...That way of sitting, though, isn't all great... It cuts off circulation down the backs of the legs, through the backs of the knees...
I've been sitting that way (where possible) all my life, despite my mother's and other modern adults' efforts to get me to stop. It came instinctively to me as a child (and I've observed it in every other infant child I've ever seen that had working legs) and I found Western chair sitting to be much more uncomfortable, painful, and circulation-suppressing (for one thing, my ass tended to fall asleep in chairs
--though not now that my circulation-promoting diet is able to overcome the ass suffocation by modern chairs
...my legs still do fall asleep if I cross them for too long, though...which is a problem squatting does not share). I find it eases the pain on my back and is better for my circulation. Note also that the fellow in the photo also has no apparent problems doing it or discomfort from it. Note also that all primates squat in nature. Humans have to be trained to not squat.
However, folks with knee joint arthritis/stiffness and/or muscle atrophy from years of Western-style chair sitting do have trouble squatting. Billions of other people do not, however--including extremely elderly folk, some of which I have posted images of elsewhere in this forum. If you do it in public in a modern society, you'll soon find that it is disapproved of. The main problem with squatting appears to be social, not physical. I think that the biggest problem with it is that it reminds us that we are animals too. I don't look down on other animals (pardon the pun
) or consider nature to be inherently sinful or evil, so for me it's not a problem.
See also:
"The Asian / Third World Squat" 
Image: people who haven't forgotten how to sit. -- One thing this image reminds me of is that children and animals tend to act as if they feel more comfortable and less threatened if you squat or sit on the ground like this, at their level and in this non-aggressive posture. Standing or sitting high makes adults tower over animals and children, and thus appear more threatening and attack-ready. The best pose to frighten off even a ferocious predator is standing as tall and wide as you can. Try it some time. Squat or sit down at floor/ground level and see if children or animals come closer to you. I've seen some people instinctively squat down and use a smaller, more child-like voice when they want a dog to come to them.
I have an advantage over many Westerners, in that because of my back pain I never stopped squatting. So it still comes naturally to me.
If you're joints are still limber enough to squat and your muscles can handle it, but you don't have the balance, you can also try a modified squat, described by Esther Gokhale at the above link. Remember, that one of the principles of Paleo lifestyle is that the best way to do things is often (though not always) the opposite of how moderners do it and how the experts tell you to do it. Bear in mind that the ways of sitting and getting around that require the least amount of muscle involvement and balance are usually the worst, not the best. The primary thing to avoid is atrophy, not muscle use. You
should put your weight on your muscles more than your joints and spine. When I told my nephew that flat-soled shoes are the best, he insightfully responded, "But they make you use your calf muscles more." I replied, "Precisely--and you want your calf muscles to get stronger and bigger, don't you?" He immediately saw the wisdom of that.
You can also try other sitting postures, like a half lotus, bent-knee sitting, or natural butt-on-ground sitting, which Gokhale shows how to do with images of infants. The first step in healthy sitting is to forget what Western culture taught us about it and open our minds to re-learning the instinctive ways of sitting.
Paul Chek is right about squatting, IMHO. I like other ways of sitting and reclining too, of course, but squatting is one of my faves.
Topic: Paul Chek on squating and your digestive system (Read 35143 times)