Read yourself

• One foot forward, toes right up against the wall and pointing straight at it
• The other foot a comfortable step behind, for balance
• Hands on the wall to steady you
• Weight light on the front leg. You're reading the ankle, not forcing it

Keeping the front heel pressed flat on the floor, bend that front knee forward and touch it to the wall. At this range it's easy, most people manage it without thinking. Now shuffle the front foot back from the wall a little and do it again, heel still flat, knee still reaching to touch. Then back a bit more. Keep edging away until you find the spot where the knee will only just touch with the heel staying down. That gap between your toes and the wall is your limit. Note where it is, then repeat it all on the other side.

• Stand tall, feet under your hips
• If your knee is tender, keep everything shallow today. You don't need to go deep to see what we're after

Step one foot a good stride backwards and lower yourself down, letting both knees bend, until the back knee is heading towards the floor. Halfway is plenty, there are no marks for going deep. Then drive back up to where you started. Do that a few times, watching both knees as you go, then swap and step back with the other foot.

• Sit tall, feet flat on the floor
• Cross one ankle up onto the opposite knee, so your legs make the shape of a number four
• Let the raised knee relax open
• If the ankle won't reach the opposite knee, rest the middle of your shin on it instead. That asks less of the hip you're reading

Keeping your back long and straight, lean your chest forward from the hips, slowly, until you feel the stretch build. Don't round your back to get lower. Hinge from the hips and let your chest lead. No bouncing, no forcing. Go to where you feel it, hold for a moment, then come back up. Swap the legs over and do the other side.

• Stand tall, feet about hip-width apart
• Soften your knees, just a little bend, and keep them there

Push your hips back behind you, as if you were closing a car door with your backside, and let your chest tip forward as they go. It's a tip, not a sit. Your hips go back, not down. Keep your knees bent no more than they were at the start, that same soft bend the whole way, and don't let them travel forward. Let your arms hang loose. Don't reach for the floor, reaching only makes you round your shoulders to get there. Just tip as far as feels comfortable, then come back up to tall. Do it slowly, a few times, so the mirror or the camera catches it.

• Back to the wall, feet a few inches out from the bottom
• Backside, upper back and the back of your head all resting on the wall
• The small of your back flattened towards the wall, belly drawn in a touch, so there's no great gap behind your waist
• Arms up onto the wall, out to the sides and bent at the elbow, like a goalpost, with the backs of your hands and forearms touching too
• Most people can't get flat to the wall first go, so don't force it. Get as close as you can hold, and read it from there. The gap is part of the reading

Keep as much of yourself on the wall as you can, and slide your arms slowly up it, reaching up and out towards straight, then back down. A few times, nice and slow. Don't let your shoulders ride up towards your ears as you go. A lot of this you can feel as much as see.