We believe an active lifestyle goes beyond the gym. Does it make sense that we exercise for an hour a day, then spend the other 23 being sedentary? That’s why we designed our apartment and workspace with movement in mind, and these are our favorite products that help us achieve that.

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We’ve been using a floor sitting setup at our work desk setup for many years now. Sitting on the floor gives us the freedom to shift between different postures, and we feel less confined compared to sitting in a comfy ergonomic chair. We started with a modified coffee table from IKEA, but it had its obvious limitations. But since making the switch to floor-to-standing desks, we haven’t looked back.

Lowdesk Pro (formerly Uppeal Design) was the first floor-to-standing desk we had the opportunity of trying (read our review), and it has served us well over the years. It has a more conventional, tried and tested adjustable standing desk design, but it goes lower (about 42cm) than any of those on the market which makes floor sitting with a floor cushion possible.

Flow Desk by marinamantra is the newest option on the market (read our review). Its greatest advantage is its unique x-frame leg design which allows it to go even lower (37cm) than the Lowdesk, but it also comes with its own set of trade-offs. That said, it’s still a well-designed desk that we enjoyed using.

Which desk you prefer ultimately comes down to personal preference. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, so we’ve put together a detailed comparison of the two to help you decide which one is right for you.

Seating is where things get even more interesting. With a conventional desk setup, seating usually defaults to one option: an office chair. But when you work on the floor, you not only have different ways of sitting, there’s also a wider range of seating options.

The IKUKO meditation bench from Bluecony has been a fantastic addition to our workspace. For the kneeling seiza position it’s designed for, it’s incredibly comfortable. The only drawback is that it doesn’t offer quite as many sitting positions as something like a floor cushion. The benches come in three heights: 16, 18 and 20 cm. So choose one based on how comfortable you are with sitting in this sort of a position.

Simple floor cushions like these ones from Venn Design are probably the most versatile option if you want to switch between different sitting positions. If you only want one piece of seating for your floor setup, a floor cushion is hard to beat for its simplicity and flexibility.

Venn Design air chairs are essentially balance balls wrapped in an aesthetic premium outer shell. They’re a good option if you want to sit at a more conventional desk height, while still allowing for movement and active sitting throughout the day.

Before this, we used floor chairs from Muji. (Try Amazon JP if they’re not officially available in your region, or view alternative floor chairs on Amazon.) They have a clean, understated look, and can be a good option if you prefer or require having back support. We no longer use them as we’ve found other seating options that better suit how we work, but we know a lot of people would find these floor chairs helpful for a start.

Movemate is a different kind of addition to a floor-to-standing setup. It’s an active standing board (like a balance board on steroids) that encourages movement while you work in a standing position.

We’re fortunate to have tried many of these options that land in the “luxury” segment of floor-living products, but you certainly don’t have to spend that much to reap most of the benefits.

There are plenty of more affordable options if you search for these terms: meditation benches, meditation stools, floor cushions, balance boards, etc.

Outside of the office, we also like having a “movement corner” in our living space. This is a dedicated area where we can work out, do active recovery, or simply take a movement break in the middle of the day. It gives us a convenient space to move, without having to leave home or set up and put away equipment each and every time.

Gymnastic rings (our preference) or pull up bars are must-haves for a complete full body resistance training setup, as pulling exercises are hard to perform without something to pull from. Rings are more versatile, but the trade-off is that setting them up can be more involved.

We have permanent ceiling hooks (strongly recommend consulting an expert and finding the right hardware for mounting to your ceiling) and climbing-grade carabiners to hang our rings, but before we had our own home, we used doorway pull-up bars and found them to be a practical alternative.

Massage tools are another part of our daily routine, whether for active recovery or simply as a way to take a mid-day massage break. A basic foam roller is the one we use most often, followed by more targeted tools like a peanut roller and an acupressure mat. None of these are strictly “essential” for a home movement space, but they’re the kind of things you’ll be glad to have around.

Bodyweight training is generally adequate for most people, so you don’t strictly need weights. However, weights can make certain exercises more convenient to perform. Out of the common types of weights, we find kettlebells the most versatile, so we have a couple of secondhand ones at home.

Other than that, yoga mats or interlocking mats provide a softer and more comfortable surface to work out on; and yoga blocks are versatile pieces that serve multiple functions in a movement space.

These are some of our must-haves to create a conducive, movement-friendly space right in our apartment. If you’re looking to create your own movement-rich space at home, then you might also enjoy these content: