Bookmark This Daily Stretching Routine for Better Flexibility and Mobility (2024)

Health
Stretching and Yoga

A yoga instructor shares 10 fundamental stretches you can do every day to move and feel better.

Karen Asp, MA, CPT, VLCE

Karen Asp is an award-winning journalist and author specializing in fitness, nutrition, health, animals, and travel. She has over two decades’ worth of experience writing for leading print magazines and digital brands, including Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, O, SELF and more. Karen is a certified plant-based nutrition educator, certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator, and ACE-certified personal trainer and fitness instructor.

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Published on January 31, 2024

Why Stretch? Stretching Benefits Your Mind and Body

Start first with the physical benefits you receive from stretching. It can help increase your flexibility, but it can also improve your blood circulation and even give your posture a lift, says Katie Baki, Glo yoga instructor in Louisville, Kentucky. And while stretching before exercise can help warm up your body, stretching after a workout can decrease your risk of injury and muscle soreness.

Surprisingly, stretching can even support your mental and emotional health. “Some types of stretching, like static stretching (where you hold the stretches), can activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which induces a state of calm and relaxation,” Baki explains. Plus, when you’re stretching, you’re often mentally present in the moment, which can increase your focus and concentration and help reduce stress.

Restorative Yoga Is All About Relieving Stress With Gentle Stretches—Here Are 6 Beginner Poses to Try

Full-Body Daily Stretching Routine

Below are 10 stretches designed by Baki. This series of daily stretches targets the entire body, muscles as well as joints, and are designed to be done in the order listed. The first five are dynamic stretches, which means you’ll be moving your muscles and joints through full ranges of motion. The last five are static or held stretches. As you stretch, make sure you listen to your body. If you feel any pain, back off, Baki says. And don’t forget to breathe deeply and steadily as you stretch!

01of 10

Open Book

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Lie face up on the floor with your feet raised in a tabletop position: feet off the floor, knees above your hips so they form 90-degree angles (shins are parallel to the ceiling).
Open your arms wide to either side on the floor at shoulder height, palms up.
Exhaling, drop your legs to the right.
Take a breath in and then exhale as you bring your left arm over toward your right as if you’re going to clap your hands (or as if your arms are a book that you’re closing).
Inhale as you open the upper torso and return the left arm to starting position.
Repeat 10 times.
Switch sides and repeat.

02of 10

Cat Cow

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Start on the floor on all fours with knees stacked under hips and wrists under shoulders.
Inhaling, tilt your pelvis forward as if to reach your tailbone to the ceiling and drop your belly toward the floor. At the same time, draw your chin and gaze up to arch your back.
Exhaling, tuck your tailbone back under, draw your navel up and in toward your spine, and drop your gaze toward your thighs to round your spine.
Move through these two poses slowly and fluidly 10 times, moving with your breath (inhale to cow, exhale to cat).

03of 10

Low Lunge to Half Splits

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Starting on the floor on all fours, step your right foot forward between your hands. Keep your hands on the floor or place them on yoga blocks to modify (one block under each hand).
Check that your hands are stacked directly under your shoulders.
Inhale as you press your hips forward, lift your chest and gaze straight ahead; this is your low lunge and you should feel a nice stretch in your right hip flexor.
Exhale as you pull your hips back as your right leg stays in place and straightens.
Flex your right foot. This is your half split, you should feel a nice stretch in your right hamstring, calf, and glute.
Shift back into a low lunge and then repeat these two stretches 10 times, alternating slowly and fluidly between them.

04of 10

Child’s Pose to Cobra

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Starting on the floor on all fours, walk your hands slightly forward.
Exhale and pull your hips back toward your heels as you reach your arms forward.
Inhaling, lift your hips, bend your elbows and slide your chest forward.
Press your hands into the ground as you arch your spine and pull your chest through your arms, gazing straight ahead or looking up slightly.
Exhale back into child’s pose, and move through these two poses 10 times, alternating slowly and fluidly between them.

05of 10

Downward Facing Dog

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Starting on the floor on all fours, spread your fingers wide and lift your hips up toward the ceiling.
Keep your knees slightly bent and think about lifting your tailbone upward to create more length.
Your heels may or may not reach the ground—that’s perfectly OK.
Pedal them out by bending your right knee and pressing your left heel down.
Switch sides and repeat this pedal sequence 10 times.

06of 10

Thread the Needle

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Start on the floor on all fours (or transition directly from downward dog by dropping your knees).
Inhaling, rotate and open your torso to the left, reaching your left arm toward the ceiling.
Exhaling, rotate back to center and continue rotating to reach your left arm through the space between your right arm and thighs (as if you’re “threading a needle” through a hole).
Bring your left cheek to the ground and extend your right arm forward.
Hold here for 10 deep breaths.
Switch sides and repeat.

07of 10

Butterfly

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Sit on the floor and bend your knees to the sides and bring the soles of your feet together.
Inhale and sit as tall as you can (place a block or pillow under your hips if you have trouble with this).
As you exhale, hinge from the hips and fold forward, feeling a stretch in the inner thighs.
Hold for 10 breaths.

08of 10

Seated Forward fold

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Sit on the floor, extend your legs straight in front, and sit up tall.
Inhale and flex your feet. As you exhale, hinge forward from your hips over your legs as much as you can.
Hold for 10 breaths.

09of 10

Prone Chest Opener

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Lie on your stomach and place your left elbow on the floor at shoulder height so your arm forms a goalpost.
Press your right hand into the floor as you stack your right hip over your left hip and bring your legs to 90-degree angles with feet behind you.
Turn your head to the right and place your left cheek on the floor.You should feel a deep stretch in your left pec muscle.
Hold for 10 breaths.
Release and switch sides.

10of 10

Supine Pigeon (Figure 4 Stretch)

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Lie face up on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Cross your left ankle over your right thigh, close to the knee. If this feels good, stay here—that’s your stretch!
If you want a deeper glute stretch, wrap your arms under your right shin and lift your right foot off the ground, pulling your right knee toward your chest.
Hold for 10 breaths.
Switch sides and repeat.

Of course, you might find it daunting to do this daily, but start by finding a time of day that you can do this routine consistently. You might even add it to your calendar or stack it with another habit you’ve already adopted, Baki says. For instance, if you walk your dog daily, stretch as soon as you get home. Most importantly, shift your mindset. “Instead of thinking of stretching as something you ‘have’ to do, think of it as something you ‘get’ to do,” she adds. “You get to take care of your body and your mind.”

More Stretches to Try:

Glute Stretches
Hip Stretches
Lower Back Stretches
Upper Back Stretches
Stretches for Knee Pain
Foot and Ankle Stretches

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