Rotational Movements
Sep 19, 2026
All life, including our developmental milestones, can only be created through rotational movements against gravity. A plant that can't process these movements will die. We can blame that on the lack of sun or water - BUT - the common movement or gauge is a lack of rotational responses. We see these same biological responses in nature: from the birth of a seed to humans, planets, suns/stars, and the solar system.
A newborn's first rotational movements are assumed or experienced from a full-term, vaginal delivery. Impeding this natural system will lead to delays or even inability to develop. There are stages to evaluate a baby's rotational responses. I created the Newborn Movement Assessment in the hopes that all babies are graded on this system so parents and professionals have a plan to know if the baby is ready for development or needs help. If a baby is unable to produce or respond with a rotational movement, they most likely will not be able to go into development.
Through Movement Lesson, I teach that there are 7 key rotational milestones to go vertical:
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Natural Delivery
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Rolling Over
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Crossing Midline
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Grabbing Feet
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Coming to Sitting
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All-Fours
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Crawling
These milestones need to happen on track for optimal development.
For all functional movements, we also need rotational responses. From feeding ourselves, getting dressed, and getting out of bed. Sticking one's hand out straight is a non-functional movement. We might be capable of doing it, but we cannot survive.
You can also see the decline, in what we call aging, in a lack of or traumatized rotational responses. Gravity is the only non-optional force. We experience it from the day we are born to the day we pass. All other biological living forces are optional to the human body:
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Push/Pull
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Convergence
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Momentum
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Torque
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Controlled
We do not create compensation or comprehension skills unless we can manipulate two or more forces of biological movement.
These are part of my published movement sciences needed for babies to astronauts to thrive, habilitate, and rehabilitate.