🎧Can you do an Asian squat? And why you Need to
Enjoy your monthly free article from the curse of the chair, emotional connections to our hips, why we need to be Asian squatting. Plus tons of videos. Listen in now!
When I went on my adventure seeking out the official 4th of July celebration, I did not realize it was going to be in the middle of what looked like the 18th century. If It had not been for the modern cars, I would have thought I had been kidnapped and thrown in a DeLorean.
Any way, Old Salem, established by the Moravians in 1753, derived its name from the Hebrew word "shalom," meaning "peace," and was officially incorporated in 1856. Many moons later, Salem branches off and eventually becomes Winston-Salem. You can read how they incorporated in my article Self Love with a self love Meditation? You Betcha!
What is super unique is that the original town of Old Salem Museums & Gardens is surrounded by the history of Salem from restored and recreated buildings covering the diverse cultural history of the early South from the 1700’s up to today. It is quite a unique experience. It also includes the original Girls’ primary school, built by the Moravians, in 1772, who believed strongly in equal education for men and women. Later, it grew into a high school academy and now Salem College, a private women's liberal arts college. It is the oldest educational institution for girls and women in the nation.
You can take a guided or self-guided tour, open from 10 am to 4 pm, Wednesday to Saturday. Tickets range from $13-27.00. On the off days, there is no one there but you are free to walk around especially during holidays, and the entire month January.
But, wait! There’s more! If you are a member of Harvest Hosts and your RV is under 40ft, guess what? Yup, you guessed it! You can stay in the historic old Salem courtyard, well, the parking lot, located at the northwest corner of the Old Salem Visitor Center.
Old Salem Museums & Gardens Historic District
600 South Main Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Can you squat?
This week we are talking everything from the curse of the chair to why we need to be Asian squatting. Great ready for a challenge! I have found a bunch of videos for you to challenge your level of flexibility and agility.
Why are we focusing on this? My own personal story, and I am sure you can relate unless you are my friend, Health Coach Beverly Smith who is an avid marathoner. I bet you, she can squat midrun and keep going. For the rest of us, read on.
Every morning (well, just about), as I delve into my yoga routine, there it is—the dreaded squat. It’s supposed to be a smooth move transition. But for me? Not quite. It’s a whole production just to get into that position, and by the time I manage it, we’re already on to the next pose. Graceful? Not even close. I fear getting stuck mid-squat, which does happen — there I am, floundering like a fish out of water trying to stand up again. I am terrified of being stuck and worse hurting myself. I often ponder how the heck did it happen that I can not squat, bend my knees to have my bum connect with my heels or get off of the floor.
Blame it on the sitting. Writing this piece, I flashback to a Cuban bathroom saga: a hole in the floor, plastic ramps for your feet, a hose, and some toilet paper. Squat, hose, dry, done. Now, envision me, potentially falling into that hole because I can’t get up properly. Worse, having to use my hands to get up of the stool- infested-crusty floor with no soap or shower in sight! Pure horror!
Why do we need to squat and what does this have to do with embracing change. Well, we have the physical aspect of this which you will learn about in a moment, also the emotional component. There are numerous questions we can ask ourselves from how did we get to a point where we can’t get down or off the floor? Why are my hips so tight? Why are my joints seizing up? Legitimate questions indeed.
Of course, I can not go into great lengths here, but I can give you a general emotional connection. If we were to work together releasing your trapped emotions for better insights and empowerment, we could go quite deep into this. However, here you go.
Joint problems exhibit fixated rigidity, resisting change, locked in a position of fear and unwilling to move forward, and the inability to trust in oneself or the universe. Discontent with the current direction of life, functioning is marked by a lack of fluidity and grace. These challenges stem from unresolved multi-life issues, a reaction rooted in a rigidly patriarchal and conservative family upbringing. Seems to tie right in with embracing change.
