The holidays will soon approach; are your shoulders and upper back ready for that spaghetti strap or strapless dress that will make the men all pause when you walk into the room? You’re not? Lucky for you it’s only September. You’ve got plenty of time.

Building on last week’s demonstration of the “sun salutation” yoga vinyasa, try added this to the mix. While in down dog (1), bend your elbows slightly and shift your weight to your forearms, shoulders and hands. Spread your fingers wide and root them into the earth and could slowly to five (2). Be mindful to keep your hips and buttocks up, because this is not a plank pose or push up pose. Keep that arse high in the sky! After you count to five, straighten your arms and return to down dog (3). Repeat 10 times or until you achieve muscle fatigue.

Second, try a prep pose for head stand. Go into down dog (1). Slowly put forearms and elbows on your mat, but keep your hide quarters in the down dog position(4,5). Now comes the hard part–rise up off your forearms and carry your weight back to down dog. Repeat five times or until you achieve muscle fatigue.