Airport Yoga Is Taking Off
Travelling can be extremely stressful at times, can’t it? By the time you’ve packed, sorted out all your documents, itinerary, accommodation, found someone to look after your pets and water your plants, and finally rushed to the airport (fingers crossed there’s no traffic!)… here you are, about to embark on your trip. Not exactly a stress-free way to start a day or holiday, let alone a business trip. And, by this time, you haven’t even had to deal with check-in queues, security, passport control and sitting in cramped seats for hours. Given how exhausting air travel can be, it seems obvious why more and more airports are taking to the idea of airport yoga with a dedicated space. After all, yoga is known to be relaxing. There are several good reasons why airport yoga is a great idea, here’s a list of a few:
- The muscle stretching encouraged by yoga postures is a good way to cool down after walking, or other aerobic conditioning, while deep breathing and meditation also help;
- It can help manage stress;
- Space devoted to relaxation allows you to take time to unwind and stretch before and between flights and enjoy a calm, quiet space;
- It gets your circulation going after remaining inactive during long flights;
- Last, but not least, yoga not only benefits your body but also your mind.
If you are already into yoga or thinking of taking it up as a practice, you may be interested to know that recent studies published by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology also indicate that continuous yoga practice lowers heart disease risk as much as conventional exercise, which, in turn, lowers cholesterol. This way you can keep up your practice even when travelling, so what’s not to love?
Furthermore, Statistics Canada estimates that the number of global yoga practitioners is as high as 250 million, with 2.5 million in the UK alone. With such high numbers, many argue that if smokers have their own designated area, why shouldn’t yogis?
So, which airports offer these yoga rooms? This is a brief, and by no means comprehensive, list but it will give you a bit of an overview.
SFO International Airport
San Francisco, California
Terminal 2
This is the world's first airport yoga room.
DFW International Airport Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Hallway between Terminal B and D
BTV International Airport Burlington, Vermont Level Two
ABQ International Sunport Albuquerque, New Mexico Level One
RDU International Airport Morrisville, North Carolina Terminal 2
HEL International Airport Helsinki, Finland ORD Chicago O’Hare International Airport Chicago, Illinois Mezzanine Level of the Terminal 3 Rotunda; near the Urban Garden
LHR London Heathrow Airport London, UK (coming soon)
Tip: if your airport doesn’t offer a yoga room, you can still benefit from some mindfulness. Simply download the Head Space, Insight Timer or Happiness App (just to name a few; there are many more out there).
Safe travels!