How to Stand Straight

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Nov 19, 1903

How to Stand Straight

One of the most admirable points in military discipline is the erectness of figure given by the drill exercise. A “soldierly” bearing is proverbially a fine one. The following rules, if strictly carried out, will give the civilian the benefit of such a carriage. Try them and see:—

Make it a rule to keep the back of the neck close to the back of the collar. Roll the shoulders backward and downward. Try to squeeze the shoulder-blades together many times a day. Stand erect at short intervals during the day—“head up, chin in, chest out, shoulders back.”

Walk or stand with the hands clasped behind the head, and the elbows wide apart. Walk about, or even run upstairs, with from ten to forty pounds on top of the head. Try to look at the top of your high-cut vest or necktie, using the swimming stroke while standing or walking. Fold the arms behind the back. Carry a cane or umbrella behind the small of the back or behind the neck.

Put the hands on the hips, and elbows back and fingers forward. Walk with the thumbs in the armholes of the vest. When walking, swing the arms and shoulders strongly backward. Stand now and then during the day with all the posterior part of the body, so far as possible, touching a vertical wall.

Look upward as you walk on the sunny side of the street.—*Selected.