Yoga-style exercises stretch into aquatics.(Newsroom)(aquatic exercises )

Forget about gravity-defying struggles to stand on your head in a sweaty room of people chanting "Om." When it comes to mind-body exercise, there's no place better to get in touch with your inner self--and feel the burn--than the calm blue waters of the pool.

Already popular in gyms and studios across the country, alternative exercise philosophies such as yoga, Pilates and t'ai-chi have stretched their way into the aquatics world. Instructors and students cushion their joints and de-stress in warm water, while increasing their balance, flexibility, core strength and stability.

"[Water exercise] is not all jumping up and down in the water," says John Spannuth, president of the U.S. Water Fitness Association in Boynton Beach, Fla. "It now includes a lot of slow-moving general type exercising ... a lot of stretching and toning."

In a "poolates" class, which is a water-based version of Pilates, you might walk across the pool while lifting a leg at a time as high as a Rockette, only slower. Or, you may leap around like a weightless frog, bringing your knees to your chest and to your sides, like a corkscrew.

For those who have mastered land-based yoga, the aquatic version offers a new challenge. "Water is the ultimate unstable environment," says Rebecca Cardoza-Pfeiffer, president of Pfeiffer Fitness in Miami. "People think, oh, it's a water class, it's going to be easy, it's for Grandma, and then they try to stand on one foot in the water, and splash!"

But that's exactly why aquatic yoga can be so therapeutic. Mastering these mind-body exercises in the water is a great way to destress, and ...