Back from the grave!

We’ve been busy little workers (and elves for the better part of December) over at Seating Zone and we can surface for air to wish you a very belated Happy New Year!

I’d like to take a moment and wax amorous about my Hon Ignition chair I’m currently sitting in.  I have the basic model without the syncro-tilt option but it’s absolutely fabulous.  I avoid task chairs and stick to my beloved Varier kneeling chair, but this small seat makes me feel cozy and secure without restricting my movement.  The mesh back is super supportive and breathable.  I can easily adjust my tilt tension with one knob, and the arms are totally adjustable to whatever position I need, up or down.

I recommend this chair for those of you smaller folks, around 5’1″ to 5’8″, who want a task chair that’s proportionate, functional and really comfortable.  It comes in loads of fabrics and even fully upholstered.  Take a look at our selection in the Ignition line.  You won’t be disappointed.

Web Spotlight: CUErgo

Cornell University’s Ergonomics Web resource guides are fantastic.  The site was created in 2002 as a resource for classes at Cornell’s College of Human Ecology and covers everything from research and development to detailed ergonomic setup guides.  I browsed through their workstation guide, available both on the web and for download.

Based on workstation component positioning or areas of pain, CUErgo gives you a text and picture-based tutorial on how to set up your ergonomic workstation.  The information is simple, easy to use and comprehensive, and by the time you’re done you’ve created a safe and beneficial environment that encourages productivity and alertness.

The one thing I wish for is more current information in the guide itself, perhaps to reflect the innovative trends in movable seating that I love so much.  However, the site is up to date with user-friendly resources that’ve stood the test of time to benefit everyone who works in a home or professional office.  Check it out!  It’s definitely worth some serious perusal.

Ergo Expo 2011

It’s that time of year again!  The annual Ergo Expo takes place in Las Vegas from November 30th to December 2nd.

Ergonomic Mecca

Ergo Expo is the largest and most comprehensive ergonomic event in the nation.  Speakers and manufacturers from around the world come to share their ergo-friendly products and knowledge.  This year’s schedules include companies like JetBlue and Chevron  with implemented ergonomic strategies, as well as some of our favorite manufacturers (Humanscale, Varier, ESI, Neutral Posture and Office Master, to name a few!) with their superb product lines.

Events like this ensure that ergonomic products and workplace strategies get the support they need in order to deliver unparalleled support to us on a daily basis.  For those of us who can’t attend, Ergo Expo’s offering free webinars throughout the conference.  They’re certainly not to be missed!

Eurotech’s New Model

The folks over at Eurotech know their chairs.  The Ergohuman alone is our most popular model, coming in around several thousand sales per year.  Their new model introduces two wonderful features that promote simplicity and elegance of design.

Ergo-chic

Say goodbye to tons of buttons and levers - for 2012, Eurotech’s upped the ante in ergonomic seating with a brand new single lever mechanism that controls your seat height, seat slide position and back angle.

Do your elbows slide off your armrests?  Eurotech’s come up with a solution. You can now adjust your armrest position and angle as well as the height.

Total adjustment equals total comfort

Eurotech’s taken a clean, beautiful design and made it even more accomodating to their customer base.  And, at half the price of a Herman Miller, Eurotech’s providing their consumers with exceptional value.  Contact us to order yours today!

Ergoweekend!

Columbus Day Weekend is almost upon us, and I think we’re all looking forward to the 3-day holiday.  Just in time, there’s a new post up at our sister blog, Sit Correct, on the application of ergonomics in the workplace.  Slouchers beware!

Enjoy the last of the sunny weather for the fall!

This one is for the fidgeters.

Varier’s come out with a press release on a recent study done using their Move Stool for ADD/ADHD children in which they found that providing an outlet for fidgeting  increases aptitude and learning.

I remember being a kid and having trouble sitting still, be it at home or at school.  Even now it’s hard to sit at my desk and work uninterrupted.  As a writer with more than my fair share of imagination, I process ideas the best when I’m in motion, be it pacing or gesticulating while talking to myself.  As a new teacher I need to come up with all sorts of learning strategies to engage my kids, and the more freedom I give them to move, the more ownership they have over their learning and their work in the classroom.

Humans are active.  We sprawl, lean, tap, drum and generally wiggle our way through the day. It’s unnatural to sit still for hours, and a static body promotes a static mind.  By allowing kids the freedom to move while they read and interact in a classroom, we encourage the development of their kinetic intelligence and actually, believe it or not, promote healthier brain function.

The same goes for adults in the workplace, and companies like Varier focus on ergonomic options for the active adult as well as their smaller Move Stool for kids.  The Move Stool and their line of kneeling chairs give us the freedom to fidget in the office while providing great ergonomic support for our bodies.  What’s not to love?

Slouch-asaurus Rex

Our friends at Varier recently posted about the importance of posture – only this time, they’re not talking about in the office.

So, you have an ergonomic chair in the office.  You sit in it 8 hours a day.  You make sure to adjust your position periodically to support your spine.  You’re more alert throughout your day and by the time you leave, that early morning stiffness you came in with is gone.  What’s the first thing you do when you go home?

