Wing Balans Chair review - If you like Hag balans you will LOVE the WING

Recommended by chiropractors around the world, a proper kneeling chair uses the “open body angle” approach to seating. The open body angle approach to seating seems to be all the rage, highlighted in the latest designs by such manufacturers as Herman Miller, Knoll, Steelcase and Humanscale, when in fact these major players are late to the game.

Long before any of these companies recognized the harmful way conventional chairs are built, a Norwegian designer by the name of Peter Opsvik had it figured out. Opsvik's "balans" chairs, like the HAG balans and the Stokke (now Varier) Variable balans were the first chairs to recognize what is now being commonly accepted as the preferred way to sit.

                    the HAG balans

                                               the WING balans by Varier                                  

This review will focus on a chair called the "WING" balans, by Varier, which is the first cousin chair to the more well known HAG balans.

Since HAG has decided to discontinue its balans chair, I thought it would be useful to the legions of HAG fans to introduce them to a chair that is for all intents and purposes the same chair in function, the principal differences being aesthetic. The HAG is made on a stamped aluminum star base while the Varier is made with a wood and steel base, which we believe is more far more attractive, particularly for home/office use.

The forwardly-slanted seat and supportive shin cushions open the angle of the hips to 120 degrees, instantly relieving pressure on the 4th & 5th vertebra and placing the spine in alignment above the hips. This provides a more natural posture for the spinal column and allows for extended sitting.

The balans chair’s shape forces the hips more forward, which naturally balances and stabilizes your body. This sitting position greatly reduces the strain on the lumbar portion of the back, improves breathing and increases flexibility. Initially, in some 30 somethings or 40 somethings, sitting in the chair may feel unusual or take a period of adjustment. As well you will be awaking muscles that you may not have used, but after a short period of adjustment, most users swear by this chair.

“Balans” was originally used as a term for the first Norwegian chairs that allowed users to sit in this position. Progressive Norwegian thinker Hans Christian Mengshoel conducted the first experiments in the kneeling concept. Three Norwegian designers (Peter Opsvik, Oddvin Rykken, and Svein Gusrud) developed their own solutions based on Mengshoel’s principles. Opsvik emphasized variation and movement in his solutions and is generally regarded as the father of this innovative way of seating, which it is fair to say, launched a whole wave of imitators (sad to say, most of the "knock-off" kneeling chairs on the market today, fail to grasp the principal, thus contribute to some misunderstandings about them....more on that in another post.)

Varier produces a number of "balans" chairs, each with its own attributes. The benefit to the wing is that it is on a familiar wheeled base (unlike the Variable) and thus is the preferred solution for an "L" shaped work environment or for a user who needs to rotate while working.

The WING has a fully adjustable shin rest and a gas lift, which can be special ordered in any of 3 different range lengths, to accommodate a variety of users from very petite, to very tall.

The fit and finish on the chair is exceptional. Varier is known for its quality as well as functionality. The "S" shaped laminate which holds the shin rest, we believe is a far more attractive solution that the aluminum arm of the HAG. As well it can be ordered in any of 8 different fabric choices, a variety of woods and over 250 colors for literally thousands of custom choices.

And if you are concerned about the environment, take a look at the Varier Environmental page. This is a company that is honest and committed to the environment. Like many Norwegian companies, they are light years ahead of Americans and "light decades" ahead of Asian manufacturers in their respect for the environment.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader. We unabashedly LOVE the Varier line of seating and hope to create a community of like minded individuals here on the web. Once you try these remarkable chairs, you will be hooked.

For information on where to purchase click here

October 2009 – National Ergonomics Month

National Ergonomics Month

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has designated each October as National Ergonomics Month (NEM). The purpose of NEM is to create awareness of human factors and ergonomics through grassroots, community-based activities at colleges and universities, high schools, and corporations.

Visit the NEM Web site to learn more about NEM programs.

