It’s early in the morning, I’ve just finished my practice, my coffee is hot, and I’m ready to sit down and get some work done and for once, I’m actually excited about the physical part of sitting down to work.

Why?

Because I can sit on the floor. Yep. The floor.

If you know me, you know I’m basically happiest when I’m on the ground. Give me a trail, a rock, a camp mat, the floor of our house… I’m good. Sitting in a traditional office chair for hours on end has never exactly been my idea of a good time.

Which is one of the reasons I was so intrigued by the Marina Mantra Flow Floor-to-Standing Desk.

It isn’t just a standing desk. It goes from floor-sitting height all the way to standing height—from about 15 inches to 47 inches—which means I can actually change how I work throughout the day instead of being stuck in one position.

And as someone who works from home AND homeschools, being able to change my position through out the day has turned out to be a pretty big deal. And not just me, my kids and my husband have also fallen in love with it.

My favorite position? On the floor.

Our family has never really been a “sit properly at your desk” kind of family. As we now embark on our second full year of homeschool, we have found that sitting in one designated spot for any type of school, art projects or work is just not our jam.

Sometimes school happens at the kitchen table, sometimes outside, sometimes on the couch and sometimes the boys are literally laying on the floor with a book, pencil, math problem or science project spread out around them.

Sitting in a chair is optional when you’re homeschooled. And honestly, I love that. So when I started looking at desks for our homeschool space, I didn’t want another traditional desk that forced us into one position.

I wanted something that could move with us. The Flow does exactly that.

At its lowest setting, it comes down to floor-sitting height. I can sit cross-legged, kneel, perch, stretch my legs out a bit, or just plop down on the floor and work. Then, with the push of a button, I can raise it to a normal seated height or all the way up to standing height.

It feels much more natural to me, it helps me think, be more efficient, more comfortable, and more relaxed. It feels much more like how humans actually move.

Then there are the kids…

This might be where I was most surprised by how useful the Flow has become. My boys LOVE working on the floor.

Give them the choice between sitting at a desk in a chair and sprawling out on the floor with their books, and nine times out of ten, they’re choosing the floor.

Sometimes they’re sitting, sometimes they’re kneeling, sometimes they’re laying completely flat while reading, and sometimes one kid is standing while the other is sitting.

That’s just homeschool. The Flow lets us accommodate all of it.

We can lower the desk down for floor work, bring it up for traditional seated work, or raise it for standing. And because the height adjustment is electric, changing positions takes just a push of a button. The desk has a 56-by-28-inch desktop and can support up to 176 pounds, so there is plenty of room for books, notebooks, laptops and the general assortment of homeschool paraphernalia that somehow accumulates everywhere.

It has basically become a little movement station for our school day.

And then there is my workday…

My workday looks completely different from our homeschool day. After school, I might need to write a blog post, answer emails, edit photos, work on a race project or do some research about a school project.

This is where I really appreciate being able to change positions. I’ll start on the floor in the morning, then maybe move to a more traditional seated position for a painting or drawing break with the kids and then after school in between making lunch and cleaning the house I’ll raise it to standing so I can answer some quick emails here and there.

There’s no rearranging the office, no moving my computer, and no finding another workspace. All I have to do is push the button and keep working.

The Flow’s adjustment range is one of the things that really separates it from a typical sit-to-stand desk. Most adjustable desks are designed around sitting in a chair and standing. This one goes considerably lower, specifically allowing you

to work from the floor.

And for me, that changes the entire experience.

A desk built for people who don’t like sitting still

One of my favorite things about being an athlete is that movement is built into my day. I train every single day. But then I also spend hours writing and answering emails. Being able to move and change my position while I do this work is huge for my bodies recovery and overall comfort.

The Flow gives me options: Floor, Chair, Yoga Ball, Standing, Move, Change positions, keep working.

It’s the best.

The little details matter, too

The Flow isn’t just functional, it’s astetically pleasing as well

The design is clean and minimal, with a plywood desktop and steel frame. It also has integrated power through the leg, which helps keep cords from becoming the usual tangled mess underneath a desk.

And that matters in a homeschool space because the floor already has enough stuff on it. Books, toys, pencils, LEGOs, maps, rocks and random sticks that somehow made their way inside. In short, I don’t need another nest of cords down there.

The desk also has three saved height settings, which is especially handy in a house where one person might want floor height, another wants seated height and another wants to stand.

Is it perfect?

No desk is perfect, and there are a couple of things worth knowing before you buy one.

First: this thing is heavy, like very heavy.

Marina Mantra ships the Flow in two large boxes, with the frame package weighing roughly 140 pounds and the desktop/control box around 48 pounds. So this is definitely a “have a friend help you” situation when it arrives.

Assembly is also something you’ll want to plan for rather than casually deciding to put together at 9 p.m. after the kids go to bed. But once it’s assembled, the weight and solid construction are part of what makes the desk feel so stable. And that’s important when you’re moving it all the way from floor height to standing height.

This thing is bomb proof and so well made. The sturdiness and heaviness of it makes you pause and think “oh, now this is a nice piece.”

And another added bonus if you have kids: the boxes and foam will provide hours and days (we are going on day 7 now) of entertainment for your kids – which is absolutely worth it. In fact, as I’m writing this, my kids are having morning play in their “camper vans” before breakfast.

So, who is this desk really for?

For me, it’s the work-from-home + homeschool + movement-loving family desk.

It’s for the person who gets tired of sitting in a chair all day. It’s for someone who wants a standing desk but also happens to love sitting on the floor. It’s for families where the dining table is also the science lab, office, art studio and math classroom. It’s for kids who would rather lay on the floor to read than sit perfectly upright in a chair. And it’s for anyone who wants their workspace to adapt to them rather than the other way around.

For our family, that’s the biggest win. Our days aren’t static so why should our desk be?

So tomorrow morning, after I finish my practice, I’ll make my coffee, grab my laptop and head back to my favorite office chair.

The floor.

And when I feel like standing?

I’ll push a button.

Because apparently the best desk for our family is the one that lets us move.