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Hey there,
You found your pattern yesterday. Today, we're building your routine.
This issue will show you:
How to tell primary restrictions from compensations.
Your personalized daily routine (based on your results)
What to do after 4 weeks (re-testing and adjusting)
Let's build your practice.
What to Focus On First (Priority Hierarchy)
Disclaimer: this is educational content and not medical advice, please be cautious and always prioritize your safety above everything else.
You can't work on everything at once. So here's how to know what to address first.
Priority 1: Pain
If something hurts, address it first, even if it's "just compensation."
Pain matters. Always.
Here's what "addressing pain" actually means:
If you have sharp pain during a test:
Skip that movement entirely
Don't push through sharp pain in the hips, shoulders, spine, or ankles
Sharp pain = your body saying: "This isn't safe right now," and you must see a professional.
If you have dull ache or stiffness:
Gentle stretching and gentle yoga are SAFE (and helpful), no twists or complicated poses.
Movement reduces stiffness
Don't avoid movement, just move gently
If you have chronic pain (weeks, months, years):
Movement and stretching REDUCE pain (they don't make it worse)
Research shows exercise reduces chronic pain by 50-75% in 6-8 weeks
Don't avoid movement because of chronic pain; move gently and consistently
The 2-hour rule (your safety guideline):
If your pain returns to baseline within 2 hours after practicing, you're safe to continue.
If pain worsens or lasts longer than 2 hours after practicing, you did too much. Pull back next time.
If pain persists or worsens: See a professional (PT, chiropractor, doctor). Some pain needs hands-on treatment.
Priority 2: Breathing
If breathing tested tight, start there.
When you fix breathing → everything else gets easier.
What to do:
Include 1-2 minutes of breathing work in your routine:
Box breathing (4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold)
Rib expansion (feel ribs move sideways, not just forward)
Diaphragm breathing (belly rises, chest stays still)
Do this BEFORE mobility work. It calms your nervous system and prepares your body to move.
Priority 3: Spine
If your spine tested tight, work on it before hips or shoulders.
The spine is the connector. It ties everything together.
What to do:
Include spine work in your routine:
Cat-cow (2-3 minutes, move slowly, like a wave)
Thoracic extension if upper back is tight (drape over towel, 1 minute)
Gentle spinal rotation if rotation is tested tight (seated twists, 1 minute per side). If you have Osteoporosis, avoid twists completely.
When you work on the spine first. Shoulders and hips will follow.
Priority 4: The Tightest Area
If everything is equally restricted, pick the TIGHTEST area.
Don't try to fix everything at once.
Ask yourself: Which area tested the tightest? Which one limits you the most in daily life?
Pick one:
Hips (if they're the tightest or most limiting)
Shoulders (if they're the tightest or most limiting)
Ankles (if they're the tightest or most limiting)
Work on that for 4 weeks. Re-test. Adjust.
Priority 5: Asymmetry (Functional Movement Differences)
If one side is way tighter than the other, focus there.
Work on the tight side:
Stretch the tight hip, shoulder, or ankle
Mobilize the restricted side
Do MORE reps on the tight side (it's okay to be unbalanced in your practice)
Think of priorities like warming up a car in winter. You turn it on and let it idle (breathing) before you drive (mobility work).
The cold engine isn't causing your flat tire (tight hips), but you still warm it up first.
Real Restriction vs. Compensation:
This is the most important concept in the entire series.
Here's the principle:
Think of your body as a chain. When one link is stuck, the others pick up the slack.
The stuck link = Real restriction
The overworked links = compensations
If you work on the compensation instead of the primary restriction, you're wasting your time. The compensation will just come back because the root problem is still there.
Your job: Find the stuck link. Fix that. The compensations will improve on their own.
How to tell them apart:
Ask yourself: “Is this area ACTUALLY tight, or is it doing extra work because something else won't move?”
Let's use hips as an example (since most of you said hips are your tightest area).
Example: Are Your Hips the Problem, or Is Your Spine?
Your results:
Hip flexion tested tight (knee to chest was hard)
Forward fold tested tight (spine wouldn't round)
Which is primary? Which is compensation?
