9-20-06
Over the last couple years many developments have been made in the realm of on-slackline yoga. It seems a natural outgrowth of the basic slackline practice, and more and more people are using the technique to develop core strength and enhance their drishdi to previously unheard of levels. But for our purposes here at the Vulture's Peak Center, we want to explore some of the relative advantages to practicing slackline yoga on a freestyle or rodeo type line versus the traditional tight-line.
The first and foremost advantage we have found is that the parabolic nature of the rodeo line allows your feet to be positioned at different relative heights. This is very helpful at the outset because it allows you to adjust more fully the amount of commitment you want to make to each posture or asana. Many accomplished yogis will be surprised to find that postures that can be easily executed on the ground require much more strength on-line. Once you are in your pose on the slackline, you need to use additional power to remain balanced that is not required on the ground. By adjusting your footing you can reduce your stretch while preserving muscle freedom to execute the corrective movements that you will need to make on the line.
The other great advantage is the slower pace of the swing on a freestyle line. By making less herky-jerky movements your practice can take on more calm and develop your body in a more controlled way. Part of the pleasure of yoga practice revolves around the stillness of the practice, and the rodeo line profile helps preserve that in a way that a tighter more reactive line does not.
The first and foremost advantage we have found is that the parabolic nature of the rodeo line allows your feet to be positioned at different relative heights. This is very helpful at the outset because it allows you to adjust more fully the amount of commitment you want to make to each posture or asana. Many accomplished yogis will be surprised to find that postures that can be easily executed on the ground require much more strength on-line. Once you are in your pose on the slackline, you need to use additional power to remain balanced that is not required on the ground. By adjusting your footing you can reduce your stretch while preserving muscle freedom to execute the corrective movements that you will need to make on the line.
The other great advantage is the slower pace of the swing on a freestyle line. By making less herky-jerky movements your practice can take on more calm and develop your body in a more controlled way. Part of the pleasure of yoga practice revolves around the stillness of the practice, and the rodeo line profile helps preserve that in a way that a tighter more reactive line does not.
Also, on a more practical level, our researchers have observed that the "slack" form of the slackline is more convenient in a studio or backyard setting because it takes dramatically less time to setup and take down. It can also be clipped to a hook that is sunk into the ceiling, or clipped to a carabiner that is hung on a tree or something, in order to clear the space for earth-based practices.
One last, more hypothetical advantage that we are in the midst of carrying out further research on, is the idea that slackline yoga is one the best practices for harmonizing and balancing the distribution of fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Please read the detailed description below to learn the basics about these types of muscle fiber:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/exercisephysiology/a/aa080901a.htm
In any case, we hope to continue this research and explore the possibility of slacklining and slackline yoga as both a developmental and therapeutic practice for the wider-world of elite level athletes. Who knows, right? If the NFL supports ballet, maybe the next wave will be NBA stars taking the meditative practices taught to them by Phil Jackson and applying them directly to high-level slackline progressions!
One last, more hypothetical advantage that we are in the midst of carrying out further research on, is the idea that slackline yoga is one the best practices for harmonizing and balancing the distribution of fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Please read the detailed description below to learn the basics about these types of muscle fiber:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/exercisephysiology/a/aa080901a.htm
In any case, we hope to continue this research and explore the possibility of slacklining and slackline yoga as both a developmental and therapeutic practice for the wider-world of elite level athletes. Who knows, right? If the NFL supports ballet, maybe the next wave will be NBA stars taking the meditative practices taught to them by Phil Jackson and applying them directly to high-level slackline progressions!
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