However, that was only on one part of the property and if we really needed to go… we squatted wherever. For our western sensibilities, it does seem awkward and annoying, but I’m with @geeom – its better for your digestion/bowel movements.

And it gets easier as your legs get stronger.

Thing is, kids and people who’ve squatted all their lives (to work, to socialiase & to relieve themselves) do not have hardship squatting when they are older.

My yoga school in Thailand runs yoga classes at a nearby hospital and the workers and patients there all have much more flexibility in their hips than most western yogis… because they have been doing it their whole lives, and not just in yoga class!

Don’t be so quick to dismiss this toilet design. Selling it as a transgenerational design is falling short of the actual benefits it has for
people of all ages. I don’t think its a step forward, its more of a return to what we’ve lost a connection with and to our body’s natural means of expelling waste.
The squat toilet, as I’m sure you are aware can be found all over India and throughout the Far East. My belief is that people that use this style of toilet suffer far less age related physical degeneration. Not to mention that our bodies have evolved to actually expel waste more effectively in a squatting posture.
Refer to link for further details: http://www.toilet-related-ailments.com/squatting.html.
Having spent some time in India and using the squat style toilet I can testify to the improvement in bowl movement. (yes the rhyming is intentional )
Hope this casts some new light on the idea.