Controlled Joint Rotations from Feet to Head

A warm-up built on controlled joint rotations: each joint draws the biggest possible circle, very slowly and with the rest of the body still. It prepares the joints and teaches students to explore their own movement limits.

How to play

1. Explain the technique: slow, maximal circle, tension through the whole body and no other joint moving; demo it with the wrist (2 min).
2. Ankles and knees: standing with a hand on the wall or a partner, three slow circles in each direction per joint (2 min).
3. Hips: standing on one leg with support, knee up, open out, rotate and come back around behind; three per direction and side (2 min).
4. Spine: standing with hands on the knees, roll down and up one vertebra at a time, then slow trunk circles (2 min).
5. Shoulders and neck: full arm circles with a straight elbow and a still trunk, and small, slow neck circles (2 min).

Rules

• Each circle takes at least 8 seconds; going slow is the main rule.
• Move without pain; if it bothers you, make the circle smaller.
• Single-leg exercises always have a point of support.
• Neck circles are small and backward extension is never forced.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: does all upper-body and trunk rotations seated.
• Visual impairment: the teacher describes each circle using clock positions (from 12 to 3), and the student works next to the wall.
• Autism: follows the same fixed order each session, shown on a poster.

Learning goals

• Prepare the joints with slow, controlled movements.
• Explore their own joint range without compensating.
• Make a self-led warm-up routine their own.

Teacher tip

Repeating it at the start of several sessions gets students doing it on their own and taking it to other workouts.

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