The Acrolining Adventures Continue…

Awhile back, around December 2015, I wrote a blog about combining two passions into one practice. The fusion of Acro and Slacklining…to create Acrolining. This is where a Base lays down on the slackline and a Flyer gets onto the Base and into different acro poses. Most of the poses I had tried or seen back then, were of the Base using their hands to support the Flyer in different positions.

Since then, I have had the chance to play and learn. I want to share with you some of the progress that I’ve made. And of course, it’s a partnership progress! Both myself and partner must be willing to practice and try new things, in order to progress. That’s the thing about acrolining, just like acroyoga– you need two people to play.

Also like acroyoga, you want a spotter to be there while you’re acrolining. This has proven to be very helpful when I want to try something new or when I try to go totally free. So when you first start acrolining, you mostly keep your feet on the ground to stabilize. Eventually, with a lot of practice, the Base can start to take their feet off the ground. This is what I mean when I say totally free. Be careful when totally free because the Base can become really unstable and the flyer can drop out fast. Keep everyone safe and happy, and have a spotter join the team.

New Acrolining Moves

Some of the Acro poses I described being able to do in the past blog are  Bird on Hands, Floating Poshi, Free Shoulder Stand, Shin to Hand, Bow on Hands, and Foot to Hand. With many of these I was barely able to get one leg off the ground. Now I have been able to go totally free in several of them. It’s still not for a real long time, but little by little the time grows. Now I have for you a couple new poses to add to the list.

1.  Handstand on Chest

This is a fun one that I have pictured below. This is a great picture because it captures Lindsi (@lindsikaycircus) and I totally free. Also it shows our friend Matt, ready with a ninja spot if need be.

2.  Bird on Feet

This one is really cool. I realized I had only tried arm balancing poses, because they seemed doable. The thought of trying bird on feet seemed to scary. But I really wanted to try it out, because once I thought about it, I couldn’t stop. Thankfully my lovely lady was willing to give it a try, if I had a spotter to help out. Sounded like a great idea and so we asked a friend to help us out. With only my hands to stabilize, we tried it a few times.  It was a little shaky at first but we got comfortable enough to get this picture below, while the spotter stepped away.

Endless Possibilities

The potential for growth is endless. With some awesome spotter friends and a little practice anything is possible. That’s one of the many reasons I love Acrolining, is that it excites me and keeps me curious. I’m very grateful to my partner for training as much as she does with me on the line. Slowly but surely, she has started getting on the line more herself.  She is starting to rock out many static poses. I’m super proud of her, and  looking forward to our Acrolining future.

I’m curious about your acrolining adventures too! Send me a message here or send me a picture or video to our Instagram @slackrobats. I want to see your progress and hear about your balance journeys. Thanks for reading.

Peace,

Buddy Thomas