Or

Compromise

Here is my own journey towards the proper poop:

I wanted to see for myself if pooping in a “natural” posture, over the course of a few weeks, would make any noticeable difference. But how? I wasn’t headed for the park across the street…

When I started thinking about this a few years ago, it seemed to me that the easiest adjustment to try to make, would be to somehow get my butt ‘lower’ in relation to the rest of my body – and the only way to do that, still using my toilet, was to raise my knees. So, I took an empty shoe-box, placed it in front of the toilet, and put my feet up on it each time I used the bathroom. It seemed to help a little (not that I was having problems), and it certainly didn’t make things any more difficult.

The elevation felt a little low, so I purchased a kid’s bathroom foot-stool from IKEA. That was better – the whole family joined in the experiment (we bought one for each bathroom) and began using it most of the time. It looked MUCH better than the shoe-box. We even recommended the idea to friends – all with good results. No one reported that their ‘movements’ were any worse than before, in fact, it seemed the higher they could get their knees, the better. And had I written this blog a year earlier, that’s where I would have left things.

Then I read the Natural Platform website – and had to follow it up with some research through other medical studies. I was stunned. Can a whole society be that misled? Is the design of the toilet all about comfort and absolutely nothing about anatomy? The answer is – Yep. Especially if it means a warm, comfortable place to sit and read while you poop.

As the website pointed out, none of the series of men who invented and perfected the toilet knew anything about anatomy. None of them were physicians – they were cabinet makers and plumbers – they knew technology, and comfort. At that time, the whole concept of evolution was still very recent, and Man was very much considered removed from, and above, nature.

Inspired by research, I tried the “perch” (which is squatting while perched on the upper rim of the toilet seat) and found that it was a little precarious, and higher above the water than I cared to be (as in the splash issue).

The next phase was to build a platform that would move the ‘floor’ up to the toilet seat, a tripod of sorts, with the toilet base as the third leg. It worked, but it was highly unstable during both the climbing on, and the climbing off. I quickly realized that it would be pretty difficult to convince anybody else to try it.

Here are some notes from the process to that point:

I needed to undress the lower half of my body entirely to poop in the squat position. I found that it was even uncomfortable to leave my underwear on (it seemed it was always in the way).

Once you are ‘in the position’, if you have to go “at all”, it will happen quickly.

Reaching for the toilet paper on one side or the other is very awkward, it would be much better if it was in front.

I found that things moved quicker when my weight was fully on my feet, and my feet were flat.

It began to feel comfortable, and it worked, but my platform looked out-of-place in the bathroom, and I knew there must be something better.

So, about two years ago, we purchased a “Squatty Potty” online. We got the tallest one (9”) for about $60 and have been thrilled. It’s light, stable, easy to store when not in use – almost perfect. Its design follows the form of the toilet, but in doing so, your feet must be spread wider than the toilet bowl itself. I would like my feet to be a little closer together, but it seems to be an easy adaption. And, I didn’t have to disrobe to use it.

I/We (the family) recommend it highly – and its American made. You can find them at squattypotty.com.

I am not connected to S-P in any way, and two years later now, we are still “more than happy” – so here is some info from them:

Now, to summarize, and answer the question- What do I mean by “more-than-happy”?

I poop better. It comes out easier. There seems to be less mess (that could be diet too). It does not take nearly as long. And importantly, everything now feels so natural, that, in comparison, a “normal” toilet feels like it takes effort to get things going. In fact, my own toilet, without the Squatty Potty, feels a little awkward – yes, still comfortable, but like my ass is way too high.

And now that I understand Human design and evolution, I realize that the Western toilet is not only imperfect, but there is a real physical cost for some people. There are millions of people with constipation, millions more with hemorrhoids, and probably tens of millions with nagging little intestinal ailments that they can’t quite describe. I think most of them are probably more related to diet (like diarrhea would probably be), but when your diet, AND the path to get rid of the waste are both compromised, then the problems can multiply. Just ponder the concept of the colonoscopy for a minute.

1) We are the progeny of millions of years of squatting Humans. We are trying to aid in the disposal of waste from our bodies, but without regards to the evolution of our internal plumbing. And just like the plumbing in your house, it can take years before unclean, slightly-clogged pipes give you problems, but when they do…

2) Evolution gave us the process for a clean colon, “technology” altered the process for the sake of comfort, and some people are impacted more than others by this trade-off.

Here are some other options: