Gaiam’s Balance Disc and Wobble Cushion for my desk chair was a quick and cheap ergonomic fix that gave my work setup (and my posture) a literal boost.

When Covid-19 hit corporate America back in March, I was one of the many workers scrambling to put together a comfortable home office. I missed my colleagues, the machine-brewed coffee and never thought Id say this I missed my desk. More specifically, I missed something I used to sit on (no, not my ergonomic office chair): the Gaiam Wobble Disc I relied on to help my posture.
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Like most modern humans, Im often tethered to my computer in my case, a laptop for the entire work day. Ive also spent the entirety of my working years battling the effects of bad posture in the sedentary realities of a desk job. Yoga and strength exercises increasingly became a part of my daily routine to contend with that. At one point, I even printed out a sketch of a healthy spine and taped it to my computer monitor as a reminder to sit up straight. Thats around the time a friend recommended a strange-looking addition to my chair.
The Gaiam Balance Disc is an inflatable plastic device designed to rest on top of the seat of any chair. Its broad oval shape helps it fit snugly on your seat. It feels a lot like sitting on a balance ball at the gym, but the disc has a flat base, allowing it to enter your workstation. Because it wobbles underneath you while seated, the disc engages your core muscles and supports proper sitting posture. In turn, its built to offer physical relief from stagnant work postures that might lead to tight muscles and other health issues.
With relatively affordable risk, I jumped on the recommendation and spent just over $20 to add it to my regular chair set-up. What I love about it most is the built-in, subtle cuing to stop my slumping and sit up straight. When I lean too far to the left, whoops, I feel I lose balance and work to recenter. Crossing my legs? Not possible without slouching. If I fall into a general hunch, the Wobble Disc helps me notice it and make a correction. If anything, thats one of the main values of the disc: It communicates to me silently that Im in a bad spot.
Admittedly, the disc looks a little weird at first, as I mentioned above. Its an addition to the top of your chair of a pillow-like structure with slight slope over the top, so not really what we expect from normal chairs. But its function made the form well worth it (and more than tolerable). Sitting on it during work or wobbling, rather did take some time getting used to, a few weeks, Id say. The only real downside is the discs materials: plastic. It can make some goofy sounds if you move around on it in just the right way. It might not be noticeable in your home office, but definitely created an awkward moment or two when I was in an open office environment I dont think its a dealbreaker, though.