Spiraling Up and Down: The Bones for Life® Way
By Cynthia Allen
Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®, Senior Bones for Life® Trainer, and Partner in Future Life Now
Bones for Life® and the Intelligence of Spiraling Movement
Fairly early in my life as a Bones for Life teacher, I was given the nickname “Queen of Butt Up”. A student even gave me a plaque with that on it, which the entire class laughed at enormously.
This came from teaching Ruthy Alon’s spiral up and down from the floor, or even from a chair. When it is physically available for a person, this simple cue, “butt up, head down,” suddenly makes coming up and down easy. In contrast, lifting the head first when trying to rise from the floor creates a sense of heaviness and, for some people, a feeling of being too weak to get up and down from the surface.
For sure, a certain amount of strength is needed for getting up and down from the floor. But smooth coordination makes any task easier, even one that may seem impossible. Smooth coordination is made up of good proprioception, an image of the movement, a sequence that flows, and just the right timing. “Butt up, head down” is part of building an image of efficient movement.
These Bones for Life® exercises help people improve coordination, posture, and movement efficiency through gentle, awareness-based learning.
Why Spiraling Matters for Posture, Balance, and Bone Health
There was a retired pediatric Occupational Therapist that studied with me. She had knees that ached and even felt a bit dodgy. While I demonstrated and then coached others to spiral to stand, she chose to watch rather than participate.
But one day, she shared a Eureka moment she had while exploring on her own. She offered, “I have thought this spiral to stand to be rather silly and unimportant. But this last week, I began reflecting on my work with children and the fact that spiraling up is a part of the developmental ladder that we value. Then why was I avoiding it? I have plenty of trouble getting up and down, why wouldn’t I try to master this and see what happens?”
It was a big aha for her, and she decided then and there that she would explore, and within a fairly short time, she was spiraling up and down. It wasn’t the nimble 2-year-olds whose center of gravity is much closer to the ground. But it was elegant for a 65-year-old who had been scared of hurting her knees. She was no longer dreading or afraid to get up and down from the floor.
The ability to spiral is highly valued in dance, martial arts, and even Sufi meditations. With spiraling, we become very efficient in our movement. Incorporate it with a jump, and you get incredible, Olympic-level ice skating performances or a jump shot in basketball.
Martial artists learn to drop, roll and come back up in a spiral pattern. They learn to spin 360 degrees around themselves. You will also see many spiral patterns in wrestling.
Benefits of Bones for Life® Spiraling Movements
What are the advantages of the Bones for Life spiraling down to the floor and then back up?
- It is an efficient use of energy and takes much less strength than coming back up from a kneeling or squatting position.
- It stimulates one’s balance centers. Good balance comes from quality balance disturbances that gradually train without overwhelming.
- Easier on neck, knees, and lower back.
These spiral movement exercises also encourage smoother transitions and more adaptable movement patterns.
Ruthy Alon, the creator of Bones for Life, often talked about the “wisdom of the spiral.” When we stop thinking of our own body as straight when standing in good posture, it opens the possibility of greater ease in being upright.
Bones for Life® Exercises and the Myth of “Hinge Joints”
Over and over in the Bones for Life work, we examine ways to invoke the spiral capacity of movement. When bringing our arm overhead, we explore the difference between keeping the arm parallel to or perpendicular to the side of our body, or sweeping it inwards and upwards, spiraling the hand towards the midline while sensing the rounded movements of the arm bones and the joints themselves.
Traditional anatomy calls certain joints in our bodies hinge joints. Lumped into the category of hinge joints are the ankle, knee, hip, and elbow, fingers, and toes. “Hinge joints function by allowing flexion and extension in one plane with small degrees of motion in other planes.”
Marco Gupton; Akul Munjal; Robert R. Terreberry.
This statement, “with small degrees of motion in other planes,” is useful for drawing a contrast with other types of joints, such as the vertebrae or the shoulder. But calling them hinge joints is misleading, because no joint operates like a door opening and closing. This is because we have a round ball-and-socket joint with fascia interwoven and connecting. Ligaments and tendons. The whole of who we are and how we move is much more multidimensional than images such as hinge joints or even ball and socket evoke. The very structure of our DNA calls out the spiral scaffolding on which we form, and that is repeated over and over.
How Spiral Movement Reduces Wear and Tear
Sensing and allowing our bodies to move in ways that maximize the rounded, spiral nature of our beings reduces injury and wear and tear. And just as importantly, it can bring a sense of pleasure to movements that are missing when movement becomes more mechanical.
Somatic Learning Through the Bones for Life® Program
Of course, it is not really about learning to do a movement the way the instructor shows you. My Youtube video is misleading in this way. Bones for Life is part of somatic education, which means to learn through your living body. And to learn is to inquire, experiment, and observe the result.
The Difference Between Exercise and Somatic Learning
In Ruthy Alon’s use of language, she paints a picture of what she is after in her Bones for Life processes (called processes because learning is a process not an exercise). And the picture she paints includes ease and connection in being human that is often missed within traditional rehab and movement models which are more achievement-based than process-based.
The Ruthy Alon Bones for Life® approach focuses on restoring natural movement patterns through exploration and sensory learning.
