How to use a kneeling chair:

Using your BackInAction Kneeling Chair for 2+ Hours

What to Expect

We’ve been researching and providing guidance on kneeling chairs since 1987.  After decades of research and trying the best and the worst, we can confirm nothing comes close to Varier Kneeling chairs. They are the best by a significant margin.
Our customers always seem to acclimatise to all day working on these chairs.  We also believe our initial advice helps a lot.
We have provided over 10,000 high quality Variable, Thatsit and Wing chairs and are skilled at guiding people through the acclimatisation period both in store, on-line and by telephone.  

But…Unless you’ve used a rocking kneeling chair before, you are about to change your sitting habits in a big way.  It will be like adopting any healthy exercise routine and it will give the best results if you:

1. Start slowly,
2. Learn the right skill, even if you’ve ordered a backrest version of Variable and Thatsit
3. Develop variety and then you’ll…
4. Eventually feel stronger and fitter as a result.
5. Use us for other improvements to ergonomics.

1. Start Slowly
   This chair is intended to keep you active while sitting and to produce health benefits and greater comfort.  Long term devotees will say that the benefits grow from weeks three and four onwards, after an initial acclimatisation period.
   The chair activates muscles that most people turn off during slumped or backrest-supported sitting.  It is important to make the transition within the level of reaction you can accept.
   If you are used to walking a lot, and especially riding a bike or horse (which already have no back support) then many of your postural muscles will have enough stamina for you to increase your sitting hours more quickly than if you have previously spent many hours a day with your back muscles slumped or supported.
   We would suggest using an alarm over the first two weeks to help you take breaks every hour.  By week three to four most will find they can sit all day without back tiredness (but still with breaks for other reasons).
   Should you decide that you want to be able to take regular “in seat” breaks then you can add a backrest to use moment by moment, (which we feel is useful if you spend lots of time on the phone or thinking rather than say typing..….see further instructions follow below).  Or talk to us about the Actulum chair which alternates between being a pretend kneeling chair and a backrest chair moment by moment.
    
2. Learn the Right Skill
   Sit in the chair with minimal pressure on the shins.  The knees and shins should only feel pressured when you lean forward to reach something.    
   Balance your pelvis upright so you have an inward curve in your lower back.  Balance your upper body to be upright without straining (small rocking movements help find the position).
   Gradually you will subconsciously readjust to minimise pressure and move your legs into many different postures.
    
3. Develop Variety
   The best kneeling chairs create variety by micro rocking but you should familiarise yourself with different ways to use the chair so that you can achieve variety subconsciously. 
   Find the position where one or both feet are on the frame under the pads.  This locks you into the chair with no knee pressure.
   Find the position where you have one foot on a pad and lean into the knee, like the thinkers pose.
   Find the position with both or one foot between the pads rocking you around.
   You are using the chair optimally once you can adopt all these as appropriate for your needs and to maintain a varied loading and to drive fitness.
    
4. Feel stronger and fitter
   It takes some weeks for muscles to adapt and feel fit enough for very long term sitting without a back rest.  Every now and again it proves too much and its necessary to take breaks and support the back.  If you feel that or any other issues, please contact us.
   As we mentioned above, we can provide a backrest if your chair doesn’t already have that option... or we can discuss alternatives…that’s our skill.
    
5. Look at the bigger picture…
   Do remember that addressing back issues can be an iterative process.   You might need our advice on other matters like sleeping, or even getting treatment at home such as from our Mobiliser system.    Please see backinaction.co.uk/bestforbacks
    

IMPORTANT EXTRA INFORMATION REGARDING VARIABLE CHAIRS OR THATSIT CHAIRS WITH BACKRESTS.

Principle:
Reminder from above…  These chairs are brilliantly designed to encourage and develop great posture.  For most users that takes a while.   That short acclimatisation period is a necessary part of achieving results that can keep your back healthier for years to come.
The backrest will eventually only be used when leaning backwards and thinking.  And you will spend more and more time with your back self-supporting without touching the backrest.

During the first few weeks… the back rest might appear too far forward…
The reality is that most people we see in our stores are used to slumping in a chair, even though they are not aware of it.  Typically, their pelvis falls backwards putting a large amount of stress into their lower back and neck.
In store we help them to become aware and to make changes and then to find a chair that encourages great posture and develops fitness so they can eventually self-support most of the day.
For our online clients, it is likely that their initial way of sitting habitually lets the pelvis fall over backwards, which will feel like the backrest is pushing them forward on the seat.   This is not an adjustment issue for the chair but an adjustment need for the position of the pelvis..  
A few weeks into using the chair we never hear of anyone thinking the backrest is too far forward.  It seems to happen automatically in time but the following advice will help you develop great posture more quickly and avoid the back rest feeling like an imposition at first..

• While sitting on the chair place your hands on the top of your pelvis at waist level.
• Rock the pelvis forwards and backwards to familiarise yourself with way you can choose where it is.
• Find the position where it feels as though the bottom of the pelvis is pointing straight down into the seat, (can feel odd and pinchy under your bottom at first).
• If you are wearing trousers the side seam will point directly at your ear, (a mirror checks that).
• Move yourself back and forth on the seat until you feel very balanced on the chair.  Try not to have much contact with your knees.
• Hopefully you will not have contact with the backrest unless you lean backwards.   If you do please call us for real time advice.