December 15, 2015
In my video “How Should You Stand At A Standing Desk“, one of the items I highlight is a springy, soft and supple standing mattress made from a special reactive material that allows my foot to sink in deep and then spring right back to the original position – creating a unique float-like sensation, kind of like a memory foam for the feet.
This mat, called a “kyBounder” encourages my body to constantly make small movements in order to maintain balance and posture. This rebounding effect causes muscles to tense and relax reciprocally, exercising the muscles in my feet, legs and core while I'm standing, and it's good for balance and coordination too.
The KyBounder mat and the entire Kybun brand (which also makes special “walking-on-air shoes” that allow you to simulate running barefoot while still wearing shoes) was founded in 2007 by Karl Müller. According to the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung, Karl Müller is one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in Switzerland, and has “re-written design history”.
Since I'm standing every day on the mat that Karl designed, and since he sounds like a pretty fascinating guy, I decided to invite him onto this premium podcast for an interview to learn how he created this mat and shoes after being inspired by walking in rice patty fields in South Korea.
In this show, you'll discover:
-How Karl left Switzerland to South Korea, became a self-sufficient farmer, then lost all his money creating drug rehabilitation facilities…
-Why a mat or a shoe with the correct softness and elasticity doesn't make your foot weaker but actually makes your foot stronger…
-How you can use Kybun shoes and mats to spend several hours a day of improving posture, core and recovery without any additional time investment…
-And much more!
Resources from this episode:
–The Kybun website (use code BEN10 to get 10% discount on anything)
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about Kybun, the Kybounder, memory foam, the walking-on-air shoes or anything else we discuss in this episode? Leave your thoughts below!
Go ahead and buy these shoes and sandels if you want to get planter faciatis. 2 years of wearing these has weakened my foot muscles and put to much stress on planter. I would sue them if I had the money.
Which Kybounder mat do you recommend?
I have the Kybounder Plus in both a square and rectangular size…
What thickness?
Thank you for the quite informative podcast. I was going to send a question asking you to pick between the Kybounder foam and the Fluidstance Level as the better product for my standing desk. However, after this podcast, I'm convinced that the foam is the better choice. The characteristics of the foam, plus the ability to kneel at a table/desk was the clincher for me.