Hip problems stem from a sense of unbalanced immobilization, hindering major decisions due to a fear of imbalance and a perceived lack of direction. Struggling with integrating oneself into the world, harboring a fear of the future and a belief that there's nothing to anticipate in life. This fear extends to the misuse of power, both by themselves and others, leaving them without a support system. Look at that, we are right back at the immobilization of embracing change.
Right hip; intense conflict about how to connect and fit into the world
Left hip; lack of belonging, connectedness, intimacy, grounding
We could also explore the meaning of why our thighs are atrophying, alas, I shall save that one for another day. If you do not want to wait, then go ahead and ask me in the comments and I will get it answered for you. Please do not email me, it must be in the comments of Substack. OK, onward to ….
Can your bum touch your heels?
In one of the episodes of the MAX (formerly HBO) And Just Like That, actor Sara Jessica parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw is kneeled in chunky high heels attempting to do some painting. She has a full 1 min, 4 second conversation with another character without a wobble. All I could think of is how long it would take me to get into that position, and than having to be rushed to the emergency department because I blacked out from the lack of circulation.
I found it incredibly impressive that she could do this. It was probably longer than a minute with all the additional takes, which more than likely meant getting up and down. The scene is beyond impressive. Three years older than myself, and, just like that, it became my mission to be able to squat and kneel my bum to my ankles for 2024. I am also off to a slow start if I am being completely honest. I can however, turn over and kneel and then get up with a little hand-help on my thighs. I am super proud of that. If you know what I am talking about, I bet you are super proud of me too.
Where are you at?
Question for you. Can you get on the floor and get back up without any effort? Can you squat with both feet flat on the floor and hold your position? Can you do a Jessica Parker stance with or without heels? If the answer is no, you are sitting too much. I am not harping at you, I am right there with you.
But seriously, squatting, kneeling, all these maneuvers we've forgotten. They're in our DNA! Sitting has become our go-to, thanks to chairs, sofas, and comfy toilets. But surprise, surprise—sitting's the new smoking, yeah, seriously. So, let’s get squatting!
Here’s the deal: sitting isn’t just making us physically stiff; it’s cramping our style mentally and emotionally too. Our bodies are designed for movement—squatting, kneeling, sitting cross-legged—can you do these comfortably?
Sitting too much? It’s slowly killing us. Joints seizing up, knee and hip replacements on the rise—scary stuff, right?
In fact, The 2010 prevalence of total hip and total knee replacement in the total U.S. population around 7 million. Secular trends indicate a substantial rise in prevalence over time and a shift to younger ages.
Sitting affects our mind, body and our heart both physically and emotionally. We become stagnant which clogs our arterial pathways which clogs our brain, our dreams, ambitions, desires and goals. It sucks our spirituality right out of us.
In some countries squatting to use the toilet is still practiced, while in other countries kneeling or sitting on pillows at a low dinner table is the norm. Squatting while gardening or just hanging out with friends is still acceptable. Just not in North America we prefer our sofas.
If we are not bending, kneeling, squatting and so on, our joints start to seize up. If you can easily squat without aid, your joints connecting your ankles, knees and hips are well oiled machines.
Can you get off the floor efficiently? A 2014 study published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2012, assessed of over two thousand adults between the ages of 51 to 80 years, found those who could get off the floor without using their hands, or device, were less likely to die over the next six years. Each study volunteer was asked to sit down on the floor and then get up, using the least amount of support from hands, knees and other body parts. Here is how they scored the assessment. The subjects could score five points if they could sit down without touching their knees, legs, hands, or arms on the floor and another five points if they could get back up unaided.
They lost a point for each body part that was leaned on while getting down or up. So, people who could get down touching the floor with just one knee scored four points. If they needed to touch a hand and a knee on the floor as they were rising, they would lose two points for a score of three. If the volunteers looked wobbly on the way down or up, they lost half a point. During the course of the six year study 159 of the subjects died, with the majority of the deaths also having the most difficulties getting up and down.
