I often try to find ways to get back to nature in my life. It may seem odd that my job involves me spending all day on my computer, but I really do try to incorporate the old ways of the world. There's a lot of ancient wisdom that has been lost for one reason or another and I'm bent on bringing it back.

I'm male. In the past few months however I've been sitting on the toilet when I go to the bathroom to help exercise my legs and also to prevent splashing. It's much easier cleaning up.

Recently I've been thinking more about it and thought that sitting really isn't the way we're meant to go to the bathroom though. Whether it's pee or poop there is no instance you can imagine in nature where one would sit down as though he was on a chair to do it. I would say it's likely that even men in older times would not stand all of the times they do it. If you've ever peed standing in the wild you'll find that you get a great deal of splash on yourself.

So I was watching a video on qigong the other day and the instructor on the tape mentioned it. I thought what the hell I might as well try it. So I did this morning. No problems. In fact it felt pretty good. It's a very comfortable position. I could balance quite well on the platform of the toilet seat alone.

So after doing it I thought "well I wonder how many other people do this", so of course I googled. I didn't really find numbers.. I found that most of Asia and Africa does it and most of the US and Europe does not pretty much. But what was more striking to me than any numbers was facts I've found about health benefits:

• http://naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet#Arguments_in_favour_of_squat_toilets
• http://hubpages.com/hub/squattoilet

And the benefits:

• Makes elimination faster, easier and more complete.
• Protects the nerves that control the prostate, bladder and uterus from becoming stretched and damaged.
• Securely seals the ileocecal valve, between the colon and the small intestine. In the conventional sitting position, this valve is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation, contaminating the small intestine.
• Relaxes the puborectalis muscle which normally chokes the rectum in order to maintain continence.
• Uses the thighs to support the colon and prevent straining. Chronic straining on the toilet can cause hernias, diverticulosis, and pelvic organ prolapse.
• A highly effective, non-invasive treatment for hemorrhoids, as shown by published clinical research.
• For pregnant women, squatting avoids pressure on the uterus when using the toilet. Daily squatting helps prepare one for a more natural delivery.

So I'm sold. Probably won't be buying a squat-style toilet ever since western ones work fine for me, but I'll be squatting from now on =)