Try this:
Sit on the edge of a chair. Try to fold forward, let your head drop, shoulders round, spine curl.
What happened?
If your spine stayed straight and you hinged only from your hips:
→ Your spine won't bend. So every time you need to bend down in daily life (tie shoes, pick something up), your HIPS do all the work. They get overworked. They get tight.Primary restriction: Spine (won't flex)
Compensation: Hips (doing all the bending)
What to work on: Spine (cat-cow, gentle forward folds). Once your spine can bend, your hips won't have to work so hard.If your spine rounded easily into a C-curve:
→ Your spine is fine. Your hips are ACTUALLY tight (probably from sitting all day with hip flexors shortened).Primary restriction: Hips (actually tight)
Compensation: None (this is the real problem)
What to work on: Hips (low lunge, knee to chest). Your spine is fine, focus on hip mobility.
The Decision Rule:
For the other areas, this is your decision rule
If spine is tight + hips are tight → Start with spine (it's usually primary)
If spine is mobile + hips are tight → Work on hips (they're the actual problem)
If everything is tight → Start with spine (the connector), then breathing, then the tightest remaining area
Most common pattern we see: Tight spine creating tight hips. So you focus your mobility work on spine first and hips will follow.
So here's how to use both concepts:
Priorities = How to structure your routine (breathing → spine → specific area)
Primary restriction = What to actually focus your mobility work on (spine? hips? shoulders?)
Your Daily Routine
Let’s do a complete example of a mobility routine.
Today we’ll create a hip-focused mobility routine because most subscribers mentioned hips as the tighest area in their body.
If your results match this example, you can follow the routine below just as it is
Reuslts: Tight hips (primary) + Mobile spine (or mildly tight spine)
Based on the priorities, your routine structure will look like this:
Breathing (1 min) - Calms nervous system FIRST
Spine (2-3 min) - Unlocks the connector
Hips (2-3 min) - Addresses the specific restriction
Time: 6 minutes
Frequency: 5-6 days per week
Duration: 4 weeks, then re-test
Do this for 4 weeks straight. Then re-test your hip flexion and spinal forward fold using the previous assesssment and see if anything change, From Tight to Easy.
1. Cat-Cow (Focus on Lower Back), 2 minutes
Your lower back is probably compensating for tight hips. Mobilize it first.
Hands and knees on the floor (or standing with hands on wall)
Move slowly and feel each vertebra move
Don’t forget t breath while doing it; 15-20 rounds
2. Low Lunge (Hip Flexor Stretch) — 2 minutes
Your hip flexors are short from sitting. Lengthen them.
You can hold the pose for 1 minute and switch sides, don’t force it, breath into it instead.
3. Knee to Chest (Hip Flexion) — 1 minute
Work on bringing your knee toward your chest without arching your lower back.
Lie on your back
Pull right knee toward chest with both hands
Keep left leg extended (or bent if more comfortable)
Hold 30 seconds, switch sides
4. Seated Forward Fold (Gentle Spinal Flexion) — 1 minute
Teach your spine to round instead of staying straight.
Sit on edge of chair, feet flat
Slowly roll forward; head drops, shoulders round, spine curls
Let your spine make a C-curve
Hold 1 minute, breathe
Total: 6 minutes
Stick with this for 4 weeks. Don't add extra stretches. Don't try to do more. Consistency beats complexity.
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That’s It For Today!
After 4 weeks of daily practice, re-test the areas you worked on.
Pick 2-3 key tests: Hip flexion (knee to chest), spinal forward fold, whatever felt tightest when you started and do the tests again to compare the new results to the old ones.
If your restriction improved: Keep going.
If nothing changed: there are two possibilities, (1) It's working slowly (some restrictions take 8-12 weeks), or (2) you're working on a compensation, not the root.
If it got worse: Stop. Rest for a few days. See a professional (PT, chiropractor). Something's wrong.
And that how you continue long term: Test → Practice 4 weeks → Re-test → Adjust. Every 4 weeks, check in. See what's working and change what's not.
Your body will meet you where you are. You just have to show up.
With care,
The Yoga Daily Team
P.S. Feeling stuck or not sure where to start? Reply and tell us what's confusing. We're here to help you figure it out.
