How to Levitate
Levitation is the act of “floating” just above the ground. Unlike flying, levitation is temporary and low altitude. Wondering how to levitate? Depending what kind of levitation you’re after, there are multiple ways to pull it off.
Many spiritual practices promote the ability to levitate — especially in Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The spiritual power of levitation is usually acquired through spiritual meditation, a completely serene, calm, and focused state of mind that allows the body to do all sorts of amazing things. In Eastern religions, there are multiple accounts of levitation through meditation. Spiritual levitation isn’t limited to Asia — people in Africa and South America tell tales of levitation through the practice of magic. Whether or not you believe in this kind of levitation doesn’t really matter — this article won’t teach you how to meditate your way to levitation. We’re going to concentrate on the illusion of levitation through “magic” and the trick of presentation.
Art of Levitation
David Blaine, the famous street magician, has perfected the art of levitation and often shows it off on his television specials and magic shows. Convincing a person that you’re levitating is a matter of getting in their head, getting them to believe that you have this power, and pulling off the levitation trick using some “sleight of hand” (or “sleight of foot”) techniques.
How to Levitate
Not surprisingly, you’ll need a specific “prop” to conduct the illusion of levitation properly. The prop doesn’t do all the work, though — you’ll need to be able to “misdirect” your audience as well. This last bit, misdirection, is what performers like David Blaine and Criss Angel are masters at. Combining misdirection and proper use of props (as well as the proper viewing angle) will convince any crowd that you have the ability to levitate.
Levitation Magic Trick
Contrary to popular opinion, there are wires or hydraulics involved in this trick. Yes, the levitation magic trick is a gimmick — a shoe that the magician can easily slip on and off — and a pair of pants that have a specific cut in them that allows the magician’s leg to move out of them.
The shoe and pants gag is pretty simple — attach the shoe to the pants so that when your foot is out of the shoe, the shoe still hangs in place and appears to be on terra firma.
Performing Basic Levitation
To perform a basic levitation trick, stand in front of a chair with a few inches between you and the chair. You need enough room between you and the chair to step up onto it without giving away that you’re just stepping up into a chair. You’ll need to distract your audience by diverting attention away from your legs and feet. Once attention is misdirected, just move your leg forward and out of the pants leg via the cut you made down the front of the pant leg. This is the part of the illusion that takes practice.
You should be able to easily slip out of your shoe without giving away that you’ve pulled out your foot. Then, as you move your foot out of the shoe and pants, just step on top of the chair. All that’s left is to lift yourself up on that leg and stand on the chair. Another key part of the trick is to “levitate” for a very brief amount of time, or else your audience gets nervous and looks for “the trick”.
Levitation is a simple gag and misdirect trick. Practice it at home in front of a mirror before you try to pull it off at your next party.