Be prepared to laugh and learn and, if you're adventurous, to fall off the toilet. The Owner's Guide to the Body is an informative and delightfully easy read authored by the UK's leading Hellerwork practitioner. Mr. Golten addresses all of the most frequently overlooked fundamentals of living: breathing, standing up, sitting down, and, my personal favorite, squatting.

In the book he describes how sitting is really just an interrupted squat. He then proceeds to explain how beneficial squatting can be for your lower back and for elimination. Beg pardon? Yes, Roger squats on the toilet. I've been practicing it for a while now and though the dismount can be an interesting challenge at times, I've found the whole elimination experience to be a much more natural and thorough one (not to mention less time consuming). But even if you're not prepared to squat, the book is full of fantastic (and less acrobatic) ideas.

One that I like is "pushing down to go up". When you are seated simply lean forward until all the weight is on your legs (particularly your thighs) and then feel the weight go through your feet by pushing down into the ground. This is particularly beneficial for those with low back pain since it shifts the work to the large leg muscles which are best designed to do the job. Mr. Golten is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. In a time of intense specialization (and even more intense back aches), it's nice to see someone getting back to the basics of living. Happy reading!
Kevin Troiano
Chicago

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