“The Bones for Life approach is to create conditions in which the person can safely experience a variety of non-habitual options that are derived from patterns of natural walking. In this way, the person gradually and patiently awakens the intelligence for functional coordination, restoring the resourcefulness to find more satisfying solutions. Only by restoring the autonomous judgment system and by trusting one’s own senses, will the person be able to navigate a style of moving that enhances his or her well being. After checking out the available choices, the body on its own can find an appropriate alignment of structure that provides the hip joint with both stability and a dynamic way of adapting to changing situations in daily life. The organism can discover a new conclusion about what organization is healthy and efficient for the hip joint. This type of movement re-education sharpens the deep and primal resourcefulness of the organism, which is always striving for improvement. Experimenting with a variety of options is how children learn at the beginning of their life. Following that methodology empowers the learning of the adult person too. “|
Source: Bones for Life Teacher’s Manual 1 #16 Bicycle
Bones for Life® for Osteoporosis, Fear of Falling, and Everyday Function
One of my first YouTube videos was Spiraling Up and Down. That original video has been viewed over 2 million times over time. But times changed, the sound had an echo, so in 2025, I created a new version. I also added how to get up and down from a chair. As well as offering options for those with osteoporosis, where spiraling up and down is contraindicated.
You can watch the new video here:
Bones for Life® Spiraling Up and Down | Cynthia Allen
I have thoroughly enjoyed all the comments left over the years. People have indicated that it has changed their relationship with the ground, decreased their fear of falling, and requested over and over a way to get in and out of the bathtub.
What About Getting In and Out of the Bathtub?
Yes, the bathtub. I have not recorded a bath tub because, it is quite complex depending on the height and weight of the person, their limb length, how much flexibility they have in the hips, knees, and ankles, and strength. PLUS it depends also on the width and depth of the tub in combination with the individual’s personal bone geometry. Surely a good video of this could be made with a set made up of different bathtubs, but it has not yet come into my mind how to do it well with the single bathtub I have in my rather cramped bathroom.
But in a Bones for Life training program, we gradually learn to feel, sense, and safely experiment with our own movements so we can create our own best way to do most anything–including getting in and out of a bathtub. Or getting up and down from the floor.
The Wisdom of the Spiral Lives Within You
Some of my favorite comments have related to age. One person said, “I don’t know why YouTube thought I should watch this video. I am young and healthy. But after watching it, I decided to try it, and as it turns out this is a much easier way to get up from the floor!”
A surfing, martial artist told me that he started using it for getting up from the floor at his martial arts class, and he loves it! This comment not only tells us something about the wisdom of spiraling up and down from the floor, but it also tells us, that at least in his particular martial arts class, the spiral hasn’t been fully integrated into basic function, but has somehow been hidden within official martial arts moves only.
From the way the heart pumps, squeezing and releasing in a spiral motion, to the spiral shape of the bones and joining me, Cynthia Allen spiraling up and down, the wisdom of the spiral does live within you.
Explore Bones for Life® Online Classes
And do not worry if spiraling up and down isn’t available to you because of your bone or joint health, there are many ways you can claim the wisdom of the spiral for your own within Ruthy Alon’s Bones for Life.
Join us for a taste, an immersion, or the full program. We will guide you in claiming it as your own. These online movement lessons can also complement exercise classes for osteoporosis by improving balance, coordination, and functional movement.
If you would like to experience future Bones for Life® online classes, we invite you to join our VIP Access List. You will be the first to hear about upcoming programs, receive priority registration opportunities, and gain access to exclusive VIP bonuses designed to support your movement and bone health journey.
Bones for Life® online classes allow students to safely practice posture, balance, and movement awareness from home.
FAQ: Bones for Life® and Spiraling Movement
Spiraling movement in Bones for Life® refers to coordinated rotational patterns that make movement more efficient, balanced, and fluid. Rather than forcing the body into rigid alignment, spiraling supports natural organization through the skeleton and nervous system.
Yes. Bones for Life® uses gentle, weight-bearing movement and awareness-based learning. Many people exploring exercise classes for osteoporosis appreciate its gradual, adaptable approach.
Yes. Spiraling improves coordination, balance, timing, and movement confidence, which can help reduce fear associated with getting up and down from the floor.
No. Most Bones for Life® exercises are exploratory rather than strenuous. They are designed to improve coordination and posture through small, intelligent movements.
Yes. Many Bones for Life® online classes include guided lessons, posture explorations, and functional movement processes that can be practiced safely from home.
About Cynthia Allen
Cynthia Allen is one of the most experienced Bones for Life trainers in North America. She trained directly with and was certified by Ruthy Alon, the creator of Movement Intelligence and Bones for Life.
She has been working in holistic practices, health care management, and organizational consulting for over 35 years. She is a Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner, Senior Trainer in Movement Intelligence, and Certified Bones for Life® Teacher/Trainer. Cynthia is also co-creator of Integral Human Gait Theory and the co-founder of Future Life Now.
She has spent decades helping people improve posture, balance, bone health, and movement confidence through somatic education, Bones for Life®, and the Feldenkrais Method®. Her teaching emphasizes curiosity, organic learning, and restoring ease in everyday movement.