Wanting to design a seat that guides you into sitting cross-legged, Gao Fenglin’s Meditation Seat can only be sat on in a certain way, directing the user’s behavior and encouraging a seating position that keeps your back upright, and your legs folded inward. The cross-legged position finds itself dating thousands of years back in Oriental and Indian cultures. Used often for meditation as well as for eating, the posture is said to increase blood circulation and joint flexibility, while strengthening bones, and keeping your back upright. It also aids digestion. The seat’s design is quite different from the kind you normally see. Looking like a saddle, with a strange concavity in the middle, you sit on the upper level of the seat with your legs folded inwards, and your feet occupying the lower area. Unusual for sure, the seat may not be particularly indicative (you might need someone to show you how to sit on it the first time), but it sure encourages a good and healthy practice of sitting in a way that’s good for you both physically, and if you’re into meditation, mentally too! The Meditation Seat is a winner of the for the year 2018. Designer: Gao Fenglin