It's cheaper and smaller than a treadmill and will apparently do the same job.

Friends, I have news that might just change your life.

You no longer have to put any effort into exercising. You no longer have to get all dressed up in your exercise clothes and go to the gym, or drag yourself outside for a run.

In fact – you no longer even need to get out of BED anymore. I know, I know. No longer will you lie in bed on a Saturday morning, having that internal 8am battle about whether you should get up and go to yoga, or stay in bed and watch as many episodes of Breaking Bad as possible.

And it’s all thanks to a magical little happy fairy machine called the Tao.

The Tao was revealed to the masses at the beginning of 2014, at the 2014 International CES trade show in Vegas.

Essentially, it’s a little device – around the size of a computer mouse – that will take you through a whole lot of different exercises, all of which involve applying pressure to various areas of your body.

This whole pressure thing relates to isometrics, which may sound familiar if you’ve ever participated in, say, weight-lifting or pilates. They’re exercises which involve tensing your muscles without actually moving parts of your body or altering the length of your muscles: think planks, wall squats, side planks, similarly torturous positions…

The Tao is designed to work your muscles with its little internal pressure sensor. You can hold it between your hands, or between your knees, or on your thighs, and it tells you – via an app – how hard you need to push, or how many reps you should be doing.

And yeah, you can do it while sitting in bed, or on the couch watching television.

God, I love technology.

The genius man who invented this little device of goodness – Philo Northrup – told Mashable that he even used it on a plane one time:

I used it while flying for 24 hours from Philadelphia to San Francisco during the recent snowstorms and was able to exercise on the plane — it saved my sanity and my lower back.

Apparently, it’s designed to get a larger amount of people exercising – as many claim they just don’t have the time, but with the Tao, you only need about five minutes. And – get this – there are GAMES you can play on the app, too, such as controlling a skier down a hill.

Bonus features, as if this thing isn’t good enough already: according to Mashable, the Tao can also act as a heart monitor, as well as count steps and monitor sleeping habits. They reckon it’ll be out this year, and cost from $200 to $300.

Genius. I want one. The only bad thing about this that I can possibly think of is that you literally will have no more excuses to use to avoid a workout anymore.

Because the TAO WILL BEAT THEM ALL DOWN.

PS. While the technology wizards are onto this, can they also invent a way for me to earn money without actually having to work? And a way for me to wash clothes without actually having to go anywhere near a washing machine? And a way for the dishwasher to magically unload? Thanks in advance, Future.

Would you use the Tao? Or do you like to get outside and, you know, feel like you’ve achieved something when you exercise?