of the mind. I want you to gain control of your muscular



movements. The following exercise is especially good in assisting

you to acquire perfect control of the muscles.

Exercise 1

Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This

is not as easy as it seems. You will have to center your

attention on sitting still. Watch and see that you are not making

any involuntary muscular movements. By a little practice you will

find you are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles

for fifteen minutes. At first I advise sitting in a relaxed

position for five minutes. After you are able to keep perfectly

still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This

is as long as it is necessary. But never strain yourself to keep

still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find this habit

of relaxing is very good.

Exercise 2

Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders

back. Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your

shoulder, pointing to your right. Look around, with head only,

and fix your gaze on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly

still for one minute. Do the same exercise with left arm. When

you are able to keep the arm perfectly steady, increase the time

until you are able to do this five minutes with each arm. Turn

the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is

the easiest position. If you will keep your eyes fixed on the

tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you are keeping

your arm perfectly still.

Exercise 3

Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers;

put the arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the

glass and try to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be

noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to

five. Do the exercise with first one arm and then the other.

Exercise 4

Watch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not

become tense or strained. See how easy and relaxed you can keep

yourself. See how poised you can be at all times. Cultivate a

self-poised manner, instead of a nervous, strained appearance.

This mental feeling will improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop

all useless gestures and movements of the body. These mean that

you have not proper control over your body. After you have

acquired this control, notice how "ill-at-ease" people are that

have not gained this control. I have just been sizing up a

salesman that has just left me. Part of his body kept moving all

the time. I just felt like saying to him, "Do you know how much

better appearance you would make if you would just learn to speak

with your voice instead of trying to express what you say with

your whole body?" Just watch those that interview you and see how

they lack poise.

Get rid of any habit you have of twitching or jerking any part of

your body. You will find you make many involuntary movements. You

can quickly stop any of these by merely centering your attention

on the thought, "I will not."

If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, just

exercise control; when the door slams, or something falls, etc.,

just think of these as exercises in self-control. You will find

many exercises like this in your daily routine.

The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the

involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely

voluntary. The following exercises are arranged to bring your

voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that your

mental forces may control your muscular movements.

Exercise 5

Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it,

clenching the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table,

the thumb doubled over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the

fist for a while, then gradually extend the thumb, keeping your

whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was a matter of

great importance. Then gradually extend your first finger, then

your second and so on until you open the rest. Then reverse the

process, closing first the last one opened and then the rest, and

finally you will have the fist again in the original position

with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with the

left hand. Keep up this exercise first with one hand and then the

other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few

days you can increase it to ten times.

The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you

"tired," but it is important for you to practice these monotonous

exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you

control over your muscular movement. The attention, of course,

must be kept closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not,

you of course lose the value of the exercise.