Grace and Ease in Walking.- in the several beautiful and anatomical charts illustrating the bony, muscular and an internal mechanism of the human frame we have been consciously awakened to its complexity we been forcibly impressed as the amazing skill in wisdom displayed in his marvelous arrangement, and at the general order, system, harmony and perfection which everywhere prevails throughout the diversified contrivance of the body.  But its wonders do not stop there.  The graceful motion, ease with which we won, lead, etc., demonstrating with/entity difference Russell's concern to those movements contract and obey the impulse of the will.

This is the last section of entries from Book 1 of the Book of Medicine and soon I will be toasting the completion of the transcription of the first 70 pages of the book toasting myself with a nice red wine in a new set of Riedel wine glasses.  I am going to be temporarily skipping Book 2 on anatomy and focus next on Book 3 'Preventative Medicine' which includes such interesting sections as 'How to Get Rid of Flies' and killing cockroaches, sexual diseases and sexual education for children. I've got a feeling this next section will be much more interesting.

Here's the last few sections all together to complete Book 1.

The Voice.- the voice may utter 1500 letters in a minute, yet the articulation of each of those sounds requires a different and distinct position of the vocal organs, the muscles of which move a surprising celerity and swiftness.

Deafness of the Fingers.- in music we train the muscles of the fingers until the glide over the keyboard of the piano with dexterity and precision, and perform the most simple and delightfully exquisite music and onto the grand, difficult and complex passage of a private harmony.  The mind of the skillful and professional violinist is upon the music which his right hand is executing by the very movements of the bow, yet the muscles of his left hand and fingers are deathly engaged in determining the length of the space of the strings, the character and duration of each note; and so rapidly, carefully, aye, even unconsciously are these complex movements made, but not a false note is heard, though the variation of a singles hair's breadth would cause a discord, and is spoil the pleasing effect of the music, and destroy the attractiveness of its harmony.

Muscle Development.- the bicep muscle in the arm of the blacksmith may grow strong, Howard, firm, and a solid almost as a club; the legs of the pedestrian may become large and well developed; the hand of a prizefighter trains over the force of a sledgehammer; while the end and terms, engraver trees line so delicate line as the invisible to the naked eye, and the fingers of the blind acquirer delicacy of touch that almost compensates for the missing sense.  Thus there are few conceptions of the designing mine which the muscular system of man cannot be made to execute and perform.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Improving Your Health through Yoga – A Great Introductory DVD
  
  

  Years ago when I was a teenager, I started practicing Yoga.  Back then it was just something to do to improve my breathing and increase my flexibility for karate.  After leaving high school I joined the military and the Yoga training, flexibility and especially the breathing paid off significantly.  It helped me with physical training and it also helped me to stay focused mentally.

  After leaving the military, I got caught up in a more normal routine and the necessity of practicing Yoga on a regular basis slowly slipped from my priorities.

  Since then I have tried Tai Chi and several other forms of exercise, meditation and stretching, but none have worked as well for me as Yoga.  I also do not do well in group classes.  Following a Yoga instructor in a class just does not fit in with my routine or lifestyle.

  I recently came across a great re-introduction into Yoga with a yoga dvd from RealBodyWork.com.  There are several things about the Vinyasa flow yoga dvd that make it very good not only for beginners, but also for people that are experienced with Yoga.

  1. It provides an excellent series of in depth explanations of poses and stances.  When I formerly practiced Yoga, I sometimes got the stances correct and sometimes I was not quite sure.  Some stances had alternative positions as well.  I could not always tell if I was doing the routine correctly or if I was possibly engaging in an alternative movement that might do more harm than good.  As I walked through the Gentle Vinyasa Flow dvd it has a video demonstration and tutorial on each of the positions, so you can not only find the positions that are best for you, but know that you are doing them correctly enough to benefit from them.
  2. The DVD is not just one program or yoga sessions, but includes 6 routines that range from about 25 minutes to almost an hour each. 
  3. The DVD includes over 23 poses and a great deal of variability.  I generally prefer a lot of variability in all of my exercise routines.  If the routine starts to feel ‘routine’ then I get bored and I’m more likely to fall out of practice.

   

  Now, as we get further into the exploration of the Book of Medicine, you will find something rather amazing.  This type of exercise was by no means foreign to Western medicine 100 years ago.  In fact it is described within the book itself with pictorial guides on practicing older forms of yoga and martial arts as well.

• The Collar Bone
  
  

  The Collar Bone.  — The collar bone is fast and that one into the breast bone in the first drip, and at the other into a shoulder blade.  It does holes the shoulder-joint out from the chest, eight in protecting the important vessels of the axilla, and gives the arm a greater range of freedom, mobility and play.

  In this section I first noted that the word collar bone is used as two separate words as opposed to the compound word in use today, collarbone .  You might also notice that the author regularly uses an excessive number of dashes in the text.  Unfortunately on occasion I lose her drop some of these when my spell checker and dictation service gets confused by the excessive number of dashes.

• Art of Walking
  
  

  Art of Walking.- walking requires the nicest adjustment, prompt action, and the finest calculations to maintain the dignity, proper attitude, equipoise and balance of the body.  This is well illustrated when one runs up against any obstacle in the dark.  We observed then with what had long force the body is propelled forward.  In walking the first thing that occurs as the incline of the body for work; the foot is then gradually raised on the toes, and brought from a horizontal position into an almost vertical one; at the same time Denis, which was at first considerably bent, straightened out by the advancing forward movement.  Every part of the leg and thigh is changed its position except the toes; that part far this for the toes and most of all; and gradually diminishing in geometrical proportions downward.

  Nice descriptions here even a reference to a commonality in 1910, the blacksmith.  Today, we’d be more likely to discover a career mom on a tread mill with a husband at home taking nuphedrine to lose weight.