Picture me sitting on my haunches atop a conference table, assigned to perform an entertaining Toastmasters speech titled, “Benefits and Politics of Squatting”…
The subject first piqued my interest years ago, when my mom moved in with us. To make things extra comfy for all (including for when I’ working on my novels H-E-R-E), we had some construction done on our snug home.
Each morning, a crew of men assembled under our backyard gazebo. Aged from early twenties to eighties, they all immigrated to here in the United States from Cambodia.
The way they waited for each other to show up amazed me! In totally relaxed full-squats, the gentlemen sipped coffees, munched pastries, chatted, and smoked. Once all arrived, they stood; none of them groaned or complained of creaky bones.
Lunch involved more of the same. They full-squatted as they passed around freshly steamed rice with fragrant grilled meat and veggies. Afterward, still squatting, they finished with smokes and maybe a bit of candy.
Fast forward to some time later, when I broke my knee twice in the same year. Torn cartilage, fractured bone, stretched tendon, blah, blah, blah. Ouch!!!! and Ohno!!! don’t begin to cover it.
Enter, Francisco Rufino, a gifted yoga instructor who pointed out that squatting keeps people in India free of knee, back, and digestive problems.
Thanks to his suggestion that I squat for thirty seconds, five times a day, as I watched TV, my knee is so restored that I never needed the surgery that two doctors beforehand prescribed! Yesterday I went for a long jog and experienced no problems whatsoever!
Full squats align muscles and organs from toes to neck. The aid in…
- Getting rid of hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, and hernias.
- Preventing heart attacks caused by straining on European-style toilets.
- Alleviating incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
- Making pregnancy easier.
- Guarding reproductive organs, including protecting against prostate cancer.
So why don’t we do it more? When I gave the speech, at least one audience member expressed disgust. My h-a-unch is that we believe we’re too good for it — and that includes politically. This Korean woman, married to an Anglo man, explains his chagrin when she and her family squat while socializing.
Would people you know feel embarrassed if you squatted while you relaxed?
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I’ve tried doing it in the past, but gave up. You’ve convinced me it’s worth another try 🙂
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I was surprised how it took only a few minutes for several days to get better, Rosaliene 🙂
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Already working on it, but I’m not yet able to hold my back upright.
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You’ll find that you’ll improve a lot in just a few days 🙂
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When I visited Vietnam I was amazed seeing all the old folks squatting. I guess when you’ve been doing it your whole life it’s not a problem.
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True — we do it as kids…
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Much appreciate it, Ed 🙂
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I tried it, but had trouble getting up again. But now I will try again and more often. It is supposed to be so relaxing … I always wondered how they hold their balance, but when you are used to it from the start I guess it comes natural. You are doing fine, I think!
In many cultures people do things sitting on the floor. An English friend who had been stationed i Burma told me that he pitied his housekeeper, who was doing the ironing sitting on the floor, so he bought her an ironing board. She never used it as the other method was simply more comfortable. I tried it and it is true. I then also did most of my sewing on the floor, on a soft carpet, cutting the tissue etc.
But it is not part of our western culture, so it has to be inferior, right? 😉 😀
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My husband, from Iran, and I used to eat picnic-style on the floor until we got pets. But we still don’t allow shoes indoors.
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We also leave our outdoors shoes at the entrance. I have done that for a long time, as I had contact to Indian and Japanese people, who find it disgusting to go into the house with outdoors shoes, especially the kitchen. I can see the point. In Germany it is quite common to walk around the house with outdoors shoes on, while in Denmark people tend to take their’s off and use indoor slippers.
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Great story! I’m sharing it and will try squatting (I have knee and back issues), so it’s definitely worth a try. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, da-Al! xo
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Hope it helps — it takes humility at first because it takes a while…
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Thanks!
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