Welcome back mind-body students! Like we hinted at last week, we will be adding the final (bonus) technique to our series on Achieving Physical and Mental Balance today: rolling.

But first, you can see the last six parts of this series here: Part 1 & Part 2 (Flexibility), Part 3 & Part 4 (Strength) and Part 5 & Part 6 (Experiencing your mass and weight).

As we mentioned last week, rolling is not for those simply looking to improve their stability. This is an advanced balance technique that will improve younger students' athletic and martial arts performance. If you know how to roll, then you are less likely to be hurt by martial arts throws and takedowns, football tackles, as well as trips in baseball, track and field, soccer, and more.

As for how many rolls you should do, you can aim for ten rolls every other day. It is very important to keep good form while you practice rolling so you don't hurt your neck, back, or other joints. If you feel yourself losing good form, then take a break. The purpose of these rolls is to create a pattern in your body that you can use unconsciously when you are falling. If you repeatedly do rolls with bad form, then when you fall you will probably have bad form then too!

The take away with rolls: quality over quantity.

I hope the slow-motion replays helped you see the technique better.

Happy Stretching!