Can you get up off the floor?

Here's a result of another study guaranteed to ruin your day. From University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"A simple test that looks at how easy -- or difficult -- it is for you to sit down on the floor and then get back up may help predict how long you’re going to live, a new study shows."

OK so far? Here's the dire part:

"Middle-aged and elderly people who needed to use both hands and knees to get up and down were almost seven times more likely to die within six years, compared to those who could spring up and down without support."

What? What?  As you read on you find that you must sit down on the floor without touching your knees, legs, hands, or arms on the floor and get back up unaided. What they do not demonstrate is how this is done and I've spent a fair amount of time since last night trying to visualize how to lower myself to the floor and up again without using my hands to help. I mean, who sits on the floor this way? Even young flexible people would probably fall over backward trying to sit on the floor without using their arms or hands to steady the landing.

I've been sitting on the floor a lot this week while wrapping presents and cannot remember how I got down there and if it would pass this test so I was not in eminent danger of dying.

Comments

[Mary Kruta]

Hard as I try I can't get up without using my hand behind me to balance myself. I can get down without help just not up! Guess I get a 9.
Guess I need to work on something new now. It's always something.

[Diane]

I have a friend who has MS and she has difficulty walking. However, she has learned through a lot of hard work how to get up off the floor without holding on to anything. She has a rather lean frame and when she's sitting on the floor she brings her knees up close to her chest, feet flat on the floor and extends her arms straight out in front of her. She very quickly can get into a standing position. I watched her do this once and was amazed.

[Pam Meyer]

Will have to try-but use to be able to just cross my feet and lower myself down. To get up, again cross the feet and the leg muscles will get you back up-Hopefully!

[Ron]

Crossed my legs and could get up and down without any other assistance. Otherwise need at least one hand to get down and up.
How many people are going to hurt themselves trying to do this!?