I tried the internet's favorite yoga instructor's morning mobility routine—these are my honest thoughts

man in a bedroom doing a downward facing dog yoga pose in front of his bed on a yoga mat with a laptop in front of him

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 4 October 2024

My work involves spending a lot of time sitting, hunched over my laptop, but I've managed to get rid of my shoulder stiffness by, in part, incorporating mobility work into my routine.

That's why I was excited to see a new video from Adriene Mishler on Yoga With Adriene. Mishler is is one of my favorite yoga instructors and she runs, arguably, the best yoga YouTube channel.

The new video is a morning mobility routine, which is ideal because my post-workout muscles often feel stiff and achy when I wake up. I tried Mishler's routine to see if it could help alleviate this and make working from home feel more comfortable.

How to do Yoga With Adriene's morning mobility routine

Morning Mobility Yoga | Wake Up and Stretch! - YouTube

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Mishler demonstrates each move in this 20-minute routine, making it easy to follow.

No equipment is needed but a towel or yoga mat will provide some support for your knees. I enjoy using the Yogi Bare yoga mat—it’s super soft with great grip, ensuring I don’t slip in and out of downward-facing dog.

You can browse more tried-and-tested recommendations in this guide to the best yoga mats.

My experience trying Yoga With Adriene's mobility routine

I've tried many mobility routines over the years, but I keep returning to Mishler's classes because they calm the mind as much as they work the body, and this one was no different.

While moving through each pose, Mishler encourages you to slow down, which felt great for my stiff joints and also helped me to relax, giving me some much-needed me-time at the start of the day. I continued with my day feeling significantly less stressed than usual.

In terms of mobility, this routine provides an excellent full-body stretch, particularly for the hips and shoulders.

However, I prefer to combine stretching with strengthening exercises, particularly as I have a long-standing knee injury. My shoulders and hips also need to be kept strong to combat the amount of time I have to spend sitting and to compensate for years of overtraining.

If you're in a similar situation, I recommend combining Mishler’s yoga mobility routine with exercises for joint health. You don't need to do them consecutively but incorporating both mobility moves like Mishler's with regular strength work is an effective way to keep your joints and muscles healthy.

Alice Porter is a freelance journalist covering lifestyle topics including health, fitness and wellness. She is particularly interested in women's health, strength training and fitness trends and writes for publications including Stylist Magazine, Refinery29, The Independent and Glamour Magazine. Like many other people, Alice's personal interest in combining HIIT training with strength work quickly turned into a CrossFit obsession and she trains at a box in south London. When she's not throwing weights around or attempting handstand push-ups, you can probably find her on long walks in nature, buried in a book or hopping on a flight to just about anywhere it will take her.