We find the rounded, elongated, conical thigh, the knee extending itself in the same direction with the thigh-bone, and a well-fashioned calf to the leg. ”

“ Take half a step forward; sustain weight on advanced foot; do not change position of retired foot, but keep the sense of purchase in it. The chest should be carried forward of the abdomen and the abdominal muscles given their best leverage by a slight bending forward from the hips. ”

“ The body is raised up higher from the ground, on firmer limbs; the ribs and the shoulder and pelvic bones—the saddles by which the weight of the body is adjusted between the limbs and the backbone—are strengthened and improved. ”

“ From morning until night, day after day, year after year, the muscles of her shoulders, her back, her hips, her legs, her abdomen are suppled and developed until they will respond to her wishes as readily as her slender, henna-stained fingers. ”

“ The most casual observer will, by bearing those two considerations in mind, perceive that what is required will be the elasticity of the upper and central portions of the corset, and the contraction of that part which supports the lower abdomen. In accomplishing this, we aid Nature in the performance of her operations; when less than this is done, we either labour in vain, or else inflict a positive injury. ”

“ The joints or the dorsal or back vertebræ are, notwithstanding, more close and compact than those of the loins; allowing of a wider range for bending and turning in the loins than the back.
12. The sternum and ribs move upward, to assist the chest in the expansion required for respiration; drawing the clavicles and the shoulders upwards in full inspiration, and tend to a contrary motion on expiration. Such movements also, characterise strong action and certain passion, and very apparent in a naked figure. ”

“ This "lopping" disturbs the harmonious relation of the weights of shoulders, abdomen, head, and the large lower gluteal muscles with which nature has cushioned the lower part of the body, and so they are obliged to readjust themselves to balance each other, and the awkward, ungainly, unhealthful posture results. ”

“ In serial homology with the thigh and leg are the bones of the arm and we find that these are undergoing an increase in length commensurate with the increase of the legs. So the boy outgrows his clothes; his coat sleeves are drawn up half way to his elbows and his trousers half way to his knees. The muscles scarcely keep pace with the bones in their growth, and tend to be flabby and to lack usual tonicity. ”

“ To obtain a graceful carriage of the body—strength and grace combined—it is essential that the head be well poised, the chest prominent (the abdomen, not too much in evidence) , the step firm but elastic.
Be unconscious of the legs except as a means of support. Walk, as it were, from the chest. The walls of the chest should be raised and fixed (muscularly) , the breathing at the waist (diaphragmatic) , the mouth closed.
The athlete should show that he is an athlete at all times and on all occasions; he should show it because he can't help showing it ”

“ Do not interfere with the shoulders, but straighten the front of the body by [132] elevating the chest and raising the head until it is supported directly on the spine, letting the shoulders take care of themselves. If the abdomen is now held back and the gluteal muscles raised, the beautiful curves of the spine will be restored, the shoulders will be straightened, and the internal organs will have a chance to resume their natural position. ”