Good question. I've been avoiding floor work because of my tendonitis in both ankles. It makes it difficult to sit back on my ankles and toes. Can't wait to read what others post.

My only advice would be to work in private lessons with an instructor who know how to do safe floorwork to find things that work for your body. I was fortunate enough to be in an Artemis Mourat workshop where she went over safe floorwork. I feel like I would need more instruction before I was ready for it, but it was a real eye opener. Before than, I didn't think it would even be possible for me (beside my weight, I have bad knees).

For now, I would think the best thing would be to practice finding was to get down and up gracefully and safely. That's going to be the hardest part. One thing she had us do when coming up is to have one knee on the floor and the other knee up (like a proposal pose) and undulate up. The forward movement of the undulation helps to get the momentum going and carrying it through helps to keep it from looking awkward.

This is my problem too. I can get down OK, but there just doesn't seem to be a quick, graceful way to get up. I had knee surgery a couple of years ago, and am very aware of not putting too much stress on the knee.
I've been thinking about calling the physical therapy place and paying for a session just to get exercises and hints designed to help me with that. As our troupe progresses, there is more floor work, and although so far we have done modifications for the couple of us who can't easily get up and down, I Don't want to be the only one.

I don't do a lot of floorwork, but I have worked to be strong and fairly flexible in my lower half. When I am very warmed up and have been working at them, I can do laybacks. My berber walk is rough, but I am working on it ...

My partner and I do a little floorwork in this video:

www.youtube.com/watch

It's about 5 minutes in.

Tai chi, squats, stairs, that exercise where you pretend you are sitting against a wall in a chair but you're just supporting yourself with your legs, glute exercises, and sit ups, anything that works your core, will help you do good floor work. Yoga and pilates stretches will help build flexibility. Oh, and KNEE PADS!!!!!!! LOL, don't forget those, the cushiony kind you can get from sports stores.

I love floorwork! I'm limited at the moment by a wounded knee, but it didn't come from dance.

This is where I start my students with this warning: you will be sore as hell the next day. You will need to do it over and over for several weeks, but you will develop the right muscles for most floor work and will never totally lose them. Really.

On knees, open feet behind you to just over hip width. Keeping your back straight, sit straight up. Push your pelvis forward, keep your torso upright. Keeping your back straight, start aiming your shoulder back towards the floor. Your quads and butt will have to work to hold you. Go only as far as you can without falling or losing control. Come back to start. Do it again. After a few reps, your thighs will begin to scream. Stop. Rest. Do again.

Sit on your heels; that is. knees, shins and top of feet are flat on floor. Your butt is on top of your heels. Push your pelvis forward-tuck your pelvis up toward your ribs (this is a subtle move!). Now, tighten both butt and quads to pull your butt up off your heels; again, only go as far up as you can without losing control. Sit back down to start. Go for a few reps until your thighs start to screech.As you get stronger, try a small shimmy on the way up. After this, your legs will feel like rubber, so use a chair or wall to pull back up.

Do again the next day. Every few sessions, you should be able to get a larger range of motion. The key is to always keep your pelvis tucked upward and motivate from there. If you feel uncomfortable or nervous, have a friend spot you by keeping a grip on your hips (and having her constantly remind you "pelvis first" helps.)

And, a trick from Artemis for getting back up-raise one hand to the sky and focus on it pulling you up. Sound hokey, but actually works. Good luck!