Among the many things in the world that are hard to improve upon, we have cheesecake, rollercoaster rides and bungee jumping.

Warrior 1, a staple of any yoga practice, would appear to be in that category. But watch out: fresh out of beta testing, here comes warrior 1.1.

Okay, so we all know the original warrior: feet spaced wide apart, turn toward one foot, bend that knee, keep the back foot sideways and firmly planted through the edge, raise both arms. Our good-natured warrior 1.1 corrects most people’s tendency to not turn the hips enough and not align the neck with the spine.

THE POSE: Come into warrior 1 with the right foot leading. Bend your right elbow and drop the right hand toward your shoulderblades while pressing your head back against your right forearm. Reach your left arm forward, drawing your left hip forward as well. Breathe. Enjoy the knowledge you’re advancing the cause of yoga by practicing a fractionally upgraded warrior. Repeat on the other side.

BENEFITS: Realigns the spine and hips, strengthens the quads, psychologically helps you be more assertive.

AVOID IF: You have a slipped disk or any other kind of spinal discomfort. Either do it gently enough that you stay shy of pain, or otherwise sit this one out.

OTHER THOUGHTS: Helpful for when you start calculating, in the middle of class, how many warrior 1s you’ve done in your yoga career — virtually guaranteed to rein in your (distracted) mind. So go ahead: upgrade your warrior. This isn’t Google, so Warrior 1.2 isn’t due out for another fifty years…

Warrior 1.1 (c) 2011 Ricardo das Neves