Designed specifically for people who work for hours at computers, the Embody Chair from Herman Miller is the first work chair that benefits both mind and body.
When sitting at your desk all day long, it can be hard not to frequently shift in your seat, stretch your arms, or lean back for more comfort. You should not feel bad about your restless behavior; in fact, humans are wired to constantly be on the move. It’s a wonder, then, that the vast majority of office chairs are constructed to be so stagnant and inflexible, ignoring your body’s needs and instead throwing a few fluffy cushions on a chair and calling it “ergonomic”.
Embody, developed by the innovative designers at Herman Miller, is different, reacting to your natural movement with a dynamic frame to provide responsive support and real comfort. Inspired by the human spine, the back is alive with Backfit™ adjustment which adapts to the unique curvature and movement of your spine and lets your move freely and naturally.
Developed specifically for the Embody, the skin-like textile covering provides a cushy feeling and allows light and air pass through keeping you cool. The palette features a selection of warm and cool neutrals as well as rich saturated colors that stand out and stylishly appeal to all tastes. The Embody also incorporates Pixelated Support Technology™ to its seat and back surfaces, conforming to body movement and evenly distributing weight, allowing your mind and body to freely focus on the task at hand.
With its new tilt technology, Embody's rotation points located in the seat and back encourage you body to move naturally into the most positive seated postures for your health and comfort. The back adapts to the shape and movement of your spine by automatically adjusting to and supporting your shifting positions. Because movement promotes blood circulation and oxygen flow, Embody proactively keeps the brain more focused and functional allowing you to work better.
Instinctive Back - Inspired by the human spine, the back is alive with the backrest and Backfit™ adjustment. It adapts to the unique curvature and movement of your spine and lets your move freely and naturally.
Pixelated Support Technology™ - The Pixelated Support Technology™ creates dynamic seat and back surfaces that automatically conform to movement and evenly distribute weight.
Cool, Airy Fabric Options - Unique to the Embody, the textile 'skin' to the exoskeletal spine-like form breathes and cushions you as you sit.
Translucent Casters - For added mobility, suggesting that you never even have to get out of your Embody for any task.
Use the handles located on the right and left sides of the seat to adjust the seat depth.
Before adjusting the seat depth, lower the seat height to its lowest position by angling the joystick located on the right center of your Embody chair.
Lift up on your toes, lifting your thighs off of the seat fron and shift your body weight toward the back of the seat.
Gently lift up on the handles to disengage the locking seat depth adjustment.
Slide the handles forward or back to the proper depth and then release downward to lock the seat.
Slide the handles forward or back to the proper depth and then release downward to lock the seat. In the proper position, you will have at least two fingers of clearance between the back of your knees and the seat edge.
Backfit adjustments are made using the knob located at the back-right of the chair.
Embody’s Backfit adjustment allows you to position the back of the chair to fit the curvature of your spine and place your head in the a balanced position for alignment with your computer display.
To adjust, shift your weight forward off the chair back. Rotate the adjustment know clockwise until the back is fully forward.
Now lean back.
If you have a flat back with little curvature between your upper and lower back, rotate the Backfit adjustment knob clockwise to the full forward position or back slightly turning the know counterclockwise
If you have a curved back, rotate the Backfit adjustment knob counterclockwise until your spine is fully supported and the void of your lumbar is filled.
This knob, located under the right hand side of the seat, adjusts the tilt tension of your Embody chair.
If you are having difficulty reclining, loosen the tension by turning the tilt tension knob counterclockwise.
If you feel that you are reclining too far, tighten the tilt tension by turning the knob clockwise.
The Embody is absolutely unique in its alignment to the principles of Healthy Back's SLAM methodology--which helps you find the best chair suitable for your specific needs. The revolutionary design promotes motion and supports a full range of dynamic adjustment for almost every body shape and size.
