Want inner peace? Please take a seat

What if inner peace didn’t require a retreat but simply sitting down? Aiora chair by DavidHugh LTD, claims to induce an “altered state of mind” in minutes. The catch: Tranquillity costs £5,700 to £9,950 (approx `7 lakh to `12 lakh). When Daily Mail reporter William Hunter headed to the University of Essex, where psychologists have studied the chair since 2018, and tried it out, he found that the chair did help increase internal awareness. But is it worth the price?

The chair that ‘accidentally’ hacked the brain

The chair’s creator, David Wickett – a furniture designer and biomechanics expert – never intended it to alter minds. He originally designed it to reduce body pressure for people with mobility issues. But users soon reported floating sensations and distorted time perception, prompting research by psychologists including Helge Gillmeister. The surprisingly ordinary chair uses what Wickett calls “pure planar motion mechanics”, allowing the body to balance so delicately that even a breath can tip it. Find the sweet spot, and it feels like you’re floating.

Floating… and rewiring your brain

During tests, researchers made Hunter wear an EEG cap to track his brain activity. According to him, after closing his eyes in the gently rocking chair, “15 minutes felt like five”. The scans showed brain activity rising across most frequencies except delta waves, linked to sleep, suggesting heightened internal awareness rather than drowsiness. “Increased delta is associated with sleep,” Wickett explained to him. “The data suggests your state of consciousness gradually shifted away from sleep… your internal awareness increased.” There was one brief spike at the 11-minute mark, politely labelled a “liminal state” — possibly just a quick doze. So, is it worth `12 lakh? Maybe not. But if enlightenment really comes in a chair, it could be the easiest spiritual journey ever invented.


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