<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"It was hot in Miami this weekend and I had a dress on that I would&amp;amp;#8217;ve loved to wear without this pink shawl. But I&amp;amp;#8217;m not ready to go sleeveless&amp;amp;#8212;if I did, and waved goodbye to a friend, my underarm flab would still flap away! Not cute. But even I can admit that the arm situation is getting better! My arms&amp;amp;#8212;at least my upper arms and my shoulders&amp;amp;#8212;are really starting to tone up and get strong. This is the most arm I&amp;#x27;ve ever shown in public, apart from being in a swimsuit at the beach!And I firmly believe (pun intended) that I have yoga to thank for that. The plank pose is like God&amp;amp;#8217;s Gift for Batwings Arms, and&amp;amp;#8212;best part&amp;amp;#8212;anyone can do it, and do it anywhere. No props, no dumbbells, no gym membership, nothing! I did it on the floor of my hotel room this weekend. In the yoga classes I take, we&amp;#x27;re switching between simply holding still in plank position and lowering down like I&amp;amp;#8217;m doing a push-up. It took a while to do that properly so that my chest hits the floor at the same time my knees do, and I&amp;amp;#8217;ve finally built up the arm strength to do it. But even just holding a plank pose without lowering down is a great arm-firmer&amp;amp;#8212;and I highly recommend it. I wish I could wear all the cute strapless holiday dresses out there, but if I stick with yoga, my hope is that I might actually be able to go strapless this summer! I still lift weights a couple of times a week, but the thing about yoga is that I can tone my body worrying about bulking up (and &amp;amp;#8220;get bulkier arms&amp;amp;#8221; is definitely not on my to-do list!). Here&amp;amp;#8217;s a video that shows you how to do it. Or you can follow these instructions: Start in an upper push-up position with your hands directly under you shoulders and your feet together. Once your shoulders are directly over the wrists and your torso is parallel to the floor, press your outer arms inward and firm the bases of your index fingers into the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine. Press your front thighs up toward the ceiling, but resist your tailbone toward the floor as you lengthen it toward the heels. Lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping the throat and eyes soft. Then hold for as long as you can! Then collapse! Then go get a grande decaf iced coffee with soy milk! You deserve it! :- ) Tell me what tricks you guys have up your sleeve for toning your arms. Can anyone else back up my yoga magic testimonial? And what do you wear when you want to cover up your arms&amp;amp;#8212;shawls, little jackets, cardigans? I have to say, I think the shawl thing can look pretty dated, so I tied mine in the back to avoid that mother-of-the-bride look. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/shape-up/2008/12/a-move-you-can-do-on-the-floor>