squatting position squatting position squatting is a versatile posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. in contrast, sitting involves supporting the weight of the body on the ischial tuberosities of the pelvis, with the lower buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal object. the angle between the legs when squatting can vary from zero to widely splayed out, flexibility permitting. another variable may be the degree of forward tilt of the upper body from the hips. squatting may be either full or partial. a havasupai man crouching vietnamese children squattingcrouching is usually considered to be synonymous with squatting. it is common to squat with one leg and kneel with the other leg. one or both heels may be up when squatting. young children often instinctively squat. among chinese, southeast asian and eastern european adults, squatting often takes the place of sitting or standing. etymology squatting comes from the old french esquatir/escatir, meaning to "compress/press down". the weight-lifting sense of squatting is from 1954. resting position a gopnik "slav squat"full squatting involves resting one's weight on the feet with the buttocks resting on the backs of the calves. it may be used as a posture for resting or working at ground level particularly where the ground is too dirty or wet to sit or kneel. most western adults cannot place their heels flat on the ground when squatting because of shortened achilles tendons maybe caused by habit: sitting on chairs or seats wearing shoes with heels (especially high heels) for this reason the squatting position is usually not sustainable for them for more than a few minutes as heels-up squatting is a less stable position than heels-down squatting.