Two Reasons to Squat

Categories: Blog Sep 24, 2017

There are two really good reasons why you need to be able to squat. Really, these are two good reasons why you also want to be able to squat. Sometimes needs and wants are not aligned, but here they are. Anyway, here we go:

Squatting, all the way down, butt to calves, puts your knees through full range of motion, under load. You are the load. Why is this needed? Well, it actually keeps the knees healthy by nourishing the cartilage inside the knee. This may not surprise you, but using your range of motion allows you to keep your range of motion. Which means, using your knees allows you to keep your knees. Really, this is not just about the knees either, squatting also nourishes the ankles and hips by using them and placing them through very good ranges of motion.

You may be thinking, “but I have ‘bad knees,’ I can’t squat all the way down. I’m not a toddler anymore.” Maybe. But which came first, the lack of use or the arthritis? You know what, it may not matter. You may be able to Press RESET and reset your knees. Rocking back and forth on your hands and knees, may actually help you start restoring the range of motion in your knees, hips and ankles. It may even be able to restore your ability to squat to a full depth like you could when you were a toddler. By the way, squatting to full depth could also be known as “sitting.” You do know you were never intended to lose this ability right? You are designed to squat, to sit on your feet, throughout your life at every age.

How can I say this? Well, this brings us to the second really good reason you need to be able to squat: 2. Imagine a world without toilets. This is probably a first world imagination nightmare, but how would you go 2, if there were no “thrones” to sit upon? How would you go 2 if there were no thrones AND no ability to squat? Huh? Yeah, you were made to squat so you could go 2. And, since you were designed to also be able to go 2 at every age of your life, you were therefore designed to squat at every age of your life as well. That’s a pretty good reason to be able to squat, right?

The point is, we were designed to squat, to sit on our feet, and/or to go 2, throughout our lives. Engaging in squatting, helps keep our joints healthy and our muscles strong because it makes us use them. It also gives us the ability not to freak out should we find ourselves in the woods without a toilet and with a sudden “nudge” we cannot ignore.

If you have lost your squat, I wonder if you could be curious enough to see if you can find it? I know we all have different bodies and all, but our bodies were designed to heal. They are also designed to keep the things we use. What if we explore using our joints again, or our range of motion again, through rocking? It’s gentle and it allows us to try to recapture our physical freedom again. It is worth a shot. Even if full range of motion is not restored (the range you had when you were three, or eighteen), I’m betting a lot more range of motion will be gained than if you were to do nothing. The body does not just work on the use it and lose it principle. It also works on the introduce it, stimulate it, build it, regain it principle. In other words, the body will often give you what you ask of it. If you want your ability to squat, if you ask for it, you may be able to find it again. It may take time, but that’s okay. It took time to start with, you were just curious enough not to be impatient.

Be curious. Press RESET. Restore your squat. Restore your freedom. Be able to go 2 anywhere you go.

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