Heather Larsen, Alli Gordon, Elizabeth Thomas, and Michelle Griffith—four slacklining sisters—find meditation in thin air. Slacklining is one of many adventures that await at a 2016 Wanderlust Festival: Find out more | 2016 lineup | Buy tickets
Alli Gordon on the deeper meaning of slacklining and the power of the community in her life:
Highlining is a powerful practice for me.
It is the one sport that demands I find an absolute mental calm while harnessing my physical strength. The line serves as way to check in with myself because the energy I bring to a slackline completely changes my experience with it. I have to calm my mind to ease the flow of the line and my fight to stay on top.
The highlining community and especially the women in the highlining community are the reason I am able to even slide out onto a highline. The motivation, support, and inspiration I gain from working with a group of females is such a powerful part of the sport. Every time I highline fear fills me, but the fear quickly forces focus. When I highline, I try to soften all of the stimulus that comes with the exposure. I stare at one tiny little spot, yet I stand in an expansive space, only touched by the birds, bees, and fellow highliners.
The females in this video have all been role models to me as I have entered into the sport. I am the newest of the ladies featured in this project, and almost every time I have highlined Michelle, Liz, or Heather have been there. Healther was there for my first moments on a highline and has taught me to find an inner calm. Michelle taught me to fight harder to stay on the line than I ever thought I could, and Liz continually inspires me to be fully myself on and off the line. Together, they let me know it is okay to fall because when I do fall, I can finally take in the power of the exposure and the beauty of the unique place I hang.
Starring: Alli Gordon, Michelle Griffith, Heather Larsen, and Elizabeth Thomas
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Produced by Wanderlust Festival
Filmed and Edited by: Greenheart.TV