To promote National Ergonomics Month, Body Correct Living (www.bodycorrectliving.com) will be offering discounts on our products starting October 1st and lasting the entire month. Check back with us to what ergonomic deals we will be offering. Mention where you found out about us and receive an additional discount.

Contact us today with any questions or to receive a quote on ergonomic evaluations and ergonomic products.

Ergonomics for Children

This blog post article is being presented here, re-printed from the original German version,  courtesy of Varier Furniture. 

“Federal Working Group on the Development of Posture and Exercise”

(Registered Association.) on the ergonomic design of pupils’ work places.

(Head: Dr. D. Breithecker)

Ergonomics for children 

We learn from children that moving is living.

Especially for young children, movement is necessary, not naughty. Activity benefits both the body and mind. Although this can be frustrating to teachers and parents, the non-stop acrobatics are actually healthy and vital for growth. What appears to be unnecessary or sometimes even dangerous mischief can actually increase blood flow and oxygen supply to developing organs, muscles and brains. Our philosophy is that furniture for children should ergonomically support the total learning environment, wiggles and all.

The downsides of sitting still.

Children today spend significantly more time sitting than they did 20 years ago and we know they are less active, which can present many drawbacks. Movement is beneficial, even while sitting. And in the interest of supporting the healthy development of children, we believe that more awareness is needed about the subject of posture.

Traditional furniture encourages children to sit up straight and still. We think this should be a thing of the past. Even the commonly held opinion that movement detracts from attention and concentration is no longer valid.

As you may recall, conventional chairs are fitted with a rigid seat that inclines backwards and merges into a seating hollow. The children’s bottom is held in this hollow, cramping the solar plexus. The resulting flat breathing as well as inadequate blood circulation causes the working of the organs to be restricted due to lack of oxygen.

The results can decrease attention and concentration:
1. The pelvis turns increasingly backwards and the back becomes rounded. In
    developing bodies, the bone structure can be permanently deformed.

2. The shoulder, neck and back muscles become tense.

3. The spinal cord is pressed from one side.

4. The stomach muscles slacken and the digestive organs become constricted.

While sitting, our bodies have to fight gravity. A rigid sitting posture is manageable for a limited time. However, an exclusively static posture can lead to mental and physical impairment due to poor oxygen supply. This causes what we call, “The School Headache.”

The sitting discomfort is aggravated when a child has to work at a table or desk with a horizontal top. The child’s back is noticeably rounded and their head is bent back in order to attain the necessary spacing between the eyes and the project at hand.

Postural damage already originates in childhood.

The functionally degenerative process to the postural and locomotive system today presents a persistent health problem in all age groups. The troubled axial skeleton increasingly protests against the forced deprivation of exercise and increasing sitting strain with back complaints, some of them serious.

Even for children, particularly on reaching school age, this statically-passive posture has become typical. On the average, primary school children spend 10 hours per day sitting. The health consequences for them are, however, particularly fatal. Continuous sitting affects them at a time when their development and maturing is being influenced by significant growth changes.

In the future the sitting problem will be even more acute. The sitting strain which will result from the current demands for “teaching on the Internet” can only be imagined. In order to avoid that “teaching on the Internet” becomes synonymous with “children into the sick bed”,
more attention must be paid to“seating quality”.

Experts all agree that the seating situation for our children is miserable! Most adults think that children have “rubber bones” and continually sitting “hunched-up” on school chairs which are too small for them does no harm. A fatal mistake. Particularly while maturing and during the differing development of biological functions between child and teenager as, for example, in the case of bones and particular the spine, static-passive sitting postures on/at nonergonomic
and particularly incorrectly-sized furniture have dramatic health consequences.

The result is that more and more children complain of head and backache not to mention other psychomotoric conspicuousness which are indirectly caused by long periods of sitting
still.   Children should sit in the first class!

Future health is based on prevention. Prevention starts in childhood. “Spinal training” starts in childhood, at the latest when an active playing child changes into a sitting one.
 

We researched the sitting habits of children and we’ve learned that there is no ideal long term sitting position. Good reasons not to sit still. A brief lesson in physiology. Dynamic beats static, hands down.

