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Gaiam’s Exclusive Balance Ball® Chair System
First…I love everything Gaiam!  Their catalogs make you WANT to do good things, like live a healthier life, exercise, and create sacred space within your home and office.  We’ve been wanting to try out the balance balls for the oh-too-many hours of sitting at the desk.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m passionate about my work in all its myriad variety and creativity.  But…it’s all about sitting most of the time.  This is most incongruent for a fitness company exec, so something needed to change, starting with trying out the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair System.

What I love about the ball chair:

* It’s comfortable

* Keeps the spine straight, effortlessly, causing less fatigue and eliminates back pain–both that from the common tendency to do the C-shape hunch over the keyboard, and the pain that comes from perpetually holding the back upright all day.  You’d have to work at slouching to do so in this chair.

* It’s also great for for my 15 year-old son to help keep him from slouching over his work .

* We alternate use of the chair…whoever needs to revive themselves at their desk, gets the Gaiam ball chair.

* The great DVD and exercise booklets that come with the system are very well done and easy to follow.

* The resistance bands that come with the system.

* The easy assembly

* The fact that the ball can be removed and used independently.  I do this around mid afternoon, especially for a great back stretch over the back of the ball.

* The color options…our favorites:  the purple and the green

What I would improve about the chair:

* I like to sit up higher, so I would make it about 6” higher and use a larger ball, so that people can choose the smaller ball and lower seat or a larger ball and higher seat.

* Add built-in resistance bands into the base and back of the chair, so that you don’t have to fumble with threading bands under the seat to use, and so that they’re always on hand.  This also makes for convenient one-handed use of the band, so you can hold a mouse or phone, book or pen in one hand while flexing with the other.

As soon as Gaiam makes this next, deluxe version of their Balance Ball Chair (giving you these ideas for free, Gaiam…hoping you’ll do it!), we will definitely invest in several more.  And, I recommend these become standard issue options for the corporate world.  Employees will be more comfortable and energized for longer periods at their desks with Gaiam’s Balance Ball Chair System!

It starts at the top. In the Conference Room the large table is flanked with stability ball chairs and a large water-cooler for the company issued personalized refillable water bottles frequently seen everywhere. In the center of the table is a piece of art—a glass cube with many dimensions and colors that reflect and change with the movement of a light somewhere underneath. It resembles a kind of shifting 3-D kaleidoscope.

Meetings here are brief and concise, following a pre-planned outline. They begin with three minutes of visionary slides with accompanying music. You know the kind: like one of those awe-invoking email forwards that you took the time to watch instead of deleting. They’re the kind that remind us of the magnificence of nature and indomitable human spirit. These synchronize brain waves, settle the energies and set the stage for inspired thinking. They also strangely dissipate insignificant issues that have a way of monopolizing time without really accomplishing anything. Invariably, people leave these meetings more energized than before they started and appreciate just how much was accomplished in such a short time.

Floor after floor of desks are paired with balance ball chairs. Occasionally, a head pops up and down over the cubicle walls as some energized office worker enjoys the vertical mobility afforded with this movement-inducing chair. Along one long wall is a series of standing desks, where many are performing their tasks while standing, or using the optional bar-height stool for when their feet need a rest. In a corner of each floor is a pyramid-shaped glob of metal that turns out to be a stand for dumbbells. Some are missing, only to be seen above the head of one worker and at the ankles of another.

Being diagnosed with cancer, whether it is a common cancer like skin cancer or a rare cancer like mesothelioma, is a traumatic and life changing experience. With so much to think about during and after treatment, many patients do not consider the benefits of physical activity.  While fitness is not a cure for cancer, it can help maintain strength and prevent recurrence of the disease.

Exercise is beneficial because it elevates mood and reduces the stress that often accompanies treatment. It also improves sleep, which is vital in any recovery process. This can make a major difference in how a patient regains their health and maintains a high quality of life afterward.

A regular fitness regimen can offset the side effects of cancer treatment and medications, such as weight gain and constipation. Exercise also helps to keep up the strength and tone of muscles, which can deteriorate as a result of treatment or being too sedentary. The American Cancer Society recommends at least 30 minutes of activity five days per week as a fitness guideline.

Some exercises that are popular among cancer patients include bicycling, doing yoga and walking. Strength training and aerobics are also good choices, provided the level is kept light to moderate. It should be noted that patients having chemotherapy treatment have weaker immune systems and may take longer to recover from minor injuries.

Every patient is different in how they respond to treatment and how much physical activity is feasible each day. On days when fatigue is a factor, it is ok to not exercise. Proper rest is just as important to recovery as working out.

Some communities have groups of cancer patients who exercise together to provide enthusiasm and encouragement. If a group is not available, a patient may benefit by recruiting a friend or family member as an exercise buddy and motivator.

Any cancer patient who wants to begin an exercise program should first check with a doctor to ensure they are healthy enough to do so. The physician can recommend specific exercises and a level of activity that respect where the patient is in the treatment process.

Cancer is not a death sentence, but a second chance at life. Exercise can make that chance really count.

Prescribing exercise to cancer patients and survivors as part of treatment is becoming more mainstream. With more research and studies focusing on the benefits of exercise during cancer treatment and remission, one can only assume that while exercise isn’t THE cure, it’s a very important part. Many of us are aware that exercise is important to prevent cancer and illness, however recognizing that it can be used effectively as a tool during and after cancer to treat and prevent recurrence may not be widely known.

Below are some resources and articles citing studies and medical facts that may be helpful if you or a loved one have been diagnosed or are recovering from cancer.

General:

• Exercise as Cancer Treatment
• Physical Activity and Cancer
• Exercise a ‘super drug’ for cancer survivors that can stop disease returning
• Exercise a springboard to recovery for cancer patients

Breast Cancer:

• Breast Cancer Prevention Through Exercise
• Exercise Improves Breast Cancer Survival
• Exercise plus good food can halve breast cancer deaths
• Effects of exercise on breast cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Colon/Rectal Cancer:

• Studies Suggest Exercise Improves Colorectal Cancer Outcomes
• Exercise Boosts Colon Cancer Survival

Lung Cancer:

• Exercise is Difficult, but Beneficial, for Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Patients
• Researchers Study Benefits of Exercise for Lung Cancer Patients

Ovarian Cancer:

• Exercise Beneficial During Treatment
• Can Diet and Exercise Prevent Recurrences of Ovarian Cancer?
• To Best Fight Cancer, New Guidelines Urge Exercise