Breathe Your Way to Radiance: Lessons from a 1905 Beauty Manual
From Beauty Through Hygiene, published in 1905:
It will take practice to make you a devotee of deep breathing, but when you have become, so to speak, addicted to the habit, you will never give it up, and you will wonder how you lived before. Deep breathing throws off a vast number of impurities, and it takes in life itself. It adds buoyancy to the spirits, and makes you feel you can overcome mountains of obstacles. Until you try it, you will never know how much it will add to your beauty.
This guide’s author, Dr. Emma E. Walker, begins her beauty guide with a discussion of healthy habits. This is typical of many vintage guides; what is so notable in them is the obvious rejection of artifice of any kind. The consensus among the beauty experts of the past, it seems, is that beauty is a product of mental and physical health, achieved only through good habits and self-discipline. Dr. Walker then quotes an anonymous woman in order to illustrate her point about the power of deep breathing:
“I combine the occult principle with deep breathing, night and morning, inhaling with the pure air all those beautiful qualities of love, health, wisdom, usefulness, and power for good, cheerfulness, and opulence—these seven covering the whole ground of my desires filling the chest and abdomen fully. In exhaling I get rid of all the opposite qualities, which would do me an injury, such as prejudice, weakness, folly, poverty, etc. I rise on my toes while breathing in, inhaling slowly, desiring with all my concentrated power all good come to me. I also declare myself for beauty and symmetry in everything physical, mental, and moral. My mind being in this attitude, I must acquire that which I reach out for.”
“In the same way I repel all that is unbeautiful in mind, heart, and spirit, as well as in body. In all the different postures which I take, either in the early morning or during the day, I carry out these same impressions, that I am inhaling the best and getting rid of the least desirable qualities.”
Deep breathing, when practiced regularly, can become a transformative habit that improves physical and emotional well-being. Our anonymous Edwardian friend tells us that it expels impurities, revitalizes the body, and brings forth a sense of resilience and optimism. We can see in her example that she also incorporates positive affirmations, and envisions qualities, like love and wisdom, with each inhale, while releasing negativity with each exhale. This practice, combined with mindful movements, aims to cultivate beauty and positive growth in both body and spirit. Dr. Walker’s advice is that, through consistent practice, deep breathing becomes a tool for holistic self-improvement.
Controlled breathing does offer a multitude of physical and mental benefits. We can even lower blood pressure, ease muscle tension, and strengthen the immune system by regulating our breath. These physiological changes often lead to increased energy levels and overall well-being, and, as Dr. Walker argues, optimal beauty.