While yoga is more universally thought of as a way to increase flexibility and dispel stress, the 5,000 year-old practice is also a proven way to tone the body.

So as summer creeps closer, and the agony of squeezing into your two-piece sets in, why not use the age-old Indian practice to help hoist your heinie?

As exercise, yoga is different from other workouts in the way it works the body's muscles, said Jill Gaspar, a yoga and Pilates instructor at Purple Yoga and On Balance Pilates Studio.

"When you go to the gym, you mostly focus on a concentric contraction, that is pulling the weight toward you. But when we work in yoga, we work eccentrically, using the muscle as we stretch it, which creates a longer muscle. It's a definite benefit of yoga — the fact that you're not sitting in a machine, but you're using your entire body to ground you and lift you," Gaspar said.

Yoga asanas, or postures, will also do a lot more than just make your gluteus maximus look good, Gaspar said.

Yoga creates physical, mental and energetic balance in the body, and "strong gluteals are going to contribute to your core and stability," she said.

This pose is one in a sequence of seven asanas that are a great butt blast.

When doing the poses, remember to hold each asana for three to five breaths (an inhale and exhale).

"Try to make your inhalations equal in length to your exhalations. Focus on long, deep breathing," suggests yoga instructor Jill Gaspar.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.