Easy stretching routines for hips, hamstrings, shoulders and neck

Stretching is where a lot of beginners start, usually because something feels tight: hamstrings after a long walk, hips after a day in a chair, a neck that's been angled at a phone since breakfast. That's a fine place to begin.

Our stretching guides focus on a few things that matter more than how far you reach. How long to hold a stretch. How to breathe while you're in it. How to tell the difference between a useful pull and a warning sign. And which small changes (a bent knee, a strap, a chair) make a stretch possible for your body today.

You won't find flexibility treated as a score here. The aim is to feel more comfortable in the body you've got, whether that means touching your toes eventually or just being able to turn your head to reverse the car without wincing. Guides on getting started with stretching, and the beginner advice we'd give first, are the next ones we're writing.