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Really good chairs?

Classicm2
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9 years 5 months ago
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02/12/2011 - 10:40am
Really good chairs?

I understand the Gokhale philosophy that we can make any chair work with a towel/wedge/stretchsit pad, but I'd like to buy some new chairs for my house, both living room chairs and outdoor patio chairs, and it would be wonderful to invest in some chairs that support good posture without any modification.  I'm looking for comfortable chairs with armrests.  I have gone to several showrooms and completely struck out.  One of the most common problems is that the chairs are too deep to position my bottom all the way back in the chair (and I'm 5'10").  A chair that would allow extra room for one's hips to go all the way back (like a folding chair naturally does) would be a wonderful bonus.  I am also interested in high-back chairs, in which one could rest their head on the back in a good position, as I find keeping my head from migrating forward is one of my biggest challenges, and the headrest is a wonderful reminder for positioning.  In any case, any suggestions anyone has for chairs with these or other features that support good posture would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Linda Boisclair's picture
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08/19/2011 - 5:45pm

Hi!

I am sorry for the delay in responding to your post!

Well, it seems you are not the only one who "struck out", looking for an well designed chair. For the same reason, Esther created the Pain Free chair which, in fact, has all the features you are looking for (https://shop.gokhalemethod.com/products/gokhale-pain-free-chair). We have not come upon any other chair that requires no modification to support healthy sitting.

Of course, some chairs out there are better than others. With the J-spine in mind, if there is extra room to put the buttocks behind, for example if there is a high enough open space just over the seat pan (as in folding chairs), that's already a very good feature! You are right, most seats are much too deep, which makes it impossible to put the legs in a comfotable position that does not restrain blood circulation. So, a cushion in the back (high enough to leave room for the buttocks) is better, positioning your body so your knees are free to bend.

We definitely do not recommend arm rests on any chair as they usually prevent us from getting in close to our task, even eating at the diner table. Have you ever seen Esther's short video explaining how to use the head cushion? : https://shop.gokhalemethod.com/products/gokhale-head-cushion?variant=30454445713   -  see how she gets in very close to her computer. If there were arm rests, that would be impossible and her posture would be distorted, especially neck and shoulders. 

A high head rest is not necessarily the best option for maintaining healthy head and neck posture, the main risk is having your chin slide up. If that is one of your challenges, we rather recommend having a light weight on your head as a reminder, getting your neck muscles to work and strengthening them.

Apart from the Gokhale Pain-Free chair, we honestly don't know of a model that we could recommend! So modifying with a wedge to permit Stacksitting and being creative to be able to Stretchsit is still the second best option. You may think the Pain-Free chair is only for using as a workchair. We have testimonials saying many people have them at the dining room table! 

I hope these few tips have been helpful, please reach out if we can be of further support!

Linda Boisclair

Gokhale Method teacher

 

 

https://shop.gokhalemethod.com/products/gokhale-pain-free-chair

 

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