30 Minute Mobility Flow | Slow & Gentle is a dynamic flexibility/mobility workout from Julia Reppel. You do not hold any post for more than a few seconds and you are constantly moving through various ranges of motion and stretches. This is a very nice practice that hits every joint in your body. As the title indicates, there are no repeats so there is no boredom. I used in combination with one of Julia’s more intense mobility workouts and this worked nicely to finish off my recovery day workout.
The mobility exercises are done interval style: 35-40 seconds of work followed by a 12 second transition. During the transition Julia previews the next exercise. For some of the exercises another variation is displayed in a video in the upper left hand corner of the screen. A timer in the lower left hand corner of the screen counts down the intervals and transitions. There is a progress bar in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down the workout time as a percentage.
30 Minute Mobility Flow | Slow & Gentle is 30:38 minutes. Equipment: fitness mat.
- Spinal curl (start standing, roll down into forward fold, rounding spine rag doll style, then roll back up to standing)
- Standing spinal wave (similar to #1, rolling down into forward fold, but instead of rolling back up, raise back to standing with a flat back)
- Cat-cow circles (as you flow in and out of cat/cow you will also circle your torso)
- Alternating pin the needle thread through (thread the needle, alternate sides)
- Ankle sit switches (sit in double kneeling with glutes on heels and tops of feet on mat, shift glutes over to one side the shift them to the other side)
- Hip side bend (in kneeling lunge place one hand over top of head (same hand as back leg) and shift forward and back into a deeper kneeling lunge, as you shift forward also do a side bend)
- Repeat #6 on other side of body
- Anterior-posterior > tilt bridge (lay on back on mat, knees are bent and feet are close to glutes, keeping glutes and shoulders in contact with the mat, arch spine, lifting it off mat, keeping glutes and shoulder on mat, lower spine back to mat and raise hips/glutes into a standard bridge, alternate these two moves)
- Wall shoulder circles (stand beside a wall with one shoulder touching the wall, do a large single arm shoulder circle, hand is touching the wall the entire time; halfway through interval change direction of circle)
- Repeat #9 on other arm
- Wrist 5s push downs-5s pull up (get on hands and knees, push hands/wrists into mat for 5 seconds then lift fingers keeping base of palm on mat for 5 seconds)
- Wrist pin elbow circles (on knees on mat, place the back of one hand on mat, place the fist of the other hand in palm, press down into palm and rotate elbow side to side; halfway through interval swap hand positions)
- Alternating scapular push up > rotation (get on hands and knees on mat, place one hand behind head and other hand on mat, push up through shoulder of mat hand and rotate torso/other elbow toward ceiling, alternate arms/sides)
- Shoulder rolls (get on hands and knees on mat with arms extended wide out to sides, lower one shoulder so it taps the mat, alternate sides)
- Neck CARs (double kneeling on mat, arms are extended down to sides with hands in fists, circle neck/head)
- Kneeling swimmer (double kneeling on mat, being hands behind head with elbows out to sides, reach arms overhead then open arms out to sides while also reaching arms back behind you, when arms get to sides, bend elbows and bring hands up to small of back, reverse this motion bringing arms back to start behind head)
- Seated cat-cow (sit on mat with knees bent in front of you and feet on mat, hands are on knees, round and arch spine)
- Pendulum (lay on back w/ arms extended to sides in a T, knees are bent w/ feet on mat, rotate hips to one side while sweeping top leg up straight and to the side (other leg remains bent), alternate sides)
- Floor scorpion (lay on stomach, arms extended to sides in a T, raise one leg and, with knee bent, bring it over to the outside of other leg, alternate legs/sides)
- 90-90 sit (sit on mat with knees bent and feet on floor in front of you, drop both knees to the same side so that one is bent at 90 degrees in front of you and the other is bent at 90 degrees beside/behind you, hinge forward over front leg; swap leg position to repeat on other side)
- Crossed leg fold (sit cross-leg, hinge forward into forward fold reaching arms in front of you, raise out of forward fold and place hands behind you on mat, change which leg is on top and flow forward into forward fold again, continue alternating which leg is on top)
- Half kneeling cossack rocks (kneel on one heel, other leg is extended out straight to side with insole on mat, shift hips back into heel then raise back up to start)
- Repeat #22 on other side of body
- Alternating squat stretch (start sitting on mat with hands on mat behind hips and feet on mat in front of you in a staggered stance, lift hips off mat, pushing body forward so one knee (knee of back foot), lowers down toward the mat, stretching quad, alternate sides by swapping leg positions)
- Half kneeling lean over (in kneeling lunge, hinge forward so forehead and chest rest on front thigh, clasp hands behind back, shift body forward and back in this position; near the end of the interval, clasp hands behind you and extend them toward ceiling)
- Repeat #25 with other leg forward
- Down dog > squat (start in downward facing dog, walk feet into hands so you are in forward fold then lower into a deep yogi squat, raise hips back into forward fold and walk feet back so you are in down dog again)
- Plow > alternating hip extension (lay on mat and roll legs up and over head into plow, lower legs, bending one knee and bringing the other forward so you raise into kneeling lunge, shift forward to stretch hip flexor, lower back to mat and repeat but when you come out of plow bend the other knee so you alternating sides/legs)
- Knee circles (lay on back and raise bent knees, place hands on knees and draw circles with the knees; halfway through interval change direction of circles; the last 7 seconds of the interval, open knees bringing soles of feet together, clasp feet with hands)
- Seated glute stretch (seated figure 4, one ankle is crossed over opposite knee, hands are on mat behind hips, shift legs side to side)
- Repeat #30 on other side of body
- Lying hamstring floss (lay on back, one leg is extended straight on mat, extend other leg to ceiling, hold leg behind thigh, point toe and bend knee, flex foot and straighten leg again)
- Repeat #32 on other leg
- Child’s pose rotation (in child’s pose with arms stretched in front of you on mat, rotate arms so hands are open and facing away from you then rotate arms so hands are facing each other)
- Lying T spine opener (lay on side with both arms extended straight in front of you, bottom leg is extended straight and top leg is bent with knee on mat in front of you, circle top arm up and overhead to other side so arms are in a T with chest open then return them to start, keeping hand in contact with the floor the entire time)
- Repeat #22 on other side of body
For more info on Julia Reppel and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
