I vividly remember the best squat I’ve ever seen and it was done by a 70 year old mom from the Congo. When we lived in Atlanta my wife helped refugees from all around the world acclimate to life in America. One late night we were picking up a family at the airport from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After such a long flight the boys headed to the bathroom while we waited with the mom for a few minutes. As soon as they were out of sight she dropped into the bottom of a squat that looked more comfortable than the recliner in our living room. It was effortless and at the same time controlled. This was the first time I saw how natural a squat should be. In fact, like this mom demonstrated, it should really just be called sitting.
Anyone who has had a toddler can attest to this as well. There is no more natural position for a little kid to build legos or color in. As you can see below this position isn’t even unique to humans we share it with many mammals. We even properly call it sitting for dogs.
Here’s our call to action. Work on any mobility issues that limit your ability to sit in the position. Begin with 1-2 minutes holds in the bottom of the squat/sit. Then gradually add time.
Final step? Help us make sitting like this common again! At the park and need a break? Sit down in your squat not on the bench?
PS
Allow me one more nerdy thought on the squat? We really only began using the word once we began doing it intentionally. Seen here the use of the word squat shot up starting in the late 80’s with the craze of exercise taking over. Let’s make it common again!
