Get the workout

On a stressful day, concentrating through a yoga class can be as hard as prying your two-year-old free of his Elmo toy. Now imagine doing Upright Big Toe Hold on a tightrope. It sounds crazy but, as you can see from the image above, it’s not impossible. We’ve found some pretty intense ab workouts before, but this one takes the cake. Who’s behind (or should we say atop) yoga on a tightrope? Jason Magness, founder of Slackline Yoga (and the guy in the picture), ties up the inch-wide nylon webbing (used for hiking and climbing) from point A (any stable object like a tree or boulder) to point B (another tree or boulder), climbs on, and practices asanas. Slackline Yoga originates from slacklining, which looks like tightrope walking.

This extreme yoga started in 2005, when Magness and his friends started playing around on a slackline at a yoga conference. Next thing they knew, they were trying out poses, then vinyasas, and soon realized they’d found a highly effective form of physical and mental exercise. Their high wire act requires more core than plain old sit ups could ever achieve and even helped heal Magness’ IT band injury.

Go Steady
 “Slackline Yoga is a really low impact, therapeutic workout, but it really builds a lot of heat in your body,” says Magness. “We taught a huge ex-body builder and he was pouring sweat in minutes.” Unlike traditional sit ups and crunches, every move in Slackline Yoga integrates your core with the rest of your body, making it the center of gravity. This fluid balance will get you that six-pack but they won’t just be for show. “With sports like surfing, soccer, climbing, you’re going in and out of balance all the time. On the slackline, the line never stops moving so you’ve got to integrate your entire core to stay on,” he says.  

Slackline Yoga forces practitioners to stay completely focused (a plus for athletes in competition), control their breath, and let go of anxiety. If you don’t stay present, you’ll fall off the line. The less you think about your next date or big work deadline, the longer you’ll be able to stay steady on the line.

But let’s be realistic, there aren’t many of us who’ll just go out and string up a rope to do our at-home practice. Instead, here are some Slackline-inspired poses that’ll really get your abs working. While they’re great for the next time you want to go bouldering, for the more earth-bound, these poses will also help you nail that Crow pose (remember, it’s about pulling up from your core, not muscling it with your arms.)

Each pose uses dynamic movement to tap into your core for stabilization. If you’re working too hard and breathing unsteadily, it’s time to stop. “You can push the edge, but shaking violently because you want to do 2 or 3 more is going to build negative reinforcement between your mind and your body,” says Magness. Keep it positive by self-assessing—how comfortable and controlled do I feel in my body? Letting go of your ego means a healthy, energetic body that’ll be ready for the game, anytime. So get ready for an intense ab workout that’ll get you ready for your next race (or bikini season) by building toughness, inside and out.

Get the best ab workout ever