Lifestyle Choices

Worry over breasts causes a great deal of anguish to many women. Occasionally it is about their being too large, or about cancer; more often it is about their being too small, or about how to restore a beautiful shape to a neglected bosom. For breasts are funny things—and most women’s judgments and perceptions about their own breasts are far from accurate. For a woman, the worry that her breasts are too small or that they are beginning to age can be a manifestation of some other underlying fear or insecurity that is masked behind concern over what is supposed to be the archetypal female sex symbol.

There are a lot of things that can be done to improve the less than perfect bust but it is important before you embark on any of them that you ask yourself if it is really the size, shape, or condition of your breasts that is bothering you, or if it is something else. Otherwise, you can work hard to improve things, find that you succeed in developing an almost perfect bust, and wonder. why it hasn’t made any difference at all as to how you feel about it. For although many glossy magazines would have us believe otherwise, some of the world’s most miserable women are blessed with exquisite breasts.

THE ANATOMY OF THE BREAST

Your breast is over fifty percent adipose tissue (fat) and fibrous connective tissue. These two, which surround the mammary gland itself, give the bosom its shape and firmness, or its lack of them. Each of us is born with a certain genetic inheritance in terms of size and shape and, short of plastic surgery, there is supposed to be little we can do to change it.

This is only partially true. For, although seldom do you find a woman who has markedly changed the size of her breasts, it does happen. After successful psychotherapy some women report that their formerly underdeveloped breasts have become normal size. Other factors can affect size too—and not always for the better. Hormonal changes such as those brought about by the Pill or estrogen treatment for menopausal difficulties sometimes slightly enlarge and improve breast shape—an improvement that often lasts after treatment has finished. Weight loss also affects the bosom. If too quick, it can leave you with sagging, flabby breasts that you could have avoided with a less drastic diet. And the quality of what one eats makes an important contribution to breast beauty, too, particularly in that you need to ensure that you get enough vitamin C in your diet because of its role in preserving the healthy collagen fibers, which, along with the firmness of your pectoral muscles, helps keep breasts firm and well-shaped.

 

THE IDEAL BREAST

A so-called ideal bosom rarely occurs, but here is the archetype: breasts well separated with nipples halfway between the level of the elbow and the shoulder when the arm is at the side of the body and at least as far apart as the ears. If this description doesn’t fit you and you decide you want to do something about it, then take a look first at your posture. Many a less-than-perfect bosom is simply the result of poor carriage. This is something you can correct, though not by sticking your chest out further in the case of a small bust or adopting a “Twiggy” stance in the case of one that’s too large. Instead, try tilting your pelvis slightly up and forward and tucking your bottom under. This will straighten the spine and lift the rib cage at the same time, giving your bust its truest line. Now you can test your breasts for droop by putting a pencil horizontally just under each. If it is held in the fold, indicating a true sag, then you can use exercises to improve the muscle tone and other techniques to improve the size and shape.

 

FIRMING UP A BOSOM

Exercise is the only way to lift a sagging bosom—either exercise gotten passively from faradic current equipment such as Slendertone or from simple daily movements in a routine. Swimming, particularly breast stroke, is also good for improving tone of the breast and firming the muscles. Here are some basic movements that, if done daily, will keep your breasts firm and well-shaped and also help restore their beauty where it has been neglected. These exercises are best performed daily before a bath to get results, and then three times a week to keep the sleek new shape.

Small Circles

Stand tall, feet planted firmly on the floor at shoulder width. Stretch arms out to the side at shoulder level and make circles in the air of about eighteen inches in diameter, first in one direction and then in the other. Six times each way.

Large Circles

Stand tall and swing both your arms straight out in front of you with palms down toward the floor. Then fling your arms as far back as they will go as though you were reaching for something behind you, all the while pushing your chest out as far as possible. You will feel a strong pull on the pectoral muscles with each movement. Repeat this twelve times, then go on to the next exercise.

Press-ins, Pull-outs

Standing before a mirror, raise your elbows to shoulder height at the sides of your body. Then bring your palms together and press as hard as you can. (You will be able to see the contraction in the pectorals, and as you practice this movement your breasts will lift with each press.) Keep pressing for five seconds. Then, bending your fingers and making the hands into hooks, lock them together and pull. Hold for five seconds and repeat from the beginning. Do this sequence six times each way.

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