Postural Training with T-BOW®
- T-BOW TRAINING AND THERAPY
- Apr 21, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 23
Summary — Postural Training with T‑BOW®
(Disportare Conference, University of South Bohemia, 11–12 Oct 2018)
- Presentation by S. Bonacina, X. García‑Navarro, H. Pérez‑Vivas, I. Farré‑Sánchez and D. Ribera‑Nebot (Zurich University; Barcelona–Madrid universities).
- The T‑BOW® and its technical development are particularly well suited for postural training.
Key T‑BOW® properties for postural:
- Elasticity and inertia in fine movements produce very fast, reactive changes that strongly stimulate proprioception, beneficial for posture optimization.
- Unstable (concave/edge) position permits rocking (lateral, frontal, mixed) and supports on many body points (feet, knees, hips, trunk, hands, forearms, head) including triple/quadruple supports.
- Stable (convex) position provides secure supports on the mat; double T‑BOW® creates highly reactive balance conditions even when nominally “stable.”
- Arched design aligns with spinal curvatures, offering greater mobility and strengthening potential in extension, flexion, lateral tilt and rotation compared with a flat base.
Holistic approach
- Postural optimization should address the whole person: conditioning, coordination, cognitive, socio‑affective, emotional‑volitional, creative‑expressive and mental factors in both static and dynamic contexts.
- Emphasize both intra‑systemic (within‑system) and inter‑systemic (between‑system) interactions when designing training situations.
Priorities for static posture optimization
- Balanced static muscular development.
- Maintain/improve static joint mobility (flexibility, elasticity).
- Teach center‑of‑gravity vs base‑of‑support relations (segmental and global balance).
- Promote dissociation between shoulder and pelvic girdles.
- Provide controlled sensory stimulation (kinaesthetic‑tactile, visual, vestibular).
- Train breathing and static relaxation through segmental and global postural perception and tonic rest control.
Priorities for dynamic posture optimization
- Balanced dynamic muscular development.
- Maintain/improve dynamic joint mobility.
- Dynamic sensory stimulation (kinaesthetic‑tactile, visual, vestibular).
- Educate breathing in motion.
- Train all coordination capacities, stressing static‑dynamic balance and dynamic relaxation via postural perception and tonic control.
Priorities for sequences (static → dynamic)
- Fluidity and relaxed movement.
- Static–dynamic balance.
- Rhythmic differentiation, variability and temporal adaptation.
- Development of rhythmic sense (temporal creativity).
References
- Builds on movement education and posture principles (Seirul·lo Vargas) and research on instability devices’ applications to health and sport (Bonacina et al., 2011).
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POSTURAL TRAINING WITH T-BOW®
International Conference Disportare
University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic · České Budějovice, 11-12th October 2018
The T-BOW® with its technical development is ideal for postural training.
Some of the most differential properties of T-BOW® for postural training are:
● The elastic and inertial property of the T-BOW® in fine movements causes very fast and reactive changes in any situation of static-dynamic balance, overstimulating the corporal proprioceptive systems; a very beneficial situation to optimize any posture.
● In its unstable position the T-BOW® allows rocking (lateral, frontal and mixed) in simple and mixed supports of feet, knees, hips, trunk, hands, forearms, head and in triple-quadruple support, on its concave surface and its lateral edges.
● In its stable position the T-BOW® allows support of feet, knees, hips, hands, forearms, trunk, head and triple-quadruple support, on the mat of its convex surface. The unstable double T-BOW® allows the same supports as in its stable position but in especially reactive balance conditions.
● The arched design of the T-BOW® favors a kinesiological adaptation to the curvatures of the spine and great stability, enhancing (with degrees of amplitude greater than a flat base) its mobility and strengthening in the extension, flexion, lateral inclination and rotation.
Holistic perspective of postural optimization
To achieve an holistic postural optimization, preferential interactions must be developed among all the structures that constitute the person (conditioning, coordinative, cognitive, socio-affective, emotional-volitional, creative-expressive, mental, …), both in static situations and in dynamic situations and the linkages between both.
Intra-systemic and inter-systemic postural optimization
In any option of priorities we can methodologically design infinite situations in which should be emphasized both the intra-systemic and the inter-systemic optimization.
PRIORITIES FOR STATIC POSTURE OPTIMIZATION
● Static balanced muscular development.
● Maintenance-improvement of static joint mobility (flexibility and elasticity).
● Knowledge and practice of relations between the center of gravity and the base of support (segmental balance and global balance).
● Static dissociation between shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle.
● Sensory hyper-hypo stimulation (kinästhetik-tactile, visual, vestibular).
● Education of breathing in a static position.
● Education of static relaxation by static postural perception (segmental and global) and tonic control of rest (intrasegmentary, intersegmentary and global).
PRIORITIES FOR DYNAMIC POSTURE OPTIMIZATION
● Dynamic balanced muscular development.
● Maintenance-improvement of dynamic joint mobility (flexibility and elasticity).
● Dynamic sensory hyper-hypo stimulation (kinästhetik-tactile, visual, vestibular).
● Education of breathing in a dynamic position.
● Interactive education of all coordination capacities; emphasizing (a) conditions of static-dynamic balance and (b) conditions of dynamic relaxation by dynamic postural perception (segmental and global) and tonic control of attitude-action (intrasegmental, intersegmental and global).
PRIORITIES FOR SEQUENCES OF STATIC-DYNAMIC POSTURES OPTIMIZATION
● Fluidity and relaxation of movement
● Static-dynamic balance
● Rhythmical Differentiation
● Rhythmical Variability
● Rhythmical or Temporal Adaptation
● Rhythmical Sense (Temporal Creativity)
Inverted postures play a crucial role in optimizing postural training.
By S. Bonacina, X. García-Navarro, H. Pérez-Vivas, I. Farré-Sánchez, D. Ribera-Nebot
Zurich University (Switzerland) and Barcelona-Madrid University (Spain)
International Conference Disportare 2018 · University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic · České Budějovice, 11-12th October 2018
REFERENCES
Seirul·lo Vargas F (1986). Class notes on movement education. Posture education. Barcelona University.
Bonacina S, Psalman V, Chulvi-Medrano I, Ribera-Nebot D (2011). Applications of Training with Instability Devices to Health and Sport Performance. Revista Studia Sportiva, 5:3, 387-394.
Postural Training / Postural Optimization / Holistic Health / Balance and Coordination / Relaxation and Fluidity / Postural Control / Rhythm / Strength-Balance / Strength-Coordination
Resistance-Balance / Resistance-Coordination / Back-Neck Balance / Flexibility - Stretching / Mobility of the Back / Socio-Affectivity / Emotivity-Well-being / Concentration / T-BOW® Training / T-BOW® Optimization / T-BOW® Health / T-BOW® Wellness
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