“Mobility” is a kind of wonky term that refers to something quite beautiful: the harmonious convergence of all the elements that allow you to move freely and effortlessly through space and life.

Sometimes it’s all we can do to sit on the floor while we watch a movie (stay tuned to learn why this seemingly passive activity enhances mobility), eat three vegetables, and get a good night’s sleep.

What Your Results Mean Start by giving yourself a score of 10, then subtract one point for each of the following assists or problems: Bracing yourself with a hand on the wall or other solid surface Placing a hand on the ground Touching your knee to the floor Supporting yourself on the side of your legs Losing your balance

Flexion is a movement that closes the angle between body parts, like bending over. Extension is a movement that widens the angle between body parts, like straightening your elbow or pulling your leg behind you.

One is Normal Accident Theory. This is a theory positing that in all complex systems, accidents will occur. We live in a complex world where pavement gets slick, bikes hit bumps, spouses leave their shoes lying in the middle of the floor. In other words, you don’t have to be of a certain age to run the risk of falling. And we’re all moving toward

That’s the difference between mobilizations and stretches. When you do a mobilization—a move that allows your joints to go toward their end ranges in positions that you’re built to assume—you’re in effect saying to your body, “Look, I’m spending time here, I’m breathing, it’s okay.” It’s exposure therapy, signaling your brain that using your body

The upshot of the Brazilian and American researchers’ work is that people who do well on the test have greater mobility and that greater mobility may make them a) less likely to fall in the first place, and b) in better all-around health. What

Sitting on the floor in a few different shapes is all that’s required of you here. You can lean lightly against the back of a couch or a chair or against a wall for support (ideally working toward moving away from any props), and you don’t have to stay in one position on the floor. Earlier

In a joint study ultimately published in a 2014 issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the researchers gave the Sit-and-Rise Test—the same one we previewed in the introduction to this book and which we’re now going to ask you to take again—to 2,002 men and women, ages fifty-one to eighty. Then the scientists went about their