Abstract: A cushion for supporting a user relative to a support surface is provided. The cushion has material with sufficient flexibility to deform under a weight of the user and sufficient resilience to return to its original state when the weight is removed. A supporting face contacts the support surface and is characterized by a plurality of points. The supporting face is contoured such that, when the cushion is in an unloaded configuration, a first subset of the plurality of points contact the support surface and a second subset of the plurality of points do not contact the support surface. When a user then sits on the cushion so that it is in a loaded configuration, at least some of the points in the second subset are displaced under the user's weight and contact the support surface. The cushion thus both bends and compresses to distribute the weight of the user.