Banishing Airport Stress

Please enjoy this Guest Post from Elaine Masters, yoga teacher and the award-winning author of Drivetime Yoga. Elaine recently published Flytime Yoga, the travel ease flight plan.

Banishing Airport Stress

Elaine Masters, travel yogi, standing on the Avenue of the Dead in Teotichuacan, MX with the Pyramid of the Sun behind her.

After planning, packing and anticipating your vacation, finally getting to the airport boarding lounge can be a bit of a letdown. It’s actually the perfect time to catch up with yourself.

Here’s a Travel Yogi’s suggestions for stress busting once you’ve survived airport security:

Rewards: You made it to the gate and may feel like you’ve earned a medal. Avoid reaching for a drink in one of the airport bars as alcohol will dehydrate you and stress your system before a long flight. Also if you’re already exhausted, alcohol may strain your immune system, making you more prone to catching someone else’s cold. How else can you reward yourself?

Eat consciously: Look for healthy foods and avoid fried or spicy entrees, especially with beans. You don’t want an upset stomach or embarrassing gas when you’re sitting for hours in your seat. Some coffee shops feature chopped veggies, dates and nuts (or bring them from home in a baggie). These are a great snacks that travel well even when squashed in the bottom of your carry-on. Splurge on a big bottle of water to carry on the plane and refill it if you’re in the air for more than two hours.

Don’t be shy about stretching – It’s tempting to just slump in a boarding lounge chair and tune out the world. Find a few minutes to stretch while you have the space to do so. Keep your flight plan for travel ease, the illustrated Flytime Yoga booklet, within arm’s reach for quick inspiration.

Avoid the moving walkways and trek through the concourse. Some airports have circuits for exercising once you are through security. Create your own, enlist a friend and take turns leading a brisk walk. Find out which airports have exercise programs online with the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) Task Force on Healthy Air Travel. 

Remember: Airports are planning for record numbers of travelers this summer. Take care of yourself and leave time to just settle.

Option 1: Plug in and tune out. Create your own personal bubble. You can usually find a relatively quiet corner if you don’t mind sitting on the floor and cocoon, meditate, catch up on Facebook.

Option 2: Open up and check out who’s there. Listen. Look. Commiserate. See who else is open and connect with a smile. We’re all in this together and sharing a moment, a story, can make delays more interesting. You may meet someone who will enrich your life or at least make the wait more interesting!

Copyright 2012, Elaine J Masters, Trip Wellness Blogger, Award-winning author and Speaker, www.DrivetimeYoga.com

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