In just 15 minutes, this total-body mobility workout will help to release tension in your neck, shoulders, hips, and spine.
After hours of sitting and being stationary, moving each joint through its full range of motion is one of the best ways to realign your posture and reset your body.
Mobility is key to any movement practice because it builds strong, resilient joints—the foundation for moving well and feeling good.
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When done right, mobility training helps your joints gain both flexibility and strength. While people often confuse mobility with flexibility, the truth is, flexibility is just half the equation.
What you’ll need for the workout
You only need a workout mat, and there’s no equipment required—making this a simple way to reconnect with your body after a long day. If you want an extra challenge, grab a yoga block to add into a few of the exercises.
Simply follow along with the guided videos, as we provide a step-by-step through each mobility exercise.
Your 15-minute mobility workout
Neck CARS: 2 reps per side
- Standing with feet hip distance apart, begin to drive your feet through the floor and generate tension throughout the entire body. On a scale of 0 to 100, imagine this tension sitting at about 40% of maximum tension—enough to lock the body into place.
- Maintaining stillness in the rest of the body, begin to move your neck through its full range of motion. Start by tucking the chin down toward the chest.
- Scrape your chin across your right collarbone and begin moving your head as far toward your right shoulder as possible.
- Continue by rotating your right ear toward your right shoulder, laterally stretching through the left side of the neck.
- Circle the head back behind the body, making your way around to the left shoulder. Be careful not to crunch the back of the neck; instead, think of lengthening up and back.
- Drop your left ear toward your left shoulder, repeating the same lateral stretch on the opposite side.
- Rotate the eyes to look down at the left shoulder, then begin scraping your chin across your left collarbone until your head finds the center.
- Reset the head to neutral and repeat on the left side.
Pro tip: Continually slide your shoulders down away from your ears to get the maximum stretch through the neck.
Spine CARS: 2 reps up and down
- Set up in a quadruped position with hands under shoulders and knees under hips. Begin moving through a couple of cat-cow motions: arching your back and lifting your chest to the sky, then rounding the spine and spreading the vertebrae apart.
- Find your most exaggerated cow position, with the chest lifted and lower back arched. Tuck your chin to your chest and begin to round through the back of your neck, slowly making your way into a cat position. The goal is to articulate each vertebra into the cat position starting from the top of the spine to the tailbone.
- Reverse this motion, initiating from the tailbone, tipping the pelvis forward, and waving your way from the bottom of the spine up to the top. Slowly sink toward the ground, arching the back and finishing in your deepest cow position again.
- One more wave in each direction.
Pro tip: Close your eyes to enhance your ability to feel each of your 33 individual vertebrae trying to separate. This helps your nervous system to control the subtle movement.
Hip CARS: 2 reps front and back per side
- Maintaining your quadruped position, begin to lengthen the spine from head to tailbone and then generate tension throughout the entire body.
- Without allowing the spine to change and become round, drive your knee as close to your elbow as possible.
- Lift your knee towards the side of the body in line with the pelvis. Elevate it as high as it can go without your hip beginning to lift.
- Aiming to maintain the height of your thigh bone, rotate your ankle forward towards the front of the room. Imagine squeezing your outer hip to gain more internal rotation.
- Start to squeeze your heel into the glute, as the thigh rotates behind the body. Really work to get your heel as close to the pelvis as possible, without arching the lower back. Squeeze and hold for three seconds and then reset to quadruped.
- Reverse the entire movement, initiating by squeezing the heel towards the pelvis, then lifting to the sky.
Pro tip: Balance a yoga block on your lower back to give you feedback about whether or not your pelvis is moving. if the block wobbles or completely falls off, you’ll know some compensation is happening!
Shoulder CARS: 2 reps per side
- From your quadruped position, sit back onto your heels, drive your straight arms through the floor in front of you and lift your chest.
- Reach one arm out in front of you, ensuring it’s completely straight, then create tension through it.
