Chair pose for stronger muscles, better balance

The revolved chair pose strengthens your feet, lower legs, thighs and hip muscles, while it improves your balance and tones your abdominal and back muscles. To keep this movement safe, make sure you sit back on your heels and don’t allow your knees to jut forward of your ankles.

1 Stand with your feet together on a level surface. As you inhale, raise your arms overhead, hands shoulder-width apart, and draw your shoulder blades down your back, lifting your chest. Exhale and bend your knees toward 90 degrees. Inhale and focus on pointing your tailbone toward the floor. Keeping your hips stable, exhale and twist your torso, moving your right elbow to your left thigh. Bring the palms together, pushing the top hand into the bottom hand to help you twist deeper. Hold for three to four breaths.

2 As a variation, release your hands and raise your left hand up toward the ceiling as you reach down with the right hand. Hold for three to four breaths. Come out of this pose by rotating your torso back to center, then stand up. Repeat the sequence twisting to the other side.

— Karen Voight