The spiral was one of the first things Saotome Sensei used as an example of Aikido following the principles of nature. I also have a book on Architecture, called Origins of Form which also mentions the spiral seashell which was mentioned by Saotome Sensei.
Now we have a link that we can make in our minds from a Chinese teacher of Chinese arts to a Japanese teacher of Aikido .....
Diana, once an art indicates that it adheres to Yin and Yang (or derivatives like In-Yo, A-Un, Heng-Ha, etc.) and uses the term qi or ki, then all the rest is presumed. Since these basic terms are ubiquitous in Chinese and Japanese martial arts, so is (or was) this kind of movement (as in the 'reeling silk' metaphor).
I've heard some aspects of winding in Japanese arts compared to the Morning Glory, the Asagao, and the description of the two types/directions of windings is a match. My problem with the Asagao comparison is that I'm not familiar enough with any Japanese experts who demonstrate these types of windings that I would definitively make the comparison. But "Asagao" has connotations that are as attractive as "Reeling Silk".
The thing about reeling-silk is that it involves the whole body, not just, say, the upper body, as some people have indicated that Asagao does. In proper reeling-silk usage a twist to my hand or by my hand will have a tensile connection that I can feel (along the surface of the body) to my toes. The idea of a winding by or to the hand that only goes to the hara seems to me to be incomplete and leaves a lot of the body's power unused, for obvious reasons.
However, like you, I'm intrigued (or even 'satisfied') by a body-wide process that involves the natural winding of the body.