Gokhale Stretchsit Cushion — Lumbar Support for Lower Back Pain & Posture

I really love this product for cars that have headrests that shoot forward.I have not found it to work as well for older cars that don't have foward reaching headrests but different concerns. My main car is a 2000 Subaru that does not have the headrest issue. The seat isn't perfect as it has bolsters on the side that slightly roll my shoulders forward. Using the cushion makes in that car allows my shoulders to roll back but means my head can't rest safely and naturally against the headrest as it should. I have tried towels and others things in that car, but have just had to make due with the slight shoulder issues the seat causes.However in the newer Subarus that my husband has had over the years I desperately need this cushion to avoid pain. The cushion works perfectly to compensate for the headrest and bolsters that force your body into a slumped position. It did take some getting used to though and I can't say it works perfectly as described on the Gokhale website, but I still love it as it accomplishes it's main goal in the right car.My main problem is not being able to stretch sit with it in a car situation. First, when I use it to stretch sit as outlined in the Gokhale method my clothes tend to be the thing that clings to the cushion, my skin underneath just slides right back to where it is and I don't get any stretch but end up with my shirt bunched up higher on my torso. Second, as soon as I turn to check my blind spot I've lost any semblance of a stretch sit position and cannot safely go through the major motions of acquiring it again while actively driving a vehicle. None of these are huge issues because I've given up being able to actually get a stretch from the stretch sit position while driving, but it does allow me to keep my body in a good position which is enough for me at the moment.I do want to add that my husband hated it at first (and still claims to but uses it). He has not read about or followed any of the Gokhale method principles, so for him it was an extremely weird cushion. One of his shoulders always goes numb on long road trips, so after that happened once I convinced him to try the cushion again and walked him through how to use it (granted, I am no expert so I'm sure my instruction was faaaar from perfect). He used it on the long drive back and said it was uncomfortable, but he didn't have a numb shoulder so he now tolerates it being in his car all the time. So, I do think the take away from that is it really is important to follow the videos or blog tutorials on how to use the cushion if you don't know anything about the Gokhale method but still want to try the cushion. It might not feel as "comfy" as leaning against some of the soft plushy foamy car cushions on the market, but in the grand scheme of things you will probably end up in less pain caused by driving.

I read Elaine Gokhale's book years ago when I was having hip and sacrum pain. Her theory is that our posture strongly affects pain in the back and hips. Since then my issues improved and I forgot about her methods. In the last month I developed a knot between the shoulder blades that would not go away and made it uncomfortable to drive. The chiropractor I was seeing recommended a lumbar pillow for the car. That did nothing and made me more uncomfortable. When searching Amazon for products I saw this pillow recommended by Gokhale and thought I would give it a try. Hallelujah! Excellent for the back of a chair or car. Totally relieved the discomfort when I was driving. The pillow hangs from the headrest and it at the highest point should sit just under the shoulder blades. My knot has now gone away but I decided to keep this in my car because it improves my posture so much when driving.

I use this on longer automobile drives, and notice better posture when standing afterwards. Could stand a longer strap on top, at least with the type “headrest” in my sporty car. Tends to slip from side to side; have not found a way to secure it on bottom.

I have no clue how this small rectangle works, but we added it to our driver seat and we love it! Cars are made with head rest pointed forward for safety reasons, but its sooooo uncomfortable, but its dangerous to move it, so this helps support your back and we dont fatigue driving anymore. Seems cheap, but looking at it, its well made and again, no clue how, but it does it's job. Ours shifts because we only clip it to the head rest, our seat is bowed so if we strapped the back part, the straps would rub our back. It only shifts when I first get in. I position it once i'm seated and its good the whole drive. I recommend it. Though my husband was wasting money getting it, but one use and I was sold, we've had a year and it has zero wear to it, so seems it'll be usable for the long haul.

I have no kyphosis/"hunchback" and my neck is pretty much where it should be posture wise. I recently bought a 2017 Subaru Outback, and the head rests jut way too far forward, pushing my neck and head into an uncomfortable position. I purchased this to eliminate that problem.While it does fill the space behind my upper back and eliminate the issue of my head being forced forward, I am very aware of it being only a small rectangle that ends where my shoulder blades are. So there's new pressure points where I lean back into this thing, and on longer trips I end up getting pain along the actual sides of this device in my shoulder blades. I followed instructions exactly as written on the tags for how to adjust and utilize it, I just think it's an issue of it being a small item that doesn't cover your whole back. Imagine leaning against on a chair whose back was only the size of a piece of paper...not likely to be comfortable. I wanted this to work but the design just doesn't make sense (for me).