Squatting vs. lumbar curve posture?

Hi Truffle

Yes, we were born to squat, and people who have squatted since birth can squat without blowing their pelvic organs out of the vagina, because the facets on the bones of their legs and feet have developed in a way that allows them to 'fold' their legs flatter. However, those of us who sit on chairs and poo an wee sitting on a toilet do not develop these facets, so our legs don't fold as well. We cannot flex our feet and ankles into the really acute angle needed to keep our centre of gravity forward when squatting. So we cannot easily maintain a straight back while squatting. Western women can often do it while pregnant, but not normally at other times.

I am not sure it is a simple as either maintaining the lumbar curve, or squatting. We are born with a dead straight spine. When we grow from babyhood, and walk and run, these developmental changes cause our lumbar curve to form. As little children we can both maintain the lumbar curve and squat. When emptying the bowels, these are the two extremes. But there are other things happening at the same time, eg how well WW posture is keeping the organs positioned and the rectum unsquashed, when the urge to empty comes along; how urgent the urge; whether we have been constipated at the time; whether or feet are held close together by our undies around our ankles. Almost hovering , ie half squat with just the skin on the seat, seems to work best.

Animals don't full squat. They half squat or stand. Search for LoPo on these Forums. We are basically quadruped from the waist down, so how we do it bears some resemblance to how animals do it. A half squat with lumbar curve allows the weight of the bowel to come away from the anus, down on the lower abdominal wall, so the rectum is straighter, and not squashed down on itself with the anus at the bottom. On the other hand squatting lower makes the spine less curved, and makes the pelvic floor more relaxed. If one doesn't work, you can try the other. You can also try twisting left or right, and also abdominal massage to get the stool moving along. Any movement will help the stool to move along.

Make any sense?

Louise

You will learn lots. It is about learning to understand your own anatomy to the point where you can know intuitively what will work and what will not, and you learn to trust your body again. We all have different prolapses but we are all designed from the same blue print, which is amazing in the way that there are backups for when something goes wrong, and it is all designed to stay relatively stable for decades after damage is done. The body is simply amazing!

Louise

Many cultures squat, but others stand. I personally think we were meant to stand, not squat, but that is just my take and I was born in the west so have used a throne in the toilet (bathroom), but now with prolapse I stand and am rewarded with a bettering condition after 28 years of worse degree uterine prolapse. Squatting in Asia has evolved along with plumbing applied to every house and a squatting toilet no doubt cheaper than the throne imitates a ceramic hole in the ground with a ceramic plate either side to accommodate feet. But if you squat in the wild or open terrain you do preferably first dig a hole in order to avoid the splash and the flow of urine on sloping ground. Of course, you stand or squat when there are no chairs or throne unless you want to lay down and then of course you are intending upon sleep or some other activity which might invoke the curious but certainly not urinating or defecating. You usually squat with knees together and one would suppose your vagina is behind your knees as long as the ground is sloping down behind you. If you squat and the ground is sloping away in front of you, well you end up with rather wet shoes. In warm African climates, women are more likely to stand, just as a male. And as women (as were men) were first born in Africa and migrated wide across the earth from there, I would assume such a practice has continued down the ages. When women then began to squat, is a mystery to me, but it is of course quite possible that African women squatted, then stood, and so the African woman who squatted went to Asia and France and continued to do so, while her countrywoman discontinued this practice and began to stand, but as I have seen toddlers of both sexes stand to urinate and defecate, I tend to back standing as against squatting as more natural and born to. But anyway, back to the standing, you need again similarly to squatting to be aware of the terrain, always the slope is to fall away behind you, or else you dig a hole. Of course, it is easier to stand in warm countries where bare or sandaled feet will dry quickly. Then again in the cold climes, frozen feet dashed with body-warm water could be a goer. Certainly for a woman with prolapse of the uterus, standing with bum over the throne protects the pelvic muscles from relaxing too much and thus allowing the uterus to descend further than needed under the force of the relieving bladder. This I have discovered after reading Christines' book "Saving the whole woman" three years ago and a little experimentation. So to answer your question, to urinate I stand, to defecate I mostly sit on the throne in posture, but sometimes I stand for that too, but in both instances hovering over the throne. But then throne hovering is easier if you live in a house in a town and are not roaming the jungle.

Of course, women who need to pee, and are out of range of a toilet, need to remove their undies to pee, and expose our buttocks to the elements. This makes one feel rather vulnerable. We usually find a place where we are not exposed. That might mean behind a tree or low bush. Hence the squat.

Fab, I have to disagree about the slope. I like to semi-squat with my feet widely space, like firebreathing posture. I like the slope to fall away from me forwards, so I can see where the rivulet is going, and get my feet out of the way. Slopes can be deceiving in our ancient, flat bushland! It also means that I can squat low more comfortably because my ankles don't have to flex as much, and I can keep my lumbar curve in place.

Hey, actually there is a squat for every occasion!

Louise ;-)

I forgot you strange people from the west are true flatlanders. Over here in the better half we have hills and even a few mountains. So perhaps you are not so clued up on eastern practices. One never takes one's bloomers off when pissing in the free. One demurely folds them around one's knees. Otherwise, it is very possible they will be captured by a passing team of ants and hoisted as a flag of victory over their ant nest. Ladies never squat with their knees apart, one needs to make any possible target for mosquitoes or snakes or any other passing nasty as minimal as possible, quite apart from the need to avoid the discomfort of allowing prolapses even a hint of protruding. Also, one would never venture out into the wilds for a wee if one does not have the most fullest of fullest of bladders, consequently one would most certainly need a quick survey of the slope. Flatland with no slope would very likely turn rapidly into a bog in these circumstances, as in an overnight downpour in the rainy season which is about now. Then it is advised you take a piece of flat wood with you as you disappear a little distance off and place your feet on that, a raft upon an ocean type of thing. No getting behind trees what could you be thinking, anyone or anything could be lurking there ready to pounce at any moment on the unsuspecting wayfarer. No a lady needs a clear view of her surroundings. As to standing, well one adjusts ones panties to one side and cops the splash. Decorum, decorum.

Oh Fab, you are so right! I do like the idea of little rafts! You could also roll a marble down one, to see if the ground is actually flat or sloping. All you need is a couple of degrees of slope to avoid wet shoes mid-pee!