Obsession with youth is not only the plague of modern society. In the 1930s, a retired British army officer stumbled upon a remote monastery in the Himalayas where the monks were rumored to have found the fountain of youth. Amazed by their age-defying health and energy, he attributed their vitality to a series of yoga-like postures they practiced daily – as had generations of monks for thousands of years. These Five Tibetan Rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands. "They're like electricity transformers, receiving and regulating energy and transmitting it throughout the body," explains Sydney-based Carolinda Witt, who's been teaching the rites for more than seven years.

Witt says practicing The Five Rites is like flicking these energy switches to ON. And they're easy to do. In fact, she's made modifications that focus on breathing and building core strength so you don't have to be a veteran yogini to get yourself, well, turned on. Plus, it's yoga, so you'll create a leaner, stronger body! Start with three repetitions of each posture daily and in order. Add two per week until you're doing 21 in about 10 minutes. When you finish each move, pause and take three energy breaths. The directions are below.

Rite #1: Spinning
Harmonizes chakra spin rates. Improves balance, focus and coordination.

Rite #2: Modified Leg Raise
Strengthens and tones the core, hips, lower back, legs and neck.

Shorts. Some folks flat-out refuse to wear them, and I understand. The wrong shorts can show off all the things you don't love about your legs. They can make your thighs look wide, or make you look short, or ride up and just look bad.

But they don't have to. Whether you're wearing them for daily casual clothing or for your athletic endeavors, a few simple tricks will keep you from wearing a pair that will only embarrass you if a photograph surfaces.

Over at The Working Closet, style expert Susan Wagner offers a few rules to live by when buying casual shorts, recommending that most people opt for:

The secret to thin legs. How to plump up the appearance of a flat fanny. How to stay trim. What exercise does and doesn't count. Carol Burnett shared superb advice on all these topics.

I just saw the legendary funny woman last night and was fortunate enough to ask her a couple of questions. At 73 years young, she really does have a body most women would dream of at that age (including me). In fact, she's always had an amazing physique; just check out her old pics from The Carol Burnett Show!

Burnett is starring in Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett: A Conversation with Carol Where the Audience Asks the Questions and besides answering my questions, she answered some from the audience as well.

On the topic of how she keeps her legs so thin: "I shave off loads of excess hair each day."

-The ape woman population will benefit greatly from doing this.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz. My doctor told me that that I have "hip instability" and I should work on it, but I have not idea what to do. What types of exercises will improve the strength in my hips? Leena

A. Hi Leena, Great question. I'm sorry your doctor didn't recommend a few visits with a physical therapist, though. That probably would have given you the perfect solution for your situation. Having said that, I work on this a lot with many of my clients, and there are some pretty simple exercises you can do to make your hips more stable.

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If you're in search of sexy legs and a curvy can, squeeze these three moves into your workouts a few times each week. In fact, even if you aren't going to do a "full workout," just do these moves and your lower body will shine. I do these often myself and often incorporate them into the training sessions of my personal training clients. Each move works a variety of lower body muscles, and all of them will provide results quite quickly!

Squat Jumps: Squat down like a frog and explosively jump up as high as you can. This exercise will also crank up your heart rate, so begin with several sets of five jumps in a row with a short break in between. Increase your reps each workout.

Walking Lunges: Find a stretch of open space like a sidewalk or group fitness room. Alternating legs, take huge steps forward dropping your back knee close to the ground. Keep your back straight and avoid driving your front knee past your front ankle. Begin with 20 lunges and progress by adding steps or distance each time your train.

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Over the course of the week, we cover tons of celebrity diet and fitness scoop. We know it's hard to keep track of it all, so we have it all wrapped up here for your clicking pleasure. Click on your favorite celebs above to get the latest news on how their staying in shape!

When you put two super sexy stars on stage together in heels and leotards, people are inevitably going to compare them. That didn't stop Justin Timberlake from suiting up in a black leotard, tights, and heels, and playing Beyonce's backup dancer on last weekend's Saturday Night Live.

Did you miss it? You can check out a picture of JT with Beyonce here, and compare his looks to the backup dancer in the actual video for Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It). I've got to say, he definitely has some lovely legs, and he certainly had the moves, but I'm not sure they can beat out Beyonce's stems.

Speaking of the moves, it's no wonder Beyonce's legs look so sleek and strong. I dare you, just try doing some of those moves, shaking your hips while slowly lowering yourself to the ground and back up. When is this girl going to come out with a workout video?

