Do you have a toddler running around or have been around a toddler when it’s time for a #2? Notice how they hide under the dining table and squat to leave a deposit in their nappy? Well, they’ve got it all figured out!! Squatting to release the bowel is exactly what we should be doing.
Pooping PROPPRly to maintain good bowel health
The colon, aka large intestine, aka “gut”, is the main organ for the storage and elimination of waste and toxins from our bodies. Going to the toilet for a #2 regularly and more completely reduces the build-up between each bowel movement and also the accumulation of toxins. With a more complete bowel movement we can help reduce the risk of many of the issues that affect us in modern western cultures such as bowel disease, constipation, haemorrhoids, bloating and many more.
Eliminating (or less politely, ‘pooping’) more completely and often helps maintain good colon health. And when our colons are clearer our bodies also stand a better chance of absorbing all the nutrients from the food we eat, allowing us to enjoy more energy.
PROP a squat
The ultimate position to poo is to squat – it’s how we were designed to ‘go’ more completely and quickly. Squatting helps to relax the puborectalis muscles, opening the rectum and straightening the colon. A straightened colon also reduces the need to strain or push. When we sit on the pedestal toilet we cause the colon to kink, which pretty much results in us ‘pushing uphill’! Is that where the saying comes from; “pushing s#!t uphill”?
While squatting is the ultimate, the reality is that our pedestal ‘thrones’ are not going to disappear from bathrooms any time soon. So using a toilet footstool, like the PROPPR, helps to get you close to the perfect squatting/releasing position, ie the PROPPR position to poo!
A different kind of knees-up
The essential element is to get your knees higher than your hips. This position releases the kink in your gut and allows the colon to straighten. While our bodies and muscles aren’t used to squatting – and let’s face it, squatting on a pedestal toilet could be downright dangerous – using a toilet footstool is suitable for most levels of flexibility.
Good health really does start in the gut!