These rocking chairs are on the front porch of the lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park Colorado, which adjoins Rocky Mountain National Park.  They are the most comfortable rocking chairs I have ever sat in.   The tags on the backs show they are from Frontera Furniture, and the website says they are called The World's Finest Rocking Chair.  That's a grand name, isn't it.   So anyway it turns out I've seen these rockers before and reviewed them before on this blog here.

Here's what I think makes these chairs so comfortable: first, they are really well sculpted and feel really natural when you sit in them - they sort of take the weight off of your butt because of the way they distribute your weight.    They also have a really nice natural rock angle to them.  Some rockers sit you up really straight which is awful, while others pitch you so far back it makes your neck hurt to read a book.  This one has the perfect angle.   Also I like the heavy substantial feel of the whole thing: the slats, the armrest - everything feels really strong and luxurious, unlike all these cheap Chinese rockers that all the big stores sell.   The ones that creak and bend and then break.

By the way, I can't recommend the Y Camp highly enough.  This place is just gorgeous; it's right at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park and they have what looks like hundreds of cute cabins you can rent, plus several lodges - and loads of things to do for the family in addition to all the amazing hiking everywhere around it.    The view of the mountains from the rocking chairs on the porch is to die for. 

I promised earlier to try to find a great blog I had read about the health benefits of a rocking chair.   I actually didn't find the blog I was looking for, but found another one that may be better!    As always, I prefer such blogs to come from someone who isn't selling rocking chairs - and this is actually from a health website called "Healthy Oils"   So they're not selling rockers!

These are really interesting and compelling benefits, spanning from joint health, blood circulation, mental health benefits, to balance.

Perhaps my favorite one is this one - I totally agree with this.   Rocking really does give you a "good feeling", and sometimes this is the release of endorphins.

"Rocking causes the release of endorphins that elevates the mood and relieves pain plus rocking can even lead to some weight loss as you burn 150 calories per hour with this form of exercise."

So without further ado, here are ten health benefits of a rocking chair!