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Ian

Michael Winn's bouncy chair

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Just got a mail-out from Mr Winn pushing this spherical chair. I won't paste the entire spiel, as it is lengthy in the extreme, but if you put "Sit-A-Round Ball Chair" into google you'll find the same thing.

 

He's doing it for $129 plus shipping. Which would be not bad if it's as good as he says. But his marketing is frequently, er, enthusiastic, so I wondered if there was any personal testimony going.

 

Jeremiah?

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I've used Michael's many times working on his computer and it's fun for those times. But for my own use i like slouching in a bamboo lounger for a computer chair so the ball thing leaves me wanted to recline again.

 

Nancy (the new Healing Tao office manager) has it right now in her office next door and she absolutley loves it. She is on the computer some 12+ hours a day and the thing really keeps her moving and bouncing all day. I noticed a big difference in here energy thru the day with that chair. She informed Michael that he is not getting it back.

 

The thing about it is that it is impossible to have poor computer posture with the thing. Either you sit up and move or you fall off.

 

I'd say it would be a great daoist sitting position meditation chair as it would be very comfortable for long sitting meditations. (& now just remembering that i have spent evening 5 hour sitting meditations there at their house on the chair and was very comfortable.)

 

The one that Nancy has is too tall in my opinion (though she likes it that way) There is a lower version so be sure to check on that. I'm 6'1" so you know, she's 5'8".

 

You can call Nancy directly at 888-999-0555 and ask her opinion as she has a few months on it already.

 

At any rate you would not find it a waste to own one of these, just my small opinion i know michael's hype is over the top and quite comical.

 

qi :-)

Edited by Jeremiah

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yea like i said i've meditated on one for several hours at a time and i'm even much more of a recliner type. No not tiring, but you do need good posture to sit on it, that's not a bad thing.

 

Nancy tells me today that there are two sizes, a lower and taller. Both have height adjustment.

 

Not trying to sell ya'll anything, dono even how much it cost. just giving my experince with it.

 

The yoga ball is good, i've meditated on those a bunch too.

 

qi :-)

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On Ebay I could only find 3 such chair being sold:

http://tagbay.net/index.php?doPopTagSearch...opTag=ballchair

 

(BTW did I told you about tagaby? Is the new project I am working on that should make me rich)

 

And the seller of one is from Ashville ;)

 

The price seems to be between 90$ and 200$.

 

I wonder if it wouldn't make sense to just build one. Some seem to be built with a yoga ball on a base. The yoga ball seem to cost some 30$ new, and much less used.

 

But all those seem quite different from this object:

http://www.bindependent.com/cgi-bin/shoppe...tion&key=eeb129

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I've got back issues and am always looking for a solution. I sat on one of these a few times and didn't like it.

 

I felt the chair put a lot of pressure on the perenium and even front of the testicles, and that this WASN'T good for energy flow.

 

Also, if bycycle seats aren't good for men, I can't believe these are any better (since the put much of the same pressure in much of the same area).

 

If you're interested in the chair you might want to try sitting on a yoga ball first. There's two women in my office who sit on a yoga ball and seem to like it.

 

Finally, you might also want to look into that sort of zazen chair they sell. It keeps you the height of a regular chair but you're kneeling on it, and it has no back. You can find them on the internet for around $100.

 

Just my two cents.

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I've got back issues and am always looking for a solution. I sat on one of these a few times and didn't like it.

 

I felt the chair put a lot of pressure on the perenium and even front of the testicles, and that this WASN'T good for energy flow.

 

Also, if bycycle seats aren't good for men, I can't believe these are any better (since the put much of the same pressure in much of the same area).

 

If you're interested in the chair you might want to try sitting on a yoga ball first. There's two women in my office who sit on a yoga ball and seem to like it.

 

Finally, you might also want to look into that sort of zazen chair they sell. It keeps you the height of a regular chair but you're kneeling on it, and it has no back. You can find them on the internet for around $100.

 

Just my two cents.

Interesting that we keep hearing of women loving those chairs and not of men...

 

I have one of those zazen chair. Infact I have two. I use to have one in Italy, heavy, made of steel, and perfect. I loved it. I could program on it for hours and I would not get distracted at all. But it weighted too much to bring it. So once I arrived here I found another one made of wood for sale used. This was also

not of a fixed height. As you can regulate the distance between the plate under the ass and the floor. Well this second chair is terrible. I have tried many times but always failed to use it for more than few minutes. First of all it is too short. My feet fall right on the wooden pole behind it making it increadbly unconfortable. Then also the distance between the bum and the knees is too short. It costed me only 5 euro but I could as well have thrown that money away. The other costed me much more (I don't remember how much, but hundreds), and it was absolutely perfect.

 

 

And the take away message is: don't buy a healthy chair unless you can experiment it for some hours before.

 

Oh, I also went to the apothecary in front of the office. The sell 75 cm yoga balls for 25 euro and a sort of round base that you can put under it for another 27 euro. But the ball is not inflated so I cannot try it. :/

 

Pietro

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I had similar thoughts about the effect of the chair on the perineum, and so emailed your (Spyrelx) experience to Winn. He replied the following (and said it would be okay if I re-posted it here).

 

Chris,

 

You control how tight you inflate the ball. So I've never had this problem of perineal or scrotal compression, certainly not more than sitting on a foam chair. The bicycle seat analogy doesn't apply in the least - the chair is much broader and softer, and cannot wedge itself into your sitzbone the way a bicycle seat does.

 

Since you are moving around a lot more than on a foam chair, there is some degree of perineal massage. You can get somewhat sore from sitting too long, but that happens in foam chairs also. Net: this is far better, in my experience.

