Morning Mobility

Lie on your back with your legs straight along the floor. Extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder height with your palms facing up. Bend your right knee and hug it gently toward your chest.

1. Inhale — keep your left leg long along the floor and your shoulders pressed down into the mat.
2. Exhale — guide your right knee across your body toward the left side of the floor. Turn your head to look toward your right hand. Hold for the prescribed duration, breathing steadily.
3. To switch sides, inhale and return the knee to center, then repeat with the left leg.

• Both shoulders stay rooted to the floor. Don't lift the shoulder of the twisted side to chase the knee down.
• The crossed knee doesn't need to touch the floor — let it land wherever your body lets it.
• Breathe into the side of your ribcage that lifts; the breath opens the twist more than effort does.

Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Place your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Spread your fingers wide and press evenly into the mat. Begin with your spine in a neutral, flat position.

1. Inhale — drop your belly toward the floor, lift your chest and tailbone toward the ceiling, and let your gaze travel forward and slightly up. This is cow.
2. Exhale — round your spine toward the ceiling, tuck your chin toward your chest, and draw your tailbone down. This is cat. Flow between the two with the rhythm of your breath.

• Let the breath lead the shape; one full inhale per cow, one full exhale per cat.
• Press the mat away from you on both halves so your shoulders stay supported.
• Keep your wrists and knees stationary — the movement lives in the spine and ribs, not the arms.

Start in a high plank with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from the crown of your head to your heels. Engage your core so your hips don't sag.

1. Step your right foot forward to the outside of your right hand, landing with the foot flat and the knee tracking over the ankle.
2. Inhale — lower your right elbow toward the inside of your right foot, keeping your left arm straight and your back leg active.
3. Exhale — lift your right hand off the floor and rotate your right arm up toward the ceiling, opening your chest to follow the hand. Pause for a beat at the top.
4. Return your right hand to the floor, step your right foot back to plank, and repeat on the left.

• Keep the back leg engaged by pressing through the back heel. If holding the leg straight feels unstable, you can lower the back knee to the floor — the spinal rotation in step 3 still works from there.
• During the rotation, stack your top shoulder over your bottom shoulder; don't collapse into the supporting arm.
• Move with breath, not momentum. Each side gets one full inhale-exhale before switching.

Stand tall beside a wall or sturdy support and rest one hand on it for balance. Shift your weight onto your left foot and let your right leg hang freely, with the foot lightly off the floor.

1. Set your spine tall and lightly engage your core so your torso stays steady.
2. Swing your right leg forward to a comfortable height, keeping the leg relaxed.
3. Swing the same leg back behind you through the same easy range.
4. Continue swinging front to back in a smooth, controlled rhythm, then switch sides.

• Keep your torso upright and still; let the movement come from the hip.
• Start with small swings and let the range grow as the hip warms up.
• Keep the standing knee softly bent for a stable base.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your arms relaxed by your sides. You'll want a clear, level path a few steps long.

1. Step forward with your left foot and shift your weight onto it.
2. Lift your right knee up toward your chest and clasp your hands around your shin, just below the knee.
3. Exhale — draw the knee gently toward your chest as you stand tall on the standing leg.
4. Release the leg and step forward, then repeat the hug on the other side, continuing to walk forward.

• Stand tall as you hug the knee rather than rounding down toward it.
• Draw the knee up to a comfortable height; there's no need to force it high.
• Find your balance on the standing leg before lifting, and keep that knee soft.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your arms relaxed by your sides. You'll want a clear, level path a few steps long.

1. Step forward with your left foot and shift your weight onto it.
2. Bend your right knee and reach back with your right hand to catch the top of your right foot or ankle.
3. Exhale — gently draw your right heel toward your glute as you stand tall, feeling a stretch along the front of the right thigh.
4. Release the foot and step forward, then repeat on the other side, continuing to walk forward.

• Stand tall and keep your knees close together as you draw the heel in.
• Draw the heel toward your glute to a comfortable range rather than forcing it.
• Steady your balance on the standing leg before catching the foot, and keep that knee soft.

Stand tall at the front of your mat in Mountain Pose, with your feet together or hip-width apart and your weight even across both feet. Let your arms rest by your sides and lengthen up through the crown of your head. Take a steady breath here before you begin.

1. Inhale — sweep your arms out and overhead, lengthening your whole body toward the ceiling and letting your gaze travel gently up.
2. Exhale — hinge from your hips and fold forward over your legs, letting your hands travel toward the floor or your shins.
3. Inhale — lift your chest halfway to a flat back, lengthening your spine with your fingertips on your shins or the floor.
4. Exhale — step or float back to a high plank, then lower toward the floor with control, hugging your elbows in toward your ribs.
5. Inhale — roll onto the tops of your feet, straighten your arms, and lift your chest into an upward-facing dog, or press back through a low cobra.
6. Exhale — tuck your toes and press your hips up and back into a downward-facing dog; hold for a few steady breaths, then step your feet forward and rise on an inhale to return to standing.

• Let one breath carry each movement — inhale to open and lengthen, exhale to fold and lower.
• Soften your knees in the forward fold so the hinge comes from your hips, not a rounded spine.
• In plank, keep your body in one long line from crown to heels, and lower only as far as you can control.
• Press the floor away in downward-facing dog to keep your shoulders broad and your spine long.