Did you try to step on a slackline but it started to shake uncontrollably? Do not worry, this is completely normal. Besides perseverance, it is important to pay attention to the following key factors:
- Focus your gaze on a single stationary point horizontally in front of you. When walking along the webbing, we learn how to maintain balance by minimising our reliance on visual signals as this helps us gain better awareness of our entire body. By looking straight in front of you, you improve your body posture, focus and spatial awareness.
- Place your feet horizontally along the webbing (and not under an angle).
- Hold your arms above the shoulders in the form of a letter U and, to find balance, move them gently and perpendicularly to the webbing.
- Slightly bend your knees to engage the legs, tense your torso and completely relax your arms.
- Be mindful of how you transfer your weight. Shift the weight to your front leg only when you have properly placed it on the webbing. Do not rush!
- Be conscious of your breathing and keep it calm and steady. This will help to prevent stiffness in your body. Breathing also calms down an overly active and wandering mind.
- When you are making your first steps on a slackline, let someone help you to find balance by holding your hand – but only to prevent you from falling (holding out one finger is enough). You can also decrease the difficulty by having someone sit on the middle of the slackline and stabilize it with their feet.
- It is easiest to start in the basic position, by putting one foot on the webbing and use the other for finding balance.
- Beginners should start practising on a slackline which is pulled tight and mounted close to the ground (20cm above the ground). The length of the line should be 3m to 6m.
- As you progress, you can gradually mount the slackline higher above the ground and allow for more slack in it.
One of inherent characteristics of walking along the webbing is its constant shaking and a wave-like motion which is caused by ourselves. If we want to walk on a slackline, we must find the right balance between maintaining concious, rational control and surrendering to feelings and intuition or, in other words, unconscious responses. It is clear that the latter signals arise in our brain faster and therefore influence our balance to a larger extent.
By practising, we can tap into our unconscious and start discovering our new abilities and possibilities. This is also where our creativity stems from and, by practising balance, we can learn many other useful skills!
- You can read more tips on progression at >>> Balance Skills.
- Check out our extensive training guide for learning how to walk on a slackline! >>>Balance and Focus Training Manual
- We also invite you to our Balance Workshops and Courses where you will be able to explore all the dimensions of this physical and mental practice of walking along a slackline.