Yoga postures to prepare you to fly fit
We all know how important movement is to keep the body and mind healthy, it’s even more important to make sure we are doing this when we are flying. Our bodies are under more pressure and blood flow can be restricted if we are stuck in the one position for too long. Your blood absorbs less oxygen due to air pressure in the cabin which can cause headaches, sleepiness and can play havoc with our emotions leaving us feeling anxious.
There are some simple yet really effective things that you can do pre, during and post flight to minimise the nasty side effects of flying and help you get to your final destination feeling less stressed.
TERMINAL LAPS
It’s so tempting to check in your bags and head straight for the bar to sit and drink bubbles for an hour or so before your flight right? Before you head to the bar try to walk around as much as possible to keep the blood flowing through the body, taking the stairs where possible. If you are keen to go straight to the bar try standing while you drink instead of sitting.
STRETCHING
Stretching before a flight will improve in-flight circulation and reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). There are lots of ways to stretch but let’s be honest most of us will be too embarrassed to drop into downward dog in front of hundreds of fellow travellers and that’s totally fine. There are more subtle and effective ways to stretch.
SEATED HIP OPENERS
1. Take a seat, place your feet flat on the ground in front of you, hip-width apart.
2. Make sure you are sitting up straight with your shoulders down and away from your ears.
3. Lift your right leg and place your right ankle on your left knee with your right foot flexed.
4. Keeping your back straight hinge from the hips and bring your chest slowly towards your lap.
5. Hold and feel the hip releasing, stay here for 5 long breaths.
6. Repeat all on the left leg. Feel free to do a couple of sets of this and if you’re lucky enough to have extra legroom you can do it in-flight also.
SEATED TWIST
1. Take a seat, place your feet flat on the ground in front of you, hip-width apart.
2. Keeping your chest proud and your shoulders away from your ears start to twist to the right and bring your gaze over your right shoulder.
3. Take your left hand and hold on to the side of your right thigh, use it to leverage you deeper into the twist.
4. Make sure to keep both hips looking forward and your glutes planted into the seat.
5. Take 5 deep breaths here and release.
6. Repeat on both sides and feel free to do more than one set.
7. This move is great for cleansing and rinsing out your organs, which can get clogged when your sitting for hours.
SEATED SAVASANA
This is a simple but very beneficial pose especially if you’re feeling stressed or fatigued. It gives you a moment to breathe, get back into the body and go with the travel flow.
1. Sit comfortably in a chair (as comfortable as possible at an airport or on a plane!)
2. Close your eyes and let go of all muscle tension in the body.
3. Keeping your eyes closed notice the sensations in the body and let them pass without judgement.
4. Stay here for as long as you can (minimum 3 minutes) and take deep breaths in and out of the body.
5. Start to bring awareness back into the body and open your eyes slowly.
