FAST WAYS TO A 5 STAR BODY

marie claire

No matter what your fitness goal is--
to lose weight, get toned, improve your
flexibility, (or all of the above)--we've found
the latest, quickest way to do it.

GENEVIEVE MONSMA

The workout

A challenging series of hatha-yoga poses done in a 95- to 100- degree room.

Who will love it

Those hoping to increase their flexibility and cultivate a long, lean look. (It also helps alleviate arthritis and chronic back and knee aches.)

The details

The sequence was created in 1965 bu Bikram Choudhury, a former weight lifter. The 26 poses engage all your muscles, while the heat helps loosen them, allowing a deeper stretch. All the postures are deliberately simple, says John Golterman, an instructor trained by Choudhury himself, so even a first-timer can fully partake in class-- and the more you repeat the sequence, the better you get.