Trusting the Spiral: Dynamic Movement as a Preparation for Life

My astrology teacher, Eugenio Carutti, says that the best bodywork one can do to deal with planetary movement—and all the inner tension it creates during moments of transition—is to ground ourselves and learn how to spin on our edge. Mi Maestro, David Zambrano, has taught me to trust the spiral: “If you learn how to spiral, your life will become much easier. If you find yourself stuck in difficult situations, trust the spiral—it will fix it!”

Spiraling is one of the most organic ways to move. Even though we are often stuck in two-dimensionality and in the sofa culture (scrolling, Netflix), our gestures are full of small, three-dimensional spirals and are rich in expression.

When we spiral or spin, we engage with forces like gravity, balance, and momentum in a fluid, responsive way. After all my physical training—including the failures, injuries, and burnout—I still wonder:

Is learning to spin, to fall, to spiral, actually training for life itself?

Life is often challenging—decision-making, facing fears to encounter our desires, unprocessed childhood trauma. On top of this, we need to be ready for the unexpected—for change, for transition—because it is an undeniable part of life. Every eclipse season, I hear of people losing their jobs, their loved ones, breaking up—and sometimes, on the other side, people adapting to a new job, a new partner, a new family member.

A solid yoga and meditation practice also shows us that learning how to breathe properly, be grounded, and stay adaptable—physically—can make our mind more permeable and calm when facing these changes. It helps us take them more lightly, with more acceptance and flexibility, and many times, even keeps us from losing our minds.

So, why wouldn’t learning to resolve situations—dynamically, in motion—make us more open to change?

Learning how to spin, how to fall—all of that is possible when we are well-rooted in the ground. That ballet dancers appear weightless is an illusion. They know how to play with gravity, that’s all. There is no air without earth. The world will keep on spinning, and once we feel our feet well planted, we might stop resisting and start spinning with it—practicing going with the flow, landing softly, keeping our senses open to surprise ourselves with the information that might come through us, and that we can always transform into poetry.