Hey there,
You did it! 👏
Last month, we started the mobility series to help you find out your mobility restrictions and how to get comfortable in your body and work with it, not against it. So here we are, sixteen tests later, ready to make sense of it all.
The ultimate goal is to stop stretching randomly, or try every YouTube video and keep guessing what's wrong and what to do.
Instead, we want to help you know exactly what to target your time and efforts towards, and how to set a clear mobility routine based on your body’s actual data.
Let's go.
Your Mobility Fingerprint
Look at your results from all five assessments: hips, ankles, shoulders, spine, and breathing. Do you see a pattern?
Most people fall into one of these six categories.
These patterns aren't just categorizing your restrictions; they're helping you build your personalized mobility routine.
Here's how this works:
Your focused mobility routine (5-7 minutes daily) will target ONLY your restrictions; the areas that tested tight. That's where your intentional practice time goes.
Your mobile areas? They don't need dedicated stretching. They stay mobile through regular movement in daily life; walking, reaching, squatting, and using your body throughout the day.
The goal here is to address restrictions where possible, work WITH your body's limitations where needed, and keep everything moving.
Some restrictions will improve with consistent practice. Some won't (old injuries, structural issues, medical conditions), and that's okay. We'll show you how to work with both.
Let's find your pattern. Get your results by your side and follow along to find the one that sounds most like you.
PATTERN 1: Upper Body Restriction
Your results looked like this:
✅ Hips and ankles tested mobile
❌ Shoulders tested tight
❌ Thoracic spine wouldn't extend or rotate
❌ Breathing was shallow, and ribs didn't expand
Sound familiar?
Here's what's actually going on:
You've been folding yourself forward for years. At your desk. Looking at your phone. Driving. Hunched over the kitchen counter.
Your chest collapsed inward. Your shoulders rounded. Your upper back got stuck in that curve. Your ribs can't expand anymore because your spine won't let them.
Here's the chain reaction:
Your thoracic spine won't extend → your shoulders can't reach overhead → your ribs can't expand → you can't breathe fully.
One restriction at the root. Multiple symptoms branching out.
What to work on:
1. Your spine (start here)
Cat-cow from the spine test; 2 minutes every morning
Move slow, like a wave, let each vertebra move
Thoracic extension over a towel (remember that test?), drape backward, arms overhead, breathe for 1 minute
2. Your shoulders (once the spine has room to move)
Hands behind head position from shoulder test, hold it and breathe, 30 seconds
Don't force. Let your spine create the space first.
3. Your breathing (this gets easier as ribs unlock)
Feel your ribs expand sideways (not just forward), 1 minute before moving
Box breathing if you're stressed: 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold
The order matters: Spine first. Shoulders will follow. Breathing will follow.
PATTERN 2: Lower Body Restriction
Your results looked the complete opposite of pattern 1; hips and ankles were restricted, while the other areas tested were mobile.
You’re most likely sitting a lot. Your hips have been locked in a bent position for hours every day. Your hip flexors shortened.
Your glutes forgot how to work. Your ankles? They've been immobilized in shoes, barely moving through their full range.
Your lower back is stuck doing all the bending because your hips won't.
What to work on:
1. Your hips (the root problem)
Hip flexor stretches; low lunge for 1-2 minutes per side
Hip flexion (knee to chest), pull gently, breathe into it, 30 seconds per side
Hip rotations, from the hip test, remember? Move through the range slowly
2. Your ankles (they're stuck from sitting)
Knee-to-wall test as a practice; do it daily, try to get your foot a little farther back each week
Walk barefoot when you can, let your ankles actually move
3. Your lower back (gentle mobility, not stretching)
Cat-cow, but focus on your LOWER back moving, not just upper
Seated forward fold from spine test, let your spine round, don't force it
Start with hips. Once they move better, your lower back won't have to work so hard.
Tired of news that feels like noise?
Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.
PATTERN 3: Full Body Restriction
Your results looked like this:
❌ Most areas tested tight across the board
✅ Maybe one or two areas tested easy, but everything else? Tight.
In this case, your whole body is locked up. You've been holding tension, bracing, protecting for so long that everything has tightened down.
Maybe it started with an injury years ago. Maybe it's chronic stress. Maybe it's sitting all day, every day, for years. Whatever the cause, your body learned to stay still for "safety."
Here's the loop:
Your spine won't move → everything else tightens to protect it → your breathing stays shallow → your nervous system stays in "on" mode → more tension → more restriction.
It's all connected. And it's been building up for years.
What to work on:
Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick three things. That's it.
1. Breathing (start here; it calms the nervous system)
Box breathing: 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold, do this 2x per day, 2 minutes each
Rib expansion, feel your ribs move sideways, forward, and backwards, remind your body it CAN expand
This isn't about "fixing" breathing. It's about signaling to your nervous system: "We're safe. We can relax."
2. Spine (the connector, unlock it next)
Do cat-cow; 5 minutes every morning, move SLOWLY
Notice where it feels stuck (upper back? lower back? mid-back?)
Don't force the wave. Just move what moves. The rest will follow.
3. One other area (pick the TIGHTEST)
Hips? Start with low lunge.
Shoulders? Start with hands behind your head.
Ankles? Start with knee-to-wall.
