Testimonials

Visiting Yoga Guru

 

Swami Asanganand Saraswati sat on the bench and tucked in his feet. The moment he sat, his eyes lit up and a big smile came over his face. After adjusting his position a little he said, "This is really comfortable!".

Drat! I should have been recording this! I took out my cellphone and opened the camera. The moment had passed, alas, but then he closed his eyes and sat quietly for a few minutes, meditating. Great shot, I thought. I was watching it all on the screen, feeling good, when I realized that I never pressed record! Sigh. But as he opened his eyes, I did get a picture of him smiling and holding my book as he sits on the bench!

Once a year, Swamiji holds a workshop (shibir) on various aspects of the yoga lifestyle at various locations around the U.S and U.K. They're free, too. (Donations are accepted, but only at the end.) For information about events in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact the Yoga Shibir Google Group. For other events, contact yog-ganga.org.

Yoga Teacher Trainer

Beverly Bachoo, certified teacher trainer and Ayurvedic practitioner, specializing in Viniyoga and Restorative Yoga waxed enthusiastic about the Bench Yoga program. She immediately saw the bench's potential for a variety of Restorative Yoga poses. A few days later, we spent an enjoyable couple of hours trading notes on position-possibilities and teaching methods.

 
 

Yoga Teacher

Urvish Mahida remarks on it's potential to give people a "leg up" (so to speak) when it comes to finding a good sitting position for meditation.

 Friend

Golf buddy Jim Holmlund tries out the bench after a round. He finds it comfortable, and he never sat on the floor in his life!

(A moment after the video ended, I asked him to sit with one leg on the ground, and be aware of the position of his back. I had noticed that he was in the perfect "J" pose, when he did that—and after he put one foot down, he agreed that it was very comfortable. It was fascinating to find that even someone inexperienced found their back in the perfect upright position when sitting with one leg up. For many, that is a much better position than sitting either with both legs up or both legs down.

Here are some messages from our satisfied users! (For the latest video testimonials, please see our Instagram page.)

"Just did a meditation on the bench. It was nice to not have problems keeping my back straight!"
    --Leichandra Truong, Kriya Yoga practitioner, 2022

"I am just wanting to write “thank You”. I love my Meditation bench...it has been a life saver as of the outset of the pandemic. I’ve been on it every day since March 2020! Namaste🙏🏾❤️"
    --Paulae Edwards, Meditator
 
"All I can say is it’s totally worth it for the person that owns one of your benches. It’s my number one piece of furniture. If I were to be robbed I’d say “take everything but the Bench” I can’t live without it. 😁 
Thanks 🙏 over and over again."
    --Caroline Wichman, Meditator
 
"I sat with one foot up on the bench, and immediately felt my breathing slow. I began to experience the sense of calm I associate with deep meditation."
    --Binta Patel, Yoga Teacher
 
"It gives you a leg up! Beginners can sit comfortably on the bench instead of uncomfortably on the floor, gradually progressing to a traditional position."
    --Urvish Mahida, Yoga Teacher

"Thank you for my bench! I sit on it, and I just feel happy. It's "effortless meditation". If feels like I'm floating!"
    --Joyce Yih, Mountain View

"My friend used to meditate on tour. I tried to do it with her, but I kept fidgeting. I laughed. I talked. When I sit on this, I just instantly become quiet, and fall into meditation.”
    --Margo LeDuc, professional singer and vocal coach

"I sat comfortably and stably with the knowledge that I could easily change positions should recurrent pain from an old hip injury occur. The portability of the bench is clever, too."
    --Nancy McClenny, Palo Alto