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I teach a group of mainly older students (a few 40s - 50s, but mainly late 60s to late 70s). Some are very flexible, having been doing yoga for years, but all need strengthening. Because my classes are the only exercise classes they take, I feel some responsibility for their all-round fitness, as well as for their flexibility, even though it is just called a stretch class. Therefore we include some strengthening exercises (mainly core strength and core "reflexivity"). The legs get some strengthening from our standing routines. However, doing other peoples' yoga classes over the Chrismas break has shown me that I myself am poor in shoulder strength, and since my own routines are similar to what I do with my students (though more intense) this means that my students are also likely not getting enough shoulder strengthening either. Therefore I need to include some shoulder strengthening in my classes. There are of course many exercises available, usually needing weights, therabands, or walls. However we dont have any walls available (only windows), and I dont want to buy and hand out equipment if I can avoid it. It would be nice to include strengthening exercises seamlessly as part of the stretching routines, maybe using the floor and body weight. One of the constraints is that in this older group, many have shoulder "issues", either from arthritis, past effects of cancer surgery, old injuries, you name it. So any exercises have to be very safe and also graded (so the intensity can be adjusted right from the start). I will go through all the established exercises and look for ways to use or adapt them to these constraints. And I think I'll check them with a physio before introducing them to the class, in view of the vulnerability of some of the students. However I wonder if any of the members of this group have any suggestions and any further advice, either from their own teaching experience or training. Many thanks if anyone has any advice. Thanks Jim. And I'll add in another issue which is indirectly related. I guess we all think that the most effective strengthening uses a movement over the full intended range of movement of the muscle. But I wonder how a held stretch at one position compares in strengthening ability. Obviously we dont expect it to give as good results over the other parts of the range, but I wonder how the actual strengthening in that one position compares. I ask because a lot of our strengthening is a held position against gravity, not moving exercises. I expect the answer is known by exercise physiologists - does anyone here know?