That's it. Breathing + spine + one area. Nothing else for 4 weeks.
What to leave alone:
Everything else
You heard it. Everything else.
Don't try to address 10 restrictions at once.
Pick three. Do them daily. Stick with them for 4 weeks.
The 80/20 rule: 20% of your restrictions create 80% of your problems. Focus on that 20%.
This doesn't "fix" the restriction immediately, but it reminds your spine that it can move, little by little, for 4 weeks.
PATTERN 4: One-Sided Movement Restriction
Your results looked like this:
❌ Right (or left) hip, shoulder, ankle, all tested tighter than the other side
✅ Left (or right) side tested mobile
Your dominant side has been doing 80% of the work for years. You're right-handed, so you reach with your right arm, carry bags on your right shoulder, and lean on your right hip. Your right side is overworked and tight.
Or maybe you always sleep on your left side, compressing that shoulder and hip every night. Or you had an old injury on one side that never fully healed.
This is movement asymmetry (one side moves less freely than the other), NOT structural asymmetry (one shoulder physically lower, one leg actually shorter, spinal curvature).
Structural asymmetry is anatomical; it needs a professional assessment and X-rays.
In this series, we're testing how you MOVE, not how you're built.
What to work on:
Focus on the TIGHT side only.
If your right side is tighter:
Right hip stretches: low lunge, hip rotations, hip flexor work
Right shoulder work: hands behind head, overhead reaches, rotation
Right ankle mobility: knee-to-wall on right side
Don't try to "balance" by restricting the mobile side. That's not how this works.
Goal: Reduce the gap. NOT eliminate it entirely.
Some movement asymmetry is normal. It’s rare to have perfectly matched sides.
PATTERN 5: Specific Isolated Restriction
Your results looked like this:
❌ One specific area tested tight (JUST hips, or JUST shoulders, or JUST ankles)
✅ Everything else tested mobile
This means your tight area is the ACTUAL problem. Not a compensation. Not connected to something else. Just... tight.
If your spine is mobile, your breathing is fine, and only your hips tested tight → your hips are the primary restriction. Nothing else is compensating for them. Your hips are just tight.
Where this comes from:
Old injury to that specific area (hip surgery, shoulder injury)
Repetitive strain (runner's tight hips, swimmer's tight shoulders, dancer's tight ankles)
Anatomical differences (some people have naturally tighter hip sockets, shoulder structures)
What to work on:
If only your hips are tight:
Hip flexor stretches (low lunge)
Hip rotations (from the hip test)
Hip flexion and extension work
Do hip mobility work daily, 5-7 minutes
If only your shoulders are tight:
Overhead reaches (from the shoulder test)
Hands behind head (external rotation)
Hands behind back (internal rotation)
Do shoulder work daily, 5-7 minutes
If only your ankles are tight:
Knee-to-wall (dorsiflexion work)
Ankle circles
Walk barefoot more often
Do ankle mobility work daily, 5 minutes
Don't waste time on areas that are already mobile.
This is the easiest pattern to address. One problem. One solution.
PATTERN 6: Mobile Overall
Your results looked like this:
✅ Most areas tested mobile
❌ Maybe one or two minor tight spots, but nothing major
You’re lucky! That’s a huge flex in today’s world.
Your body moves well. You don't have significant restrictions. You're probably active, you move in varied ways, and you don't have chronic pain or old injuries limiting you.
Some people are just naturally more mobile. Some people move enough in daily life that restrictions don't build up.
Either way, you're in good shape.
What to work on:
If you have 1-2 minor tight spots:
Address them if they bother you (tight hips? Do a low lunge a few times a week)
Ignore them if they don't (minor tightness that doesn't cause pain or limit function? Leave it)
If everything tested mobile:
Keep doing what you're doing
Don't add a mobility routine you don't need
Move regularly, in varied ways, and you'll stay mobile
Don't try to become "perfectly mobile." You don't need more range than you already have.
If you have medical limitations
Some restrictions won't improve, and that's okay.
Hip/knee/shoulder replacements, surgeries, frozen shoulder, scoliosis, fusions, chronic arthritis, osteoporosis:
These are structural or medical limitations. They're not something to "fix" with stretching.
Your goal will shift from "improve restriction" to:
Maintain current mobility (don't lose what you have)
Reduce compensatory tension (tight neck from immobile shoulder? Work on the neck)
Move safely within your limits
You're not trying to become "perfectly mobile." You're working WITH your body as it is.
Your body has been through surgeries, injuries, and years of living. It's carried you this far. It's adapted, compensated, and found ways to keep you moving even when parts stopped working the way they used to.
That deserves gratitude. Not guilt. Not shame.
Meeting your body where it is, without wishing it were different, reminds us of one of yoga's core teachings, santosha or contentment.
That’s It For Today!
Your pattern is your starting point, your roadmap. Make sure to write it down and become fully aware of it.
Tomorrow, we’ll send you part 2 on:
How to spot primary restrictions vs. compensations
Your personalized 5-7 minute routine (based on your pattern)
What to do after the 4 weeks?
With care,
The Yoga Daily Team
P.S. Which pattern are you?
Drop a comment below with:
Your age
Your pattern (1-6)
Your tightest area
We're curious to see what patterns show up most in our community. If most of you land on the same one, we'll build something specifically for that.
