A mobility flow is my favorite way to make flexibility and movement feel more inviting, as it can almost feel like a mini stretchy workout. This five-move routine will help you feel more open, strong and mobile in your shoulders, hips, spine, back and hamstrings.
Flows are a great way to combine exercises into one long routine, gliding from one move to the next, almost like a dance. In yoga, it's more like a sequence, but with a lot more movements included. For this short mobility routine, you only have five exercises to learn, and they can all be performed back-to-back.
Grab one of the best yoga mats, and get started.
Watch: 5-move mobility flow
The routine above shows you five movements performed as one long flow: cat-cow, downdog with heel peddles, loaded beast to downdog, three-legged dog to lunge twists, three-legged dog to pigeon pose. I like to add forward folds to pigeon, then settle into a pigeon hold (non-moving stretch).
Perform 10-15 rounds of your cat-cow, then move into your first downdog and pedal through your heels; you don't need to count these, just focus on opening up your hamstrings and ankles until you feel ready to move on.
Next, drop your knees to hover above the mat, creating a tabletop shape with your body; slide your hips back toward your heels for the loaded beast exercise, then lift your hips up and back to your downdog. Repeat this 10 times.
Lift your right leg into the air (three-legged dog), then step forward to a low lunge and lift your right arm to the ceiling for a spinal twist. Repeat for 8-10 reps, then step back to your downdog and repeat on the other side.
Finally, move from a three-legged dog to pigeon pose on your right side, then repeat on your left. Pigeon pose is a strong posture, so you can keep your chest lifted if you prefer, or hinge forward at the hips and fold your chest toward your front thigh. I like to move between the two for a few rounds, then settle in a hold position for 30 to 60 seconds per side.
If you want to repeat from the top, go for it.
What are the benefits?
Each of these exercises brings something slightly different to the table.
Cat-cow is typically used as a spinal mobilizer, and it helps open the front and back body; the back body stretches during cat pose (upper back pressing toward the ceiling), and the front body stretches during cow pose (stomach dropping down toward the mat).
Downward dog stretches the arms, shoulders, chest and upper back, opening the upper body as you press through your hands and lift your hips up and back. As you draw your heels down, notice a stretch along the lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves. I like to add the peddling motion because it helps get into the backs of the legs and mobilize the ankles.
Loaded beast is used a lot during animal flow routines, which combine mobility and strength training using your bodyweight. Hover the knees in the tabletop position (all-fours) to activate your core, hips and quads, then perform a horizontal squat by sitting your hips back; this is brilliant for lower-body mobility and increasing range in your ankles, but it also works the legs hard.
Press through your hands to help activate your shoulders, then lift the hips as you move back to your downdog.
Three-legged dog tests balance and stretches out the hip flexors and the front of the leg. Move next to a low lunge with your back knee resting on the mat, a pillow, or a towel. Position your front leg so you can feel a deep stretch down the hip flexors of the back leg, then add your twists to help engage the upper body and rinse the spine.
Focus on opening your chest and shoulder as much as you can as you reach one arm upward and take your time to feel what your spine is doing (there's no rush!). If you can, drop the elbow toward the front ankle for a deeper hip stretch each rep as you lower the arm. If that doesn't work for your body, just bring your hand to the mat instead.
Finally, pigeon is a deep gluteal and hip stretch and offers you the opportunity to add gentle back bends or just focus on drilling into your lower body. Try to hold the stretch and breathe deeply in and out without fidgeting. If pigeon pose doesn't feel good on your knees, check out the 90/90 stretch instead (pictured above), which is more beginner-friendly.
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