 

If you have swiss gymnastic ball, you can sit on it and test it for yourself to get a similar experience.

 

michael

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Argos.... now you're talking! How tall are you? Do you feel the 65cm ball is plenty big enough, or only just? I'm 6'4", so tend to get a bit folded and much prefer to have hips way above knees.

Same question here, I am 1.87 which I seem to understand is 6' and 2'' about.

 

I also realised how I used to get much less distracted while I worked in the zazen chair, and it might be because of neural noise.

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well - I'm 5'10" - and the 65cm ball is perfect to sit on in terms of height - my hips are above the knees, and it's the perfect height for my computer desk. You towering giants will probably need the 75cm ball - have a look at argos - they may have one (the one I got is a reebok make - apparently not as rugged as some of the more expensive ones, but it does its job perfectly). Regarding the stabiliser - I just got it through the mail 2 days ago - it's pretty ugly (a blue, inflatable ring) but is just what I needed. I got it here: norlite - they also do reasonably priced 75cm balls if you cant find it cheaper at argos... Also by pumping up, or releasing air, you can adjust the seating height...

 

As I type, I'm bouncing gently from side to side on an 85cm ball, complete with stabiliser. I love it. It doesn't force me to sit well - I can still slouch if I want to - but I'm already inclined to lively active sitting just because it's loads of fun.

 

However for me and the angle I want, 85cm is only just enough and needs to be inflated right until it goes ping. So if you have any size uncertainty aim large - you can always let some air out.

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I had similar thoughts about the effect of the chair on the perineum, and so emailed your (Spyrelx) experience to Winn. He replied the following (and said it would be okay if I re-posted it here).

 

Chris,

 

You control how tight you inflate the ball. So I've never had this problem of perineal or scrotal compression, certainly not more than sitting on a foam chair. The bicycle seat analogy doesn't apply in the least - the chair is much broader and softer, and cannot wedge itself into your sitzbone the way a bicycle seat does.

 

Since you are moving around a lot more than on a foam chair, there is some degree of perineal massage. You can get somewhat sore from sitting too long, but that happens in foam chairs also. Net: this is far better, in my experience.

 

If you have swiss gymnastic ball, you can sit on it and test it for yourself to get a similar experience.

 

michael

 

I don't see how the inflation of the ball would effect at all the compression on your scrotum/perineum. Unless you get it rock hard, you are going to always push it to a level where it's compressing pretty much the same area.

 

Also the negatives about bycicle seats aren't that they press your sit bones -- it's that they compress your area between your sit bones -- i.e., your perineum and scrotum. That is exactly my problem with the ball chair.

 

Maybe a foam chair does compress as well. I'm used to sitting on chairs that, while padded, still place most of your weight on your bones -- which means that the bulk of your weight is not on your perineum. I found that the ball chair did just the opposite.

 

Bottom line though is you should test it out for yourself.

 

If these merchants are giving you a 30 day money back guaranty, and you're really interested, get one and try it out. Would love to hear some more real life impartial experiences on the thing from some tao bums.

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Ian, did you get it from argos?

 

Will you post again after a week or so's sitting to report wether the enjoyment continued or if it began to pall?

please.

 

xx

 

Got it from freeform's link, above. A pleasant scottish gentleman assisted me with my enquiries, and it arrived the next day. Just over 30 quid in total for ball and stabiliser and shipping. Don't find the stabiliser makes much difference with the larger ball.

 

I will certainly issue a further report. But be warned that much of my enjoyment may be psychological, in that I can turn up for a gruelling day at the office and see a bright blue ball awaiting me.

 

Incidentally, Spyrelx, I used to have a unicycle but had to give it up after pressure on the perineal area started to make me wee funny. But I have no problem with ordinary bicycles etc. So people may have a different threshold for how pointy and pressing something needs to be before trouble starts.

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Got it from freeform's link, above. A pleasant scottish gentleman assisted me with my enquiries, and it arrived the next day. Just over 30 quid in total for ball and stabiliser and shipping. Don't find the stabiliser makes much difference with the larger ball.

 

 

But they only sell up to size 75cm. Do they have any special ball on the back (I am quite tall too).

 

Also is the stabiliser the same as the 65cm one?

 

Danke,

Pietro

 

Actually norlite only delivers in the UK. So I will need to look for another shop

Edited by Pietro

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I got my chair and I am very happy with it. I could see how bringint it to Tao Mountain University would make the experience a lot more powerful, it is a very nice chair, and my firend remarked that it looks like a mushroom. It is a whole new experience in sitting. If you are comfortable on the big ball without the chair, Id say that is fine. but the chair is really funny looking.

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Ian, did you get it from argos?

 

Will you post again after a week or so's sitting to report wether the enjoyment continued or if it began to pall?

please.

 

xx

 

Still enjoying ball. But have concluded, with Pietro's help, that the 85cm is way too big, even for me. In fact most people will probably be fine with the 65.

 

Bigger ones are great for balancing on, with feet off the ground, tho. Like a unicycle, but much mellower.

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Still enjoying ball. But have concluded, with Pietro's help, that the 85cm is way too big, even for me. In fact most people will probably be fine with the 65.

 

Bigger ones are great for balancing on, with feet off the ground, tho. Like a unicycle, but much mellower.

 

I just bought a 65 cm from argos for 3 or 4 pounds. They were also selling another for double the price with a Reebok brand. Yet I don't seem to be able to get it pumped and hard enough. And as such it seem too small. I wonder if it isn't the fact of having taken such a cheep one the reason, but I can't figure it out why would that be so. I'm perplexed. Again what was the brand you took the 65 cm of? How much did they costed?

 

P.

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