Exercise guides
One movement, done properly.
Most exercises fail quietly, done in a way that skips the muscle they were meant for. Each guide covers how to do one movement, how to make it easier, and the mistake that undoes it. All of them come from the clinically authored library the app builds sessions from.
Looking for a whole condition rather than a single movement? The condition guides cover what each one is, what the published clinical guidance recommends, and a short session to try.
If getting down to the floor is the problem, start with chair yoga for seniors or browse the chair yoga poses grouped by where the chair is.
How the movement library works
This is the full movement library behind the Vinys app: hundreds of gentle movements, each with its own page showing how to do it, how long to hold it, how to make it easier and the mistake to watch for. Every movement is clinically authored and tagged by the body areas it reaches and the support it needs.
It is organised three ways. Single-movement guides cover the most searched exercises in depth. Family pages, listed under Movements by family, gather every version of one movement, such as plank or bridge, from the most supported to the strongest. Condition pages, listed under By what you are working on, group movements by what you are dealing with, such as sciatica or knee pain. Chair-supported versions are included for days when getting to the floor is not an option.
You do not have to choose from the list yourself. The free first practice asks a few questions about your body and your day, then builds a short session from this library that fits you and leaves out what does not.
Start here
Knees to chest
Draw the knees in lying on your back. One of the few movements that gives the lower back space instead of asking more of it.
Cat cow
Move the spine in both directions, on hands and knees or seated, to find out what your back is offering today.
Supine twist
Rotation done lying down, with the floor supporting the whole spine.
Low lunge
The main position for the front of the hip, with versions for step length and for what your hands rest on.
Bridge
Lift the hips from lying on your back to reach the back of the hips without bending the spine.
Chin tuck
The smallest neck movement there is, and the one most people do backwards.
Heel raise
The calf is trained by going slowly down, not quickly up.
Sciatica stretches
Sciatica stretches that start from the direction your back prefers, instead of one list for everyone.
By what you are working on
Writing about movement? Embed our exercise videos on your site for free. Clinicians: free printable home-exercise sheets.
Chin tuck
NeckThe smallest neck movement there is, and the one most people do backwards.
Read the guideScapular wall slide
ShoulderYour arm cannot travel overhead on its own — the shoulder blade has to rotate with it.
Read the guideHip hinge
Lower back and hipsBending from the hips instead of the lower back is a skill, and it is trainable.
Read the guideGlute bridge
Hips and lower backAnyone can lift their hips. Doing it with the glutes, not the back, is the exercise.
Read the guideClamshell
HipsA small movement aimed at a muscle that keeps your pelvis level every time you take a step.
Read the guideOpen book stretch
Upper and mid-backMost backs do not need more bending. They need rotation, from the part that is built for it.
Read the guideKnees to chest
Lower backOne of the few movements that gives the lower back space instead of asking more of it.
Read the guideFigure 4 stretch
Hips and lower backThe muscles under your glutes are hard to reach standing up. Lying down, they are straightforward.
Read the guideHeel raise
Ankles and calvesThe calf is the engine of every step, and it is trained by going slowly down, not quickly up.
Read the guideChair pose
Legs, hips and lower backThe same shape as standing up from a chair — which is exactly why it is worth training.
Read the guide
Which of these is right for you today?
That is the question the assessment answers. It builds a session around the conditions you have and how your body is on the day, and rules out anything that is not safe for it.
Start my assessmentMovements by family
Most movements here have several versions. Each family page holds all of them in one place, ordered from the most supported to the strongest.
Every movement in the library
259 more movements, each with what it does, how long to hold it, and the gentler versions to fall back on.
Lower back, hips, knees and ankles
- Bridge: Classic Hold
- Bridge: Mini
- Bridge: Movement
- Chair Pose: Classic
- Chair Pose: Dynamic Sit-to-Stand
- Chair Pose: Shallow
- Chair Pose: Wall
- Downward Dog: Bent Knees
- Goddess Squat: Wall
- Half Moon: Wall
- Low Lunge: Classic
- Low Lunge: Movement
- Low Lunge: Short Stance
- Low Lunge: Small Range
- Low Lunge: Supported Chair
- Lower Body Warm-Up: Chair
- Lower Body Warm-Up: Standing
- Pigeon: Classic
- Savasana: Legs Up Chair
- Tree Pose: At Wall
- Tree Pose: Classic
- Tree Pose: Holding Chair
- Tree Pose: Lift & Lower
- Tree Pose: Toes on Floor
- Triangle: Classic
- Viparita Karani: Classic
- Warrior I: Short Stance
- Warrior II: Short Stance
- Warrior III: Chair Supported
- Warrior III: Movement
- Warrior III: Wall
Lower back, hips and knees
- Bridge: Block Between Knees
- Bridge: Supported Sacrum
- Chair Pose: Block Between Thighs
- Full Forward Fold: Uttanasana
- Gate Pose: Movement
- Low Lunge: With Blocks
- Navasana: Supported
- Paschimottanasana: Blanket Under Pelvis
- Paschimottanasana: Classic + Bent Knee
- Pigeon: Bolster Under Hip
- Reclined Figure-4: Classic
- Reclined Figure-4: Foot on Wall
- Reclined Figure-4: Seated Chair
- Supported Forward Fold: Blocks
- Tree Pose: Side-Lying
- Viparita Karani: Legs Up Chair
- Viparita Karani: With Bolster
- Warrior II: Chair Under Front Thigh
Lower back and hips
- Dead Bug: Block Between Knees
- Glute Bridge: Single Leg
- Hip Hinge: Romanian Deadlift
- Knees to Chest: Classic
- Knees to Chest: Single Leg
- Navasana: Chair Boat Pose
- Parsvottanasana: Hands on Blocks
- Parsvottanasana: Wall
- Prasarita: Chair Support
- Prasarita: Classic
- Prasarita: Hands on Blocks
- Supta Padangusthasana B: Strap
- Triangle: Back to Wall
- Warrior I: Back to Wall
Shoulders and upper back
- Gomukhasana Arms: With Strap
- Melting Heart (Anahatasana)
- Pectoralis Stretch: At Wall
- Shoulder CARs
- Shoulder Isometrics: External Rotation at Wall
- Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Block
- Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Classic
- Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Sitting
- Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana: Strap
- Urdhva Hastasana: Seated
- Urdhva Hastasana: Standing