If you’re me, you throw something on the grill, flip on the TV and instantly slouch back onto your sofa.  This negates your daily efforts toward perfect posture, and it promotes long-term spinal damage:

 If your home seating fails to maintain the natural curve of your low back, indeed encourages you to sit in a sustained slouch, then the ligaments in your back are going to be stretched, just as they are if you sit badly in the office. As a result the small stretch receptors in the ligaments and deep muscles of your back will tire of their protective role and switch off, and you lose the reflex that automatically protects your spine. Your spinal stability is gone and your spine is now very vulnerable to injury. And all the time you are sitting slouched, fluid is emerging from the muscles, ligaments, discs and joints, irritating the spinal structures, and creating inflammation.

Put simply, habitual slouching = inflammation = injury.  Sitting well in the office does not cancel out the damage you do to your back at home.

We don’t usually think about ergonomic seating in the home.  It’s long been an important issue where we work, but at home our personal rule is the softer, the better. Varier doesn’t agree, and neither do we.  We’ve blogged about the Gravity Chair before, but now is the perfect time to reconsider your home seating arrangements.

You don’t have to sacrifice style with the Gravity Chair and, most importantly, your money goes to support the continued flexibility and health of your back.  At 25 and as a habitual sloucher, I’m already experiencing early-morning soreness and a loss of flexibility that has me worried.  The earlier you become aware of your posture and take steps to correct it, the healthier and easier your mobility will become as you get older.

Varier’s committed to bringing beautiful, healthy seating to you no matter where you are.  We at Seating Zone are proud to offer their phenomenal products in the US.

And just think – a kneeling chair at work and a Gravity Chair at home?  I’m all about matching, and this sounds like a dream come true.

Frameless, fabulous?

Core77′s design awards showcase a unique line of products designed with function and comfort in mind.  One of the big beauties this time around is the Herman Miller SAYL chair.  Its laid-back design delivers total support for the active office worker without sacrificing style. The SAYL offers injection-molded mesh that conforms to your body without bulky lumbar pillows.

But best of all, it’s unpretentious.  It’s aesthetically pleasing without too many frills and is one of the best examples of functional design I’ve seen in awhile.

From the onset, we understood that designing a chair (and no less fro Herman Miller) was an amazing design challenge. There is no place to hide in a chair; every part serves a structural or tactile purpose, while providing comfort, ergonomic support and beauty. We approved this challenge with the overall goal of attainability.

It’s also designed to be affordable for a wide market, which is a huge plus.  This isn’t your grandfather’s executive chair!

Review: Humanscale Freedom Task Chair

Whilst wandering around the showroom this past week, I found myself drawn to the Humanscale Freedom Task Chair sitting invitingly in our entryway.

Shown with and without headrest.

I’m short compared to the rest of the population (around 5’4″), so I tend to shy away from large, complex chairs with headrests because they usually make me feel like a dwarf.  This chair’s adjustable lumbar support and weight sensitive reclining functions mold to your back’s needs, no matter your height.  The super-comfy seat tilts to offer stability whether you’re reclining or leaning forward to squint at your computer screen because you’ve left your glasses at home.  Again.  You’re fully supported as you recline, and the best part?  No annoying levers.  The counterbalance mechanism provides full support and weight-specific tension to ensure your eye level is constant.

This is one of those rare chairs that works with your body to provide support throughout a long work day.  What feels great at 9 am may not feel the same at 2 pm, and the Humanscale Freedom chair changes as you move to provide great comfort and ease of movement.

We offer several additional features, such as a gel seat, adjustable or fixed gel arms, base upgrades and height cylinders with additional footrest rings.  This is a chair you’ll want to customize specifically to your needs, and it’s well worth the price.  Here’s a link to a video about the importance of ergonomics and how Humanscale addresses these needs.  It’s also available on our website at the link above.

Review: SmartMotion’s Swing Chair

I’ve been learning a lot about pneumatic seating, ergonomics and memory foam over the past few days.  As I made my way around the showroom yesterday, I stumbled upon this beauty:

One of our very own!

The Swing Chair is the mac daddy of ergonomic office furniture.  This thing has got to be from space, that’s how sophisticated, simple and comfortable it is.  Captain Kirk would be proud.

As soon as you sit down the seat and back automatically adjust to cradle your body.  Our model has the headrest, which gives you added neck support.  If you lean backward or forward, the seat slides with you for optimal comfort.  The knobs on the side adjust your armrest positions and pump up the back pad to provide your spine with one-of-a-kind customizable support.

Needless to say, I was impressed.  I’m an edge-of-the-seat sloucher, which is a perfect recipe for terrible posture, and this chair felt amazing.  I was able to sit up straight in comfort and feel fully supported, which took all the pressure off my lower back.  Heaven.  I’ll be sitting in this baby as often as I can get away with.

Check out our Executive Swing Chair and our Executive Swing Chair with Headrest on SeatingZone.com.