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Varier Variable by Back in Action – good for your spine

80 per cent of Americans experience of back pain at some point in their lives. The Varier Variable is a classic design that's great for office workers who have back problems

80 per cent of Americans experience of back pain at some point in their lives. The Varier Variable is a classic design that’s great for office workers who have back problems.

Once there was a period when I was working from home that I was forced to use a kneeling chair because I had wrenched my back (the reason why involved my nine-year-old son and a Thai masseur – best not to ask).

Kneeling chairs sometimes get a bad rep and not without good cause … there are some really terrible ones out there, most of them bad copies of this iconic design. This chair is the original, and nothing else has yet come close.

The Varier Variable Balans is without one of the most iconic and greatest chairs ever designed. Its designer Peter Obsvik is one of the most celebrated ergonomic designers ever, who also created the Tripp Trapp – the best-selling children’s chair of all time – as well as the iconic HAG Capsico office chair.

From the proportions of the knee and seat pads, to the seat angle and the gentle rock from the shape of the frame, everything about the Varier Variable Balans is millimetre perfect to ensure the most amazing sitting experience. It doesn’t squash your knees, it doesn’t rock you forward onto your shins, you don’t slide down the seat and it doesn’t force you into the same position for your 10-hour day like your dining or maybe your current office chair does. It allows and encourages variety of position, movement, is supremely comfortable and increases core fitness (that elusive thing so many of us chase).

The Varier Variable Balans encompasses what retailer Backinaction.co.uk call the three core principles of healthy sitting: movement, balance and forward tilt (in the seat). It’s easy to underestimate the potential and value of movement and forward tilt for enhancing your working day. Most people don’t realise the way balance and movement can be transformative in everything from your spinal health to your energy levels.

The Varier Variable Balans embraces movement and encourages it.

Price: £299

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Tim Adler

Tim Adler is group editor of Small Business, Growth Business and Information Age. He is a former commissioning editor at the Daily Telegraph, who has written for the Financial Times, The Times and the...

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