338 of 343 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Necessarily a Novelty, February 28, 2006
I purchased this Gaiam Balance Ball Chair in late December 2005.
It's an item you have to get used to if you've sat in regular office chairs for a long time (I've sat in padded-foam/plastic chairs for over 15 years, over 40 hours per week). I'm 6 feet tall, 155 lb., and practice Vinyasa Yoga every now-and-then, and I am no Yoga expert by any means.
1. The purpose of doing Yoga ball exercise is to align your body through training the core muscle in your torso--your abdominal muscle will help support your back. This practice, over time, will give you better posture. Also, "constant-centering" myself on the ball reminds me not to bend forward my shoulders or slouch.
2. My old office chair has a pneumatic height adjustment at 19"-20" This ball seat height (with the doughnut-shape base) is about 23" tall; sitting down on it, at my weight, brings it down to about 18"--of course, it will depend on your monitor/keyboard setup and on how much air you put in the ball. I raised the table height 3" higher and purchased an adjustable keyboard/mouse extension tray. I make the ball as firm as possible.
3. The back support is detachable (which I've done) and allows you to center yourself over it more. Don't lean on the back support for too long, or you may hurt your lower back.
4. You will experience some back pain for a few days, some shoulder pain if you're use to having an armrest, and neck pain if you had a headrest. Keeping my chest open and head up help my abs stay taut.
Minus half-star for the rolling wheels because they sometimes trip me over when I get up and stand. So, I spread my feet and use my leg muscles to stand upright. I recommend it still because it motivates me to get up and walk around. It's not healthy to allow the legs be pooled with blood (which causes veining) over two-three hours at a time. This item is at a decent price range, offered here on Amazon. Hope this helps!
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115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
surprisingly comfortable, January 19, 2006
The chair is surprisingly comfortable. I'm not sure how *much* it helps me with balance or toning, but I do actually feel like I'm using my muscles a little more than usual while sitting all day at the office, so I feel pretty good about it. And it looks really nice, too.
Overall I like the chair a lot, just one real complaint. There is no height adjustment. For me it's not much of an issue because my desk happens to be at around the right height. But this might be a problem for someone else. I suppose you could let some air out of the ball to make it a little lower, but that doesn't strike me as an ideal solution.
I do have one suggestion for anyone buying this chair. There are four wheels that you snap into the proper places onto the bottom of the chair when you're assembling it. Two of the four have locks you can flip down to prevent the wheels from rolling. I have found that with these two wheels attached on the front side of the chair, my feet keep accidentally hitting the locks and activating them so that it's difficult to roll the chair. I'd suggest putting these locks on the back side of the chair unless you plan to leave the locks activated most of the time.
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196 of 205 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lot of Time at the Computer?! You will love this!, May 3, 2005
I used one of these at my last job. This is a wonderful chair. The first time that I sat on it I fell off, but then once I learned how to sit on it, it was amazing. It kept my back straight, and kept me sitting upright, and I didn't feel so sleepy after 8 hours at the computer. I love this chair. It it worth the price.
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