- Imagine you are pressing through sand as you move your arm, begin to drive your straight arm up and back as far as possible, without the elbow bending or the arm beginning to move away from your body.
- Once you find your sticking point, twist your palm away from the body, spinning your thumb toward the front of the room. Then reach your arm to the back diagonal, pressing it as far behind you, as you can, rotating your torso.
- Continue the circular motion as you flip your palm to face the ceiling. Complete the shoulder CAR by spinning your palm all the way to face the side of the room and connecting your pinky finger to the floor.
- Reverse the entire movement, continually thinking about pulling your shoulders down away from the ear and taking up lots of space.
Pro tip: Think of your arm like a towel that you’re trying to wring every last drop of water out of. The more rotation you can get through the entire arm, the better!
Quadruped Hip Stability Hovers: 4 reps per side
- Return to your quadruped position and extend your leg straight out from your hip. Make sure your pelvis is level – If your hip has elevated, slide your foot back until you can drop your hip down, evening it out with your opposite hip.
- Building maximum tension through the body, begin to drive the inside seam of your foot down into the floor for 5 counts, pressing as hard as you can.
- Engaging your abs and without moving your pelvis, elevate your straight leg off the ground as far as it can go. Hold for five counts.
- Repeat this four times on each side.
Pro-tip: Place the yoga block onto your lower back to ensure your pelvis is level and that you’re working all the right muscles!
Quadruped Rock & Twist: 4 reps per side
- Resetting your quadruped position, rock your weight towards your back foot. Keep length through the spine as you pull your pelvis as far back as possible without rounding the lower back.
- Shift the weight back to your hands, then twist the opposite arm from the leg that is extended up to the ceiling. Rotate your upper back as far as it can go, without the lower spine or pelvis changing positions.
- When you find the limit of your rotation, take an inhale. As you exhale, deepen the twist by engaging the muscles in the upper back to rotate you further.
- Repeat this four times, focusing on maximum engagement in the upper back to increase thoracic spine rotation – the secret to good posture!
Pro-tip: On the twist, imagine everything from the waist down being locked in cement. Keeping the yoga block on your lower back will keep you from rotating anything other than the thoracic spine!
Prone Superman Lifts: 4 reps per side
- Lay face down on your stomach and place your hands behind your head.
- Elevate your chest off the ground as high as it can go. Imagine everything from the waist down is glued to the floor.
- At the top of your position, extend your arms to a high position. Press the back of your palms as high up to the sky as you can.
- Return the hands to the back of the head and slowly lower to the ground.
- Repeat for four reps, aiming to get one centimetre higher each time.
Pro tip: Every time you lower to the ground, draw your belly button toward your spine to encourage your upper back to work and your lower back to stay relaxed throughout this series.
Prone Superman Twists: 4 reps per side
- Reset your prone position with your forehead on the ground and hands behind your head.
- Lift your chest off the ground to its highest height, sliding shoulders down away from your ears.
- Keeping elbows wide, rotate your upper back as far as possible to one side until you feel your elbow connect to the ground.
- Continuing to squeeze your elbows back, press into the ground and use it to deepen your rotation. Imagine the shoulder blades sliding together to turn your more around the corner.
- Release the twist and slowly return to neutral.
- Repeat four reps, attempting to twist further each time.
Pro-tip: As you take the twist, press the opposite hip bone into the ground. This will ensure you only rotate from the waist up, enhancing your posture that much more!
Cool down
After your mobility work, finish with 3-5 minutes of slow, deep breathwork. It’s the perfect way to calm your nervous system and destress after a long day. Take a five count – inhale through the nose, seal the lips and hold your breath for 5 counts, then slowly exhale for 5. Set a timer to give yourself a more meditative experience, allowing yourself to drop fully into the body.
Ariel Comeau is a One Playground coach and the founder of RMS Movement, an online platform offering strength, mobility, and holistic health coaching. Ariel is a certified health and wellness coach, exercise physiologist, and a Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist.
