A Pilates teacher says this mobility routine will make your entire body feel better in 8 minutes – I tried it

Sometimes we just need to move our bodies; not in a lace up our running shoes or hit the gym kind of way, but just move to wake it up and get those feel-good endorphins flowing. Even research shows that doing something as simple as stretching or a little mobility can give us a boost.

I struggle in the mornings; my partner calls me a ‘drifter’, because it takes me a while to officially ‘wake up and get with it’, making everything else I need to do take twice as long. So, when I came across this mobility routine from Pilates teacher, Katy Bath, which she claimed would ‘make me feel better in 8 minutes’, I thought it may be the antidote I needed.

“This 8 minute routine will be one your body will love!,” she writes on her Instagram post. “Release tension and feel better.”

The routine includes eight dynamic stretches and mobility moves, but what I particularly liked was how each one targeted a specific area – like the chest, hips, and back – spots that are prone to feeling stiff and achy. Not to mention, all the moves required just my bodyweight, which meant that, after my much-needed morning cup of tea, I could plonk myself down on the floor and get on with them.

This is what the routine consisted of:

• Chest opener – 5 reps each side
• Hip circles – 5 reps each side
• Adductor rock backs – 5 reps each side
• Child's pose into cobra – 10 reps
• Cat rocks – 10 reps
• Cow rocks – 10 reps
• Downward dog with pedals –10 reps
• Back extension – 10 reps

Needless to say, my body felt 10 times better after giving this a go, and certain moves – particularly the chest opener and adductor rock backs – brought my attention to how shockingly stiff I am in the morning. I even got a few satisfying ‘cracks’ in my mid back whilst doing the chest opener. And, although my downward dog pedals were pretty poor, my hamstrings and calves still got a nice stretch.

I was quick to plonk myself down at my desk afterwards, as I work from home, but I noticed that where I usually feel pretty stiff and sore from the get-go, I felt like the routine had given my joints a good dose of DW-40.

It didn’t take me eight minutes to do – I’d say more like four to five – which made it even easier to slot into my morning routine and throughout the rest of my day when I felt my body becoming stiff and tense.

Guaranteed, I’ll have to keep doing this every morning if I really want to improve my flexibility and mobility, but it’s a solid snack routine for setting your body up for the day and making it feel more alive. Sadly, it hasn’t been the solution to me being a drifter, but here’s to hoping.