Did you know that typical Indian toilets are very good for you?
Did you know that typical Indian toilets are very good for you? Sure, they are a minor inconvenience if you regard the fact that you cannot sit on the seat and read the newspaper every morning when taking your daily dump, but the health benefits achieved just by squatting instead of sitting, are numerous. So, if you still live in India, be grateful that it is very easy for you to obtain a hole-in-the-ground toilet - and, seriously consider opting for this. If you counter resistance from your partner, find out if you can install both systems in your bathroom, or if you can have it in just one bathroom.
Your servant's toilet is also likely to have the Indian toilet installed, and if you don't mind sharing the toilet with the help, use it. Chances are high that your maid is healthier than you are anyhow, thanks in no small measure to years of squatting when shitting, and if you share her toilet, you can make sure that she keeps it clean and spotless.
Squatting is, essentially, the most natural way to go to the toilet. Our anal canal is straightened, and our body waste, to put it simply, just 'falls out'. When we sit, we need to force open the anal canal. However, it opens naturally the minute we squat.
Eat healthy too
Of course, squatting is not a cure-all, and will not restore you to perfect health. You do need to ensure you eat healthy as well. What squatting will do however is relieve and cure many bowel symptoms and conditions like hemorrhoids and constipation. In fact, if you squat every time you move your bowels, after just one week to ten days you will notice an improvement if you suffer from hemorrhoids.
Don't be lazy
When you tell yourself that you would rather sit than squat, ask yourself why this is so. Do you have two strong legs in perfect condition? Are you able to squat? If the answer is yes, then there should be no reason, other than laziness, for not doing so. Yes, squatting is inconvenient, especially if you are wearing trousers, because you may need to remove them. Women can simply hitch their skirts up if they are wearing a dress. Also, remember that you don't need to squat every time you go to the loo - just squat once a day, every morning, when taking a dump.
Avoid repeated injury
According to Dr. Johnston of Canada, every time you sit instead of squatting, you are in fact injuring yourself repeatedly in the same place - and this leads to various other problems like hemorrhoids, colitis, prostrate disorders, diverticulosis, and so on. In addition, only with squatting do you excrete all your body's waste. When you sit, some of the waste is retained in your body. Similarly, Dr. Kira, Cornell University, states: 'We must bear in mind that, while we regard the use of the chair-like toilet as natural, we represent only a relatively small percentage of the world's population, and a percentage that may be said, in an absolute sense, to be wrong, insofar as we have allowed civilization to interfere with our biological functioning.'
Go the yogic way
Similarly, all schools of yoga recommend squatting, as opposed to sitting, while performing bodily functions. So consider getting an Indian 'pot' installed in your or in your child's bathroom, and consider your family another step closer to good health.