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Since becoming a mom, October 31st revolves around my son. But I fondly remember all the Halloweens in my college and post-college years -- times when the celebration was decidedly not for children.

If you've got a rip-roaring party to attend this year, it's time to start thinking about your costume. If you look at the Halloween stores, some of the costumes don't offer much more coverage than a swimsuit. So, while you're thinking about your upcoming disguise, start thinking about exercises to help get you in dare-to-wear costume shape. AOL Health has some great exercises for any problem area.

• Abs
• Arms
• Glutes
• Legs
• Shoulders

Sit and Stand. It's the single most important exercise you can do, says Stephanie Richardson, M.S., exercise physiologist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson. Why this exercise, and not the push-up, the pull-up, running, or walking? Well, a strong predictor for independence and good health as we age is quadriceps strength. And this simple, do-anywhere exercise strengthens the leg's largest muscle and increases your chances of living well and long.

Here's what you've got to do to get yourself some strong legs, says Richardson:

• Stand in front of a chair, toes pointing straight ahead, and slowly sit down, watching to be sure that your knees track directly over your heels. (Do not let the knees come forward of the toes -- do let your buttocks stick out behind you).
  
• Let your arms come up for balance.
  
• Touch the front of the seat with your buttocks, then slowly stand up again, keeping knees tracking forward the whole time.
  
• Work up to three sets of 10, three days or more a week.
  
• As this becomes easy, add hand weights or pin an exercise tube under your feet and pull up on the handles as you stand.
  
  

That's it, says the Canyon Ranch guru. Think you can master it? Think it really is the most important exercise?

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Her relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio may be on-again, off-again, but model Bar Refaeli's commitment to the legs is unwavering.

Refaeli's legs simply kick butt, thanks to, well, a whole lot of kicking. Her trainer is teaching her all kinds of kicks, and she says they work everything -- the abs, the butt, and yep, the legs. The kicks come from an Israeli self-defense discipline called Krav Maga. Martial-arts moves are part of Refaeli's fitness routine too.

For more on Krav Maga, click here. For more famous hot legs, click through the gallery below.

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I used to have legs that would stay fit and toned without much specific input from me. Sure they got their workout with cardio and other exercises, but I never did specific strength and toning exercises for my legs. My calves are still hanging tough for me, but the thighs ... well, they're not so agreeable. My thighs seem to be saying "You're in your late 30's and this joke's on you!"

So my thighs have been a target area of sorts for me. It may take some effort, but I'll show them who's boss. I found this series of 10 thigh exercises on Fitness Magazine and it's a good one. It's a good variety of squats, lunges, balance moves, and other exercises. All in all, my thighs are aching from the workout and I can't wait to see the results after including this in my workout routine for a few weeks.

AOL Health has more leg exercises for you to try.

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For a lot of women, hips are a bit of a sore spot. Particularly after we reach a certain age, or after having children, our hips can become pack rats of sorts -- holding on to little stores of fat we really don't need. Alive Magazine has a great routine to work the outer hip muscles (hip abductors). Toning your outer hips will help you look awesome in your jeans, but that's not all! Keeping these muscles strong helps maintain balance and reduces your risk of some injuries.

• Clamshells with leg lift. Lie on your side against a wall with your knees bent so they're at a right angle to the rest of your body. Tighten your tummy and, without shifting your pelvis, raise your top leg. After 20 repetitions on each side, you can repeat the same exercise with your legs straightened.
• X walks with tubing. Step on a length of exercise tubing with handles (or a resistance band) with both feet and criss-cross the handles (holding one handle in each hand). Stand tall, with tummy muscles tightened, then take 15 to 20 steps to one side. Repeat in the other direction.

Check out AOL Health for an all-over leg workout.

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I have a pretty good cardio routine that I like and never seem to tire of, but I'm always on the lookout for new toning and strengthening exercises to try. I'm quickly heading toward 36 (gah!) -- a number that's officially, undeniably, can't-fight-it-any-longer, my later 30's. So toning up and keeping fit is more important than ever to me.

Fitness Magazine share five flab-fighting moves. Using only a beach towel (or large bath towel) and a decent amount of balance, you can tone and strengthen your arms, core, and legs in this quick and fun 15-minute workout. I tried it out this morning and really enjoyed it. Give it a shot!

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