The Balancing Crouching Twist

Welcome to "Crouching Tiger, Balancing Twist." Oh, wait. This is going to the the yoga list, not the Chinese martial arts list. My bad.

THE POSE: 1. With your feet together raise your arms overhead and rise on the the balls of your feet.

2. Keep your heels off the floor and drop to a low squat, twisting to the right and hooking your left elbow onto the outside of your right thigh. Turn your head to the right.

3. Take five deep slow breaths and see if you can lengthen your upper spine without losing your balance (you're still on the balls of the feet).

4. Rise back to standing, keep the heels off the floor, and repeat on the other side.

BENEFITS: Good stretch to the Achilles, often the ability to reset your spine very nicely with the twist and inherent instability of the pose, and good, challenging balance position.

AVOID IF: If your feet cramp with this position, be sure to drink far more water in the course of the day (for everyone, a gallon of water a day is a good rule of thumb - that's 8 sixteen-ounce glasses). If the tendency to cramp persists on other days, discontinue. If your knees hurt, please discontinue immediately and avoid this position altogether.

OTHER THOUGHTS: Another benefit this position offers is the ability to check out whoever is practicing yoga beside you. Just kidding.