That is brilliant. I am a hoopdance and poi dance teacher. Poi are an instrument originally used by the people of the Maori tribe in New Zealand. They are used in storytelling and dance but they were also used to train their warriors who fought with two short swords, one in each hand. It is a martial art in that way and it greatly helps enhance my upperbody strength and suppleness. My arms are more firm than they've ever been. It's also fun. Even a workout with poi feels like dance. I highly recommend it. It has helped enormously with both my flamenco and hoopdance, both of which require the arms to be up and strong most of the time. Poi are also small and easy to make. You can stick them in your purse and use them anywhere since they don't require a lot of room or a gym membership.

I also practice yoga. I find it helps me with both stretching and balance as well as eases my mind. It also greatly increases my flexibility. I prefer a yin yoga, where I hold simple postures for a long time and relax into places deep in the hips and hamstrings that aren't really released by vinyassa flow poses. It works well with the small connective tissues that are often what limits us from being able to do splits, etc. It's very similar to the stretches gymnasts do when first learning to do splits, etc.