Try this yourself.

Here’s a quick demonstration to illustrate our point. Stand up and stretch your right arm out, then raise it to a horizontal position. Hold your arm very still. After a short time, you will likely feel an urge to move your arm, or at least your fingers. This natural desire for movement helps ensure the necessary blood and oxygen supply to the arm.

If you don’t give in to this intrinsic need, the blood circulation will become worse and inevitably, the deprived arm will drop down again, despite your most determined efforts to fight it.

It’s important to note that the organs are dependent on a continuous blood supply. This can only be maintained by meeting the body’s dynamic demands.

Introducing the latest educational improvement technique.

Desks and chairs working together to support dynamic movement.

To achieve maximum results, an ergonomic children’s work area should:

   • Adapt to the height of the child.
   • Conform to the child’s autonomous need for movement.
   • Accommodate the various activities

The human body, especially those of growing children, requires a steady flow of blood and the oxygen and nutrients that it brings. Movement is fundamental to this process, which is why a static body posture should not be maintained over a long period of time.

A common example of this natural requirement for movement is the regular change of
supporting leg when standing. The body unconsciously shifts weight from left to right as needed. And so it is with sitting. The body needs a desk and chair system that enables freedom of movement.

An optimal working position is achieved when the table or desk is not only adjustable in height, but is also equipped with a 16- to 20-inch inclinable working surface. The writing and reading surface is then comfortably positioned for the viewer and the upper part of the body and the head can be held upright.

Correct posture is a matter of adjustment. Furniture should suit the children – not the other way around.

First, have the student sit at the side of the table and let his/her arms hang down freely at the side of the body. The arms should then be raised until they are at 90° to the body. The tips of the elbows should be two to three centimetres below the table top/front edge of the table.

Make sure that the top of the table can be steplessly inclined to enable the child to bring the desk towards them when working. Different tasks require different inclination angles.

The body was created for movement – to enable life to pulsate.

Chairs should be designed to encourage movement rather than restrict it. Ergonomic chairs
for children are equipped with a flexible seating surface that follows every change of body position and invites continuous motion. Simultaneously, the swivel mechanism of the chairs ensures easy turning in both directions. This encourages the natural impulsive movements of sitting children.

Several physiological benefits are achieved:
  • Spinal vibrations are changed regularly.
  • Spinal discs are continuously supplied with nutrients.
  • Complex back muscles are stimulated.
  • More than 100 joints in the spine are able to move freely.
  • Blood circulation and oxygen supplies are optimized.
  • The brain metabolism is supported, encouraging concentration.

Sitting and working. Sitting and relaxing. Different activities require different seat inclinations.

Just shifting the body weight changes the inclination of the seating surface towards the front or back. This enables moving easily from a restful position, which relaxes the back, to a physiological working position.

Sitting, as well as dynamic sitting, demands that the muscles, sinews and ligaments hold the body in place. A relaxing place for the trunk can only be found when the backrest is reclined.

This relaxing position offers the spinal discs, muscles and ligaments a chance to recover. Working demands a certain orientation to the table or desk. The forward movement of the upper part of the body is assisted by a seating surface, which is also inclined forward. This ensures that the pelvis is slightly lifted, which in turn, enables the back to be kept upright more easily. Students should be encouraged to use the backrest for support at all times.

Movement not only comes from the head - movement is also good for the head
 

Ergonomically designed furniture can offer significant benefits and contribute to students’ learning success.

We encourage productive sitting. Movement keeps the mind and body fit.
 

In particular, the development of the neuronal functions and the associated learning, memory formation and intellectual capability profit from the urge of nursery and primary schoolchildren to move which thanks to nature also shows itself when sitting. The greatest motivation for synaptic switching and the production of factors which sustain nerve cells is movement in complex form. This includes walking, climbing, balancing as well as tilting or stretching on a chair. These activities stimulate areas of the brain in a complex
manner. This results in neurotropic (cell protecting) factors being produced which guarantee the switching and retention of neurotropic structures, i.e. they stimulate further synapsidual growth as well as initial growth of nerve fibres and nerve metabolism. The resulting differential neurotropic switching circuits also form the basis for the cognitive ability of the individual. According to the latest investigations, an improvement of the short-term memory (working memory) and learning ability can be thus achieved.

