We spend the majority of our mat time together unwinding and untangling tight, stiff and painful tissues.

Naturally, the idea of "I'll feel waaaaay better if I do this more often than once a week" pops up, quickly followed by "but how do I do that?"

Here are (as promised) tools and strategies for structuring at-home mobility program.

1. Write down a list of problems that could potentially be solved or treated by using mobilization techniques (more on these next week!) - for example, "low back pain" or "tight hips from sitting."

You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget what you need to work on, especially if you (like most of us) have 29,000 other things on your mind.

Go over your list prior to attempting your mobility session, and decide on what is your priority for that day. Most of us lean into 2- 3 familiar moves (stretches, roll outs), prioritizing some areas and tissues and completely forgetting about others (your weekly yoga class is a great remedy for mobility blind spots.)

2. Choose 3 - 4 areas to work on each session; don't get super ambitious and try to mobilize 10 different points all at once - our goal is quality, not quantity.

Spend no less than 2 minutes in each area / position.

3. Decide when you are going to mobilize (and put that into your schedule). Here are some ideas:

~ Starting the day: this is a great time to get your body moving through its full ranges of motions. If you wake up with pain and stiffness, ball rolling (especially after a hot shower) feels extra - extra - extra nice.

~ Throughout the day: insterting mobility breaks into your day is one of the best ways to stay ahead of problems. Focus on working just one area.

~ Winding down before bed: any type of light stretching and rolling will help to put you in a more relaxed state. Abdominal rolling (I know how much you love that one!) is particularly effective in helping us shift to rest + digest mode.