How to Sit on the Floor, Part 2: Squatting

How to Sit on the Floor, Part 2: Squatting

Esther Gokhale

This is the second post in our multi-part series on floor sitting. For Part 1 on floor sitting, click here.

Why squat? Squatting isn’t something we do much in industrialized societies beyond childhood, but if you can do it healthfully, it is an eminently practical posture for resting the body while keeping the backside elevated off the ground and the clothing clean, as this woman from Orissa demonstrates.


This woman from Orissa demonstrates a healthy, full squat with foot arches intact and a long, straight spine.

It is also the posture used for toilet activities in places with floor toilets, a trend which has recently made its way to the industrialized realm in the form of popular footstools such as the Squatty Potty. If you have ever gone camping in a place without Port-A-Potties, you have had good occasion to squat!


Using a simple footstool to sit on a toilet, supported with a straight back.

And women worldwide, especially in less-industrialized societies, have long used squatting during childbirth. Talk about ancestral posture.


Like mother, like child.


Women squatting in a tribal market in Orissa to sell vegetables. This is a very comfortable, sustainable posture they have grown up with.

The problem
Most people’s hip, knee, and ankle joints do not bend enough to allow the back to remain straight and the arches in the feet to remain intact.


People in modern societies usually don’t have the hip/knee/ankle structure to do a full squat without rounding the back and compromising the feet.

The fix
Raise the heels or resort to a partial squat or B squat (one heel raised, the other down). Do not settle down all the way down on your haunches.


For most people, squatting with raised heels makes it possible to have a straight back.

 


A partial squat or B squat, with one foot on the ground (not visible) and the other foot with the heel raised. This facilitates a healthy, straight back posture.

In conclusion, for modern urban people to derive the benefits but avoid the pitfalls of squatting, consider raising your heels, or doing a “B squat” or partial squat. For going to the toilet, a Squatty Potty or low foot bench is useful. We recommend on working on your calf and quad flexibility to get low to the ground towards a squat, but do not insist on a full squat because it will likely involve some unhealthy compensations. And enjoy people watching in cultures where squatting is part of daily living.  Every culture has its facilities and limitations and it’s fun that we’re all different!


This woman squats for hours to add slip onto her pots. Orissa, India.

Comments

Submitted by EstherG on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 12:18

This is identical to the guidelines we teach and does indeed help a lot. Not sure whether holding this position in a squat for an extended period is productive, especially if the squat is for going to the bathroom or birthing a child, when you mostlywant to relax. 

Submitted by AlessioR on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 12:12

I agree, i guess you rr to the work of Kelly Starrett, "The supple leopard" a great guide to a healty movement, in my opinion. 

I remember a video on Youtube with Kelly and Esther involved, i decided to read the Kelly's work after seeing him describing how he puts in the gym the principles of good posture, the sames of Esther's Gokhale Method.

I only was able to fix my scapulae during push ups after years of "try and error", after comprending the screwing principle, in this case applied to the arms, and keeping forearms straight. 

Submitted by EstherG on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 12:22

Kelly read and admired my book soon after it was published in 2008, and has successfully applied some of the principles in crossfit type workouts. One day, these principles will hopefully become universal. People need consistency in the messages they are hearing!

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