Seat Height and Depth
We measure the depth of your seat. There should be two to three inches between the front edge of the chair and the back of your calf. Adequate seat depth distributes your weight evenly over the longest possible surface area. Inadequate surface area can impede circulation, cause numbness and result in difficultly when sitting for longer periods. Proper seat height encourages you to sit back in your chair, resulting in correct body position with result to the rest of your workstation.
Lumbar Height and Depth
We measure the lumbar curve in your back to determine the depth and height of your unique body. We then fit you to the right chair.
Stand flat against a wall with your heels and your should blades touching the wall. Now place your hand behind your lower back--does it fit? If you cannot fit your hand behind you, you have a flat back and probably need a chair with very little lumbar support. If you can fit a flat hand behind you, you have a medium curve and need a medium level lumbar support. If you can fit a balled up fist behind your back, , you have a deep curve, or sway back, and need a large lumbar support.
Angles
A chair should allow you to sit with at least 90° angles in the following places: your knees, hips, and elbows. Angles of less than 90° have the detrimental effect of impeding circulation. In static seated situations, this can result in premature fatigue and discomfort. In general, more "open" postures and chairs that support you in "open" postures, will allow you to sit more comfortably for longer periods of time.
Motion
Critical to pain-free sitting is a chair that allows you to stay in motion. The more you move, the more you encourage blood flow, and the less stiff you become. Properly adjust the chair's tension control to achieve your desired level of motion. Rule of thumb: Static positions in and of themselves are a source of pain and fatigue.
A Proactive Solution
The Embody began in the design studio of Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf. They saw an unsolved problem: the lack of physical harmony between us and our computers. They came up with a radical idea: What if a chair could do more than just minimize the negative effects of sitting? Could they design a chair that actually had positive effects on the body? “You can’t design without empathy,” said Weber, who also designed the Caper chair. “Since design has become more technology based, we’ve had to sit in our chairs in front of computers for longer periods, just like everyone else. We identify with the problems people have as a result of sitting.”
Bill Stumpf, who designed our Aeron, Equa, and Ergon work chairs and worked for Herman Miller for more than three decades, brought the idea to us. Could such a chair be designed and made? We worked with more than 30 professionals, who contributed their expertise. Physicians and PhDs in the fields of biomechanics, vision, physical therapy, and ergonomics helped test hypotheses, review prototypes, and conduct studies that helped guide the development of the first health-positive chair.
Expert input on these hypothesis fueled Weber and Stumpf's early thinking about the chair and formed the basis of experiments designed to establish whether such a chair was possible. But Bill passed away in 2006. Weber carried on. As Embody's designer, it was he who gave the chair its function and form, building on Bill Stumpf's inspiration. Prototypes followed, with experts sitting in them and offering appraisals of what was good and what wasn't. Researchers conducted laboratory experiments involving kinematics, preferred postures, pressure distribution, seated tasks, and metabolics. These guided the development of Embody and confirmed its health-positive benefits.
In the earliest discussions with the experts, we tested three hypotheses: Work chairs can be health-positive or therapeutic, not merely health-neutral.Dynamic surface pressure on a chair and back will provide more comfort, liveliness, and health-positive benefits than nondynamic surface pressure.Work chairs can let us achieve postural equilibrium (the upright balance point when our eyes are vertically aligned with our hips) naturally, no matter what our spinal curvature.
Height
39" to 43 1/2"
Width
29 1/2"
Seat Width
21 1/4"
Seat Height
16" to 20 1/2"
2008 - Embody chair named "Best of 2008" by WIRED magazine.
2008 - Embody chair named "Best of Tech" for 2008 by Yahoo Tech.
2008 - Embody chair named People's Choice at National Ergonomics Conference and Exhibition.
2009 - Embody chair receives Best of NeoCon Silver in the Ergonomic Desk/Task Seating category.
2009 - Embody chair honored by the Alliance for Plastics Processors (APP), a division of the Society of the Plastics Industry, with the organization's first International Plastics Design Competition award.
2009 - Buildings magazine lists Embody chair among Top 100 Products and Services.
Learn More About Embody's Environmental Sustainability
