How difficult is it really to crouch?
It’s not the way taught in exercise classes, but the way Asian ancestors did it when they didn’t have a sitting toilet. After all, humans intend to crouch like a primate cousin.
Asian squats are a type of deep squat found not only in Asia but around the world.
But when chairs, comfortable sofas, and sitting toilets were first invented in the West, people chose comfort and began to lose the flexibility of their hips, knees, and ankles.
Look at the children. All of them can easily get into this position, but somewhere in their growth-perhaps in their teens-they lose this flexibility and prefer chairs for comfort.
As the West moved, so did the urban areas of Asia.
In Asian squats, your feet are kept flat on the ground. In other words, the range of motion of the hips is wider than in Western squats where the thighs are kept almost parallel to the floor.
Many Westerners naturally lift their heels to accommodate deep squats and forward leans, indicating limited hip and ankle flexibility.
Looking at the population where deep crouching is most common, people are also slim.
That’s because they grew up in this tradition and got used to it.
They sit, eat, rest, wash clothes, work, and, of course, pee (female) to evacuate their intestines in this position.
Some pregnant women also use it to facilitate a simple childbirth.
More than a decade ago, a Chinese publication printed a photo of actress Zhang Ziyi crouching to look at the bottom shelf of the store.
The sneaky caption states: “Mr. Chan shows a special feature of his country’s compatriots. His legs are wide open and crouching.”
I can’t blame her. After all, in the Chinese population, torts are common in crowded areas such as railway stations where the ground is too dirty to sit and public seats are limited.
Poor Zhang had to put up with the media mentioning this in almost every article written about her.
She’s not upset, but she never seems to be able to live it.
Hygiene concerns
As you can see, the ankles, hips, and knees are so tight that many people have a hard time doing all sorts of squats.
In our local culture, there is a perception that contact with the thighs and toilet seat is not hygienic, and some believe that the infection can spread from the toilet seat.
Therefore, shoe marks may be seen on the toilet seat even in 5-star hotels.
Fact: Many disease-causing organisms survive only for a short time on the surface of the toilet seat.
And even if it touches the toilet seat between its small windows, the bacteria must move from the contaminated toilet seat to the urethra and genitals, or through cuts and pain in the buttocks and thighs. Infectious diseases that occur.
This situation is certainly possible, but it is unlikely that it will actually happen.
Deep squats are my favorite position when modifying student foot and lower leg work in a dance or yoga class.
I’ve seen squats in my 80s effortlessly, but I’m still not sure how long this deep squat can last.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of urban people can’t do this deep squat anymore.
Genetics influences bone length and shape, but the ability to perform deep squats is highly dependent on lifestyle factors.
Although you are an Asian heritage, sitting in front of a computer or TV all day can cause your hips and ankles to become tight and you may have trouble doing any kind of deep squat.
When we are sitting, most of our weight is transferred to the chair.
This blocks many deep core and buttock muscles that are important for maintaining proper posture and protecting the spine.
In addition, sitting too much will tighten the hip flexors.
The tight hip flexors pull the upper lumbar spine forward. This can lead to misalignment and back pain.
Deep squats evenly distribute weight to the spine and lower limbs.
More importantly, it does not transfer the weight of the whole body to the chair, so the core muscles are activated and protect the spine.
If you can’t do deep squats right now, you won’t lose everything.
You can train to improve hip and ankle flexibility and range of motion so that you can ultimately achieve this position.
People with long legs (like me) may find it biomechanically difficult to get into deep squats. The decisive factors are the flexibility and range of motion of the hip and ankle joints.
Do it gently
Note: If you have knee problems, stick to Western squats.
As you get deeper in the western squats, you tend to lean forward. This may indicate weak gluteal muscles and / or tight hip flexors.
If not, we’ll show you how to start squats in Asia slowly.
- Find something like a sturdy bar that you can grab, perhaps a bench, bar, table, etc.
Ideally, it should be about the height of the pelvis or upper thigh.
- Keep your legs a little wider than your hips and stand a little outside.
- Grab the bar, which should be easily reachable in front of you, and lower your heels slowly to your seat without lifting them off the floor.
Keep it as low as possible and stop when your heels start to lift off the floor.
If your heels can get into a full squat without leaving the ground, you need to have your hips touch your ankles or rest on the soles of your feet.
- Stay in this position for about 10 seconds before slowly straightening your legs. This is difficult for beginners.
- Rest for a few minutes and repeat.
You can do up to 10 squats a day, and as you improve, you can increase both frequency and duration.
- As you get better, try not to grab the bar that supports your weight.
Focus on keeping your balance.
Eventually, you will be able to crouch without hanging anything.
Do not spend too much time in this position as it can cause numbness in your legs, pain and tension in your knees, and can lower your blood pressure so that you are dazzled when you stand.
If you experience any of these symptoms, sit down immediately and try not to lower it when you try deep squats again in the future.
It would be great if you could comfortably enter a deep squat position and easily return.
Preventing loss of mobility is always easier than regaining lost mobility, so keep doing it on a daily basis
Mastering Asian squats can help support other exercises as you can pull in more muscles such as the quadriceps (thighs), gluteal muscles (buttocks), and hamstrings (behind the thighs). ..
And who knows, you may prefer a crouching toilet to a sitting “throne”!
Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who fights gravity, expresses artistically and continues to dance to nourish the soul. For more information, please email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only.not Star In addition, the author makes no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness, or other warranties of such information. Star In addition, the author is not responsible for any direct or indirect loss, property damage, or personal injury caused by reliance on such information.
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