Discovering Goodness #13 – Western to Indian

What goes in has to come out fully. We take in air to be alive. But we have to also let go of air to stay alive. The key to good breathing is in deep and complete exhalation. Letting out all of it, before taking in again.

We drink lots of water. But that alone can’t promise us good health. We have to ensure we sweat and urinate and thus create pathways for the excess water to leave our body.

We eat a lot many times during the day. But unless we let it out, we can’t enjoy the next day. So you see, everything that goes in has to come out regularly and with ease.

Wondering what I am discussing about? It’s about something we ought to do everyday. Its about letting out our poop – daily, fully, easily and quickly.

When our house was getting constructed, I requested my father, if the attached bathroom of my room could have an Indian Toilet, the one in which we can squat and let go fully, easily and quickly. But then since the back-end plumbing plan was already designed and executed for Western Toilet, it couldn’t be changed now. That left me in a difficult situation.

I have always known the value and benefits of using the Indian toilet that needs us to squat. It’s a well researched topic. Check out the below published and well cited research papers.

• Comparison of Straining During Defecation in Three Positions: Results and Implications for Human Health by DOV SIKIROV, MD (Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Vol. 48, No. 7 (July 2003), pp. 1201–1205 (°C 2003))
• Squatting or Western Toilet- A Review by Dr. Hitender Suri, Dr. Deepika Suri, Dr. Kamalpreet Bansal (Journal of Advanced Medical and Dental Sciences Research (http://jamdsr.com/uploadfiles/23VOL8ISSUE11P102-104.20201112115109.pdf)

The basic science behind this is best explained in the below picture:

Well, now that I was stuck with a western toilet all my life, I was always worried as to what I could do about it. Should I modify my posture to get the benefits of Squatting in an Indian Toilet ? I thought of many options but realized that there was nothing much I could do about it.

Don’t think I am crazy and out of my mind to be talking about all this. The right position is important to avoid a wide range of shorterm and longterm health issues. I don’t need to list them here. You can just google and learn about them. The list includes hemorrhoids, Colon Cancer, Piles, Digestive Issues et al.

This went on and it never occured to me that I could have simply googled this problem. One day, all my cousins gathered at my home for an evening board-games get-together. I fail to remember how this topic came about, but then it did and I ended up lamenting about my trouble with Western Toilet. Later that evening I got a call from my cousin. She told me something that solved my trouble !

Finally I discovered Goodness #13. I have personally used this product for over a year now and hence can vouch for its promise and the difference it makes in my everyday unavoidable necessary activity.

I am referring to “Squat Stool“. This is something that converts a Western Toilet to something nearer to an Indian Toilet. However, Squatting is still the gold standard and nothing can beat it. Since we as humans are designed (the arrangement of our internal organs) to squat and not sit to poop.

Intent of sharing this – Western Civilization has found a place in our lives in many ways. Even the way we let go of our poop has got modified. How strange right ? We need to be more watchful of how, when and what changes keep happening to our lives and allow only those changes that are for the better truly, to make inroads into our lives.