I've been thinking a lot about falling and getting back up again. It started after I watched my MIL make a torturous, sideways descent down the stairs over Christmas, that took a full five minutes.

I have a tendency to catastrophize, so I started worrying what would happen if she fell down the stairs or even just had a trip and fell over in the house or garden.

Best case scenario, she's got her mobile phone with her (and it's charged 🙄!) and she can call for help. Worst case scenario, she lies there until someone comes round to the house. 

But whichever it is - if she goes down, she's staying down until someone else gets there to help her up.

Why should you practice getting up and down from the floor?

Because it's an essential life skill that protects your life span, and not just for those times when you've fallen over.

But for those times when you've voluntarily got down on the floor: 

- you dropped your phone and the dog's knocked it under the sofa; 

- you're weeding the garden;

- you just spilled red wine on your carpet.

It means that you still get to do all the things you want and need to do. Because if you can't get up when you're not under the stress of an involuntary arrival there, you're deffo not going to manage it when you're in shock.

How can you practice getting up and down from the floor?

I recognise that not everyone who receives this email comes to class with me, and might not have me making them do it every week.

If this is you, and you can't remember the last time you voluntarily got down to and up from the floor, you're going to do it now using this video (it's not me). You'll need a chair.

The first few minutes show a couple of ways to get off the floor using the chair; and the remainder are some exercises and mobility drills you can do so it becomes easier over time.

(And if you do come to class with me, and you'd like some extra practice, you can have at it too!).

When should you start practicing getting up from the floor?

Now. Today. And tomorrow. And the day after...

Whether you're 35 or 75, you're never too young or too old to improve this skill. So this isn't a one and done exercise. You need to repeat it regularly because it's like anything else,  you build capability by repetition - building muscle memory and neural pathways.

It's also a good practice for confidence. The more often you do it, the stronger and more confident you become. 

And if your legs are stronger, bonus, you're less likely to take an involuntary journey to the floor as well.

If you can already get down to and up from the floor without too much effort, please carry on doing it regularly 'cos it's use it or lose it. Try doing it without hands