Dr. D. Breithecker, Federal Working Group of the development of posture and exercise
Wiesbaden, Germany

-------------------

Varier Furniture is a pioneer in dynamic sitting. It's MOVE small stool and Variable balans are particulary suited to the principles described in this article.

For more information on Varier's HUMAN INSTRUMENTS collection, including seating for chlidren, visit their website at www.varierusa.com or this link Varier Kids

If you would like to purchase any of these extrodinary childrens chairs, please visit our shop at www.bodycorrectliving.com

Office Untethered - The perfect Ergonomic Chair for a Wireless World

Picture this..........Earbuds are in, Ipod loaded and running your fav tunes, latte in hand, you have just finished checking messages on your smart phone and you get ready to work on your Mac book Air - AT YOUR DESK!  We are wireless through and through. So why harness ourselves to a desk once we reach the office?

Varier Furniture, an ergonomic pioneer, has a chair that appears to be the perfect solution for a wireless world and workplace.  It is called the GRAVITY  balans.  

Looking like something wildly futuristic, almost as if it defies gravity, the GRAVITY balans is aptly named. It is a profoundly cool ergonomic reclining chair and offers you the ability to work at a desk, a table or in your lap - all from the same chair!

The GRAVITY balans has four positions ranging from tasking (leaning forward to a desk or table) all the way through to reclining.  In the recline position, you are literally "floating" in a zero gravity position, with all the pressure off your spine and with your legs elevated above your heart.  Many doctors will tell you this is good for your heart and your back.  Working with a laptop is remarkably easy, although, fully reclined you may wish to consider a laptop stand.

Varier calls this the ultimate "Power Nap" chair, allowing you to take brief breaks from tasking...or you can work from the reclining positions.   


The designer, Norwegian Peter Opsvik, is a pioneer in true ergonomic sitting. In fact this design, in its original iteration (the present chair is GRAVITY 4.0) 26 years old this year 2009, and was the precurser to all zero gravity recliners on the market today. It launched an entire category of chair, yet nothing you have ever seen looks like the original GRAVITY balans.  It is made from sustainable beech wood & natural wool fabric, comes flat packed (another Varier innovation, copied by Ikea!) and is very eco friendly.  It also comes in 8 fabrics and over 250 colors including a variety of woods so you can create your own custom GRAVITY.



Another of Opsvik's designs, the Variable balans, is the Original kneeling chair and it too also spawned an entire category of seating, the Kneeling chair (which I will write about in another post).


These chairs are truly "best in class".  They are made by a company called Varier.  Formerly known as Stokke (TRIPP TRAPP High Chair, Xplory Stroller), Varier's exciting and bold designs are meant for home and office.

The collection is called "Human Instruments." The company is a true ergonomic pioneer. The belief behind the brand is that humans are meant to move not sit still and thus all the chairs in this remarkable collection move with the body. Sitting still decreases blood flow, inhibits concentration and creativity.  Movement and changing position is on the cutting edge of today's ergonomic thinking, but has been at the core of this Scandinavian companies philosophy for decades.



Varier Furniture has created the tools, HUMAN INSTRUMENTS to create a completely wireless office experience. To purchase your Gravity, visit www.bodycorrectliving.com or see the entire Varier collection at www.varierusa.com

See why we believe the Gravity balans is the perfect Ergonomic Chair for a Wireless World !

President Obama's Ergonomic Chair

Even presidents need good ergonomics.

Behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, President Obama rests his backside on a Concorde Executive 24 Hour Chair. The Concorde distinguishes itself with arm-mounted push-button controls. Press once and the chair floats free. Press again, and the chair locks into place. No need to reach down and fumble with levers while trying to get the position just right. It also comes equipped with a high back and head support for reclining. Though we would prefer to see a less aggressive forward angle on the head support to allow for a more neutral head position. Kneeling chairs are an easy way to sit correctly and align your spine properly. More about what office chairs I recommend: http://bodycorrectliving.com.

If you want to complete your own presidential setup, replicas of the Resolute Desk can even be had from The History Company of Ithaca, New York.

Alexander Technique: Back Lengthening and Widening Exercise

Public Seating can be a painful challenge as it's rarely designed well. As good as our own personal ergonomic setups may be and as much as we try to be aware of and maintain good posture, sometimes life puts us in situations where it's simply not possible to maintain comfortable proper alignment. I've just spent five long days in hotel conference rooms , and they were back breakers.

An active rest exercise from Alexander Technique gives us a good way to relax and counteract the damage to our spines. All you need to do it is some empty, firm floor space. Do not perform this exercise on a cushioned surface like your bed. I also recommed that you get a thin pillow (no more than 2″ thick) to place under your head as the back of your head is generally slightly forward of the back of your back when you are in good posture, however, you can still do this exercise without a pillow.

1. Lie down on the floor, face up and head on your pillow if you are using one.
2. Bend your legs to about 90 degrees by raising your knees and bringing your heels closer to your bottom. Make sure to keep your knees and ankles in-line with each other and feet flat on the floor. In this position you should feel that your knees point easily toward the sky without requiring any overt effort to keep them from splaying outwards or inwards. Hint: repositioning your feet slightly inwards or outwards can help with balance.
3. Bend your elbows and place your hands on either side of your stomach. Keep a straight line from elbows to fingertips and do not allow your wrists to bend.
4. Now breath and feel each muscle in your body relax.
5. Once you are good and relaxed pay extra special attention to the feeling of your back lengthening from tailbone to head and widening from shoulder to shoulder.

You can do this exercise for as short or as long as you like, but 10-15 minutes is good benchmark.

Even if you aren’t feeling any stiffness or tension along your back and neck, this is a great exercise to do often. Gravity compresses our spines throughout the day, and this exercise helps unwind them. Doing this exercise for 10-15 minutes mid day will help you recharge and finish the day strong.

Lisa Simpson’s Kneeling Chair

Avid fans of America’s favorite cartoon family, the Simpsons, may have noticed that Lisa has a Variable Balans kneeling chair (click to see the original) in her room.
Kneeling chairs, while odd looking, are some of the most ergonomically sound chairs to be had. They open up your hip angle from the standard 90 degrees of a regular chair to the preferred 130 degrees that is natural to your body. Opening your hip angle naturally restores the curve in your lower back without the need for lumbar support. In fact, kneeling chairs make sitting upright so easy you barely notice the absence of a chair back.

Many kneeling chairs have been made over the years, but the Variable Balans is the original kneeling chair design by Peter Opsvik. It is a fantastic chair. In fact, I use one in my home office. The actual Variable Balans chair is slightly different from the pictured reproduction–it has two separate knee pads. The only caveat to this particular chair is that people with shorter legs may tend to find themselves slipping too low on the seat for comfort.
Even more so for kneeling chairs, it’s important that the rest of your desk space is set up properly for good ergonomics. Low monitors and keyboards/mice at the wrong height cause you to slump in the chair which can be particularly hard on your neck and shoulders. Get your monitor, keyboard, and mouse at the right height and a kneeling chair may be the best chair that you ever own.

