As the year continues to speed by and spring fully gives way to summer, the flow of time, energy, and ideas has been on my mind. This leads me to think about the Roll and Pour.

Not to be confused with the Roll ‘n Pour (a device for measuring liquor and pouring it into a cocktail glass without spilling) or Pour and Roll (a surprisingly controversial method of roofing practiced in the UK), the Roll and Pour I’m thinking of is a wonderful exercise for increasing perception via sensory receptors. 

Find a spot on the floor where there is plenty of room for you to move around. To start, lay on the floor on your side with your body in a line. 

For up to twenty minutes (beginners may start with a shorter time frame), roll your body around the midline running from head to toe until you rotate 360 degrees and return to your starting position. Visualize your body as fluid and liquid-like, moving in a slow pouring fashion as you rotate.

As you move, notice each sensation of your body parts coming into contact with the floor. Notice the feel of the floor, the weight of your body, the gravity pulling you over to your opposite side. When you’ve completed your full rotation, take a moment to rest before bringing it to a stand.  Walk around a bit and check in with how/what you’re experiencing in your body compared to before you started.

Cerebral benefits of this meditative movement may include increasing security, awakening the skin boundary, heightening mapping perception, and enriching your relation to gravity orientation. Physical benefits may include decreasing compression in the superficial fascia and the whole body, increasing the integration of body components, and improving body articulation. If you need more reasons to try the Roll and Pour, it feels great and is so relaxing. 

Advanced Roll and Pour practitioners may opt to take things outside (as I demonstrate here) to fire up sensory receptors with stimulus from nature. Consider giving this movement a try to heighten perception and experience your body’s relationship to space and ground in a new way.