As we age, it's normal to feel stiffer, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting. Prolonged sitting can weaken core and lower-body muscles and restrict your natural range of motion, leading to aches and pains.
The good news is a simple stretching routine can mobilize your body and offset the effects of aging on your joints and muscles.
Pilates and yoga instructor Debbie Moser recently shared a quick stretching routine designed to help you feel younger, looser and more mobile—all in under 10 minutes.
How to do the 10-minute morning stretch routine
This flow features eight of the best yoga stretches for beginners and Moser recommends doing eight repetitions of each—four on each side for unilateral moves.
While this routine is designed for the morning, you can do it at any time of day. You don't need any equipment but as it’s floor-based, you might want to roll out a yoga mat for extra comfort.
Can stretching really make you feel younger?
As we age, muscles naturally lose strength and flexibility, which leads to stiffer joints. Regular stretching helps reverse this, restoring some of that lost flexibility and easing stiffness.
And while we can't guarantee that doing this routine will make you feel a decade and a half younger, evidence suggests regular stretching can make a difference.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that stretching improves joint range of motion and functional movement, which makes it easier to move in everyday life.
Another study published in The Journal of Gerontology suggested that stretching, particularly when combined with balance training, can lower the risk of falls in older adults.
Try this routine a few times a week to feel the benefits. Or, ideally, daily.
