Gymnastic Exercises, Without Apparatus

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. During the last twenty-five years, I have tried to introduce the elements of physical education into all elementary, secondary and higher schools. The science of physical education Includes the knowledge of the structure and functions of the human body; the knowledge of preserving our health, usually called hygiene; further, the theory and practice of those elementary exercises, which without the use of any external apparatus, are sufficient for the harmonious development of all parts of the human body. Good books on the structure and functions of the human body have been published in sufficient number. Popular books on hygiene are less numerous, and on school hygiene still more scarce. I therefore tried, about twenty: years ago, through the establishment of the Ladies' Sanitary Association, which has hitherto published and distributed more than a million of sanitary tracts, to diminish the prevalent ignorance regarding the preservation of health. The National Health Association lately established on the model of the Ladies' Sanitary Association is also trying to act in the same direction.