Forget boring sit ups! Check this out instead. Side plank is a very hard working pose! Keep your feet stacked and extend out through hands and feet while pulling your abs in and up. To modify try with an elbow or the bottom knee on the ground. To advance think about your hand position and how you can encourage the bottom of your shoulder blade to lie flat on your back. Lift the top leg to make it harder!

Keep the knee over the ankle, and pull the shoulder blade back to increase flexibility in the upper back.

Don't squeeze those shoulders up to your ears in yoga's traditional dog pose! roll your upper arms away from each other to create space between your shoulders!

Your knee must be happy. Keep the hips square. Have the front knee in line with the shoulder of the same side to access the piriformis muscle. The stretch will be in the our thigh/glute area. Vary this by lying forward or side bending away from the front leg.

Build up to this by using your hands, and always engage the core! Really extend those hands and foot away to help you stay up.

Don't underestimate this pose, and keep the leg straight but not hyper extended at the knee. Keep working those back muscles to avoid sagging.

Take you hips through their range of motion. Try incorporating this pose into everyday life.

More about confidence that strength, this is a fab pose for body awareness too, it's all about making the right shape and then just tipping forward, not about climbing onto the arms. Definitely get to class to master this, and I don't recommend sun cream on the arms...

Again line the knee with shoulder to get the piriformis stretching. To increase the stretch bend the supporting leg and bring your hands toward the floor. Always keep the front knee feeling good by letting the movement come from the hip joint.