Why Lumbar Support Not Only Doesn’t Work, But Can’t Work

The ergonomist’s standard approach to curing low back pain is to recommend a chair with lumbar support to restore the arch in your lower back. While it is true that we want to maintain the arch in our lower back, the problem with this advice is that it doesn’t work! We lose the arch in our lower back when we sit for a reason, and unless we fix the underlying cause we cannot restore the lumbar curve without causing potential damage to connective tissues in the low back.
The fundamental flaw of the standard, non-ergonomic chair is the 90 degree hip angle it forces you into. The hip-joint is only capable of bending to about 60 degrees.  In order to lift your thighs up the extra 30 degrees into a right-angled sitting position you are forced to rotate your pelvis backwards and flatten out your lower back. Lumbar support cannot fix this. It just winds up creating extra pulling forces on the connective tissue around your tailbone. In order to remedy the situation and restore the curve in our lower back, we need to open our torso to thigh angle back up.
I recommend chairs that have adjustable seat tilt and seat pan depth to help protect the lower back by allowing you to drop your thighs down and rotate your pelvis back forward to its natural position. Browse our recommended ergonomic chairs to restore your body today.
Varier Furniture is the pioneer in open body angle seating, based on the work of legendary designer, Peter Opsvik and Hans Chr. Mengshoel.

Alexander Technique: Back Lengthening and Widening Exercise

Public seating can be a painful challenge as it’s rarely designed well. As good as our own personal ergonomic setups may be and as much as we try to be aware of and maintain good posture, sometimes life puts us in situations where it’s simply not possible to maintain comfortable, proper alignment. I just spent five long days in hotel conference chairs, and they were back breakers.
An active rest exercise from Alexander Technique gives us a good way to relax and counteract the damage to our spines. All you need to do it is some empty, firm floor space. Do not perform this exercise on a cushioned surface like your bed. I also recommend that you get a thin pillow (no more than 2″ thick) to place under your head as the back of your head is generally slightly forward of the back of your back when you are in good posture, however, you can still do this exercise without a pillow.

1. Lie down on the floor, face up and head on your pillow if you are using one.
2. Bend your legs to about 90 degrees by raising your knees and bringing your heels closer to your bottom. Make sure to keep your knees and ankles in-line with each other and feet flat on the floor. In this position you should feel that your knees point easily toward the sky without requiring any overt effort to keep them from splaying outwards or inwards. Hint: repositioning your feet slightly inwards or outwards can help with balance.
3. Bend your elbows and place your hands on either side of your stomach. Keep a straight line from elbows to fingertips and do not allow your wrists to bend.
4. Now breath and feel each muscle in your body relax.
5. Once you are good and relaxed pay extra special attention to the feeling of your back lengthening from tailbone to head and widening from shoulder to shoulder.

You can do this exercise for as short or as long as you like, but 10-15 minutes is good benchmark.
Even if you aren’t feeling any stiffness or tension along your back and neck, this is a great exercise to do often. Gravity compresses our spines throughout the day, and this exercise helps unwind them. Doing this exercise for 10-15 minutes mid day will help you recharge and finish the day strong.

Are your armrests too high?

Many of us have our chair arms set high up into our armpits. Having your arm rests set too high can lead to stiff shoulders and long-term repetitive stress injuries. They can also get in the way of typing and mousing. Fortunately, it’s literally an easy push button adjustment to correctly set arm rest height on most modern office chairs.
I recommend setting your arm rests using the following steps:

1. Lower one armrest all of the way to the bottom.
2. From your normal (hopefully good posture) seated position, hold your arm on that side so that your elbow is at your side and your forearm is parallel to the ground.
3. Raise the armrest with your free hand until your adjusting hand comes in contact with your outstretched forearm.
4. Repeat on the other side.

If done correctly, you have about a hand-width of space between your forearms and your chair arms. You want the arm rest just below your forearm, but not touching it. This will allow you to type, mouse, and perform any other tasks at your desk space without the arm rests getting in the way. Typing or mousing with your arms on the armrests may seem like a good idea, but long term it opens you up to shoulder, wrist, and elbow problems.
It may feel unnatural at first if you have become used to typing with elbows splayed out on arm rests, but if you just stick with the new, lower armrest position for a day or two it will start to feel more natural than your old, high one. You may even notice an immediate improvement in stiff shoulders.
For more information on sitting dynamics and chair setup that maximizes your health and comfort throughout the day, check out our Ergonomic Chair Buyer’s Guide.