The observational study found a subject’s score matched well with risk of death. Those who scored 0 to 3 were 6.5 times as likely to die during the course of the study, compared to those who scored from 8 to 10. Those who had scores of 3.5 to 5.5 were 3.8 times as likely to die as the high scorers -- and those who scored 6 to 7.4 range were 1.8 times more likely to die than those with the highest scores.
According to Araújo one the study leaders, found only two subjects that scored 10 died in the follow-up of about six years. He found,
If someone between the ages of 51 and 80 scores 10, the chances of being alive in the next six years are quite good.
Getting off the floor requires the same muscles and joints as squatting, however, it also involves abdominal muscles and eye-hand coordination.
Guess what? It is not just us silver-adventurers having an issue gettin off the floor, its people as young as 20 years. Whether you have had a knee, hip replacement or are out of shape, Check out this video on how we should be able to get down and back up off of the floor. It is intense but, Ortho Surgeon Dr. Chris Raynor also shows you how to work up to getting off of the floor.
I came across SilverSneaker trainer Jenny O’callaghan who has a great video to teach you how to get down to the floor and then back up safely. Ok, so you probably do not want to do the lunges at the beginning, but it is a safe way. The SilverSneakers youtube channel offers tons of videos for the more sophisticated and mature audience like us.
Physicians and therapists also use the chair test to assess leg strength and low body agility. It is quite simple. Sit in a chair and then stand up from the chair without assistance for 30 seconds. This helps professionals assess, body weight to muscle power, flexibility, balance and motor control.
There are a different levels of squats to try. The best thing would be to speak with a physiotherapist to get you started so that you do not end up injuring your knees in the process. When your thighs atrophy from sitting for too many hours a day your knees and hips compensate which is what leads to pain, and eventually replacement parts. You know the old saying; use it or lose it. Dr. Todd Sullivan does a great job of discussing and showing you different squat progressions from easiest to hardest.
How about getting into a yoga squat? Sometimes called the Asian squat, resting squat or primal squat, might be the ultimate goal after mastering the other types of squats. Matt Hsu, former chronic pain suffer and functional training expert has a great video showing you not only the Asian squat but why it is important and three things you want to improve in order to master this position. Once you have mastered the resting squat, then you can move on to not only mastering the yoga squat but actually keeping it up.
If you are little more flexible, check out Strength Side. He has a wonderful short video showing ways to get you more flexible to get it into the squat. he also covers how to crawl. I’ll save that subject for another day.
if you are serious about getting your small muscles and joints working again check out Stephen Jepsen’s website Never Leave The Playground
At 83 years of age, Jepsen has a series of videos you can purchase to help you get those little and large muscles along with your joints working again. He trains you for stability and coordination using everyday objects including the playground to get you agile again.
His philosophy is simple, we were born to move and to be active. He has come up with simple age-proof games that reignites the brain and the body. By re-teaching the hands and feet, he has successfully rewired the brain to be young and agile again which improves mood, balance, coordination and opens up creativity (think about your goals).
The biggest thing we face as we age is falling. Jepsen’s easy to follow incredibly inexpensive video series aids in the prevention of stiffness, atrophy and falls.
The nice thing about Stephen’s program, there are no 20 -something overly excited perky personal trainers jumping up and down that have no clue what we are going through! Now that I can wrap my head around!
If you are wondering how squatting fits in with expansion and growth, it’s quite simple. The more rigid your body becomes the more rigid your mind and spirit become. The more stuck you become physically, the “stuckness” permeates you mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Believe it or not, your hips are trying to tell you something. If this is something you would like to explore, I have packages avaibel to help you break free and get unstuck call or message me 623 203.5223 or email me HelloKarenLangston@gmail.com and let’s get you unstuck.
Look, you have one body, one mind, one chance to live life to the fullest. It is never too late start. Get off of the couch and get moving! Your mind, body and soul depends on it!
~Karen
The opinions in this post and audio are those of the author based on personal experience only and are not intended as medical or psychological advice. If you are experiencing symptoms that require professional treatment, please contact a licensed medical practitioner.