by Nina
So there I was at the airport, early as usual, and feeling rather restless. I hadn’t had a chance to do yoga that day or even take a walk, and I really wanted to do some kind of active yoga practice. The thing is, I really did not want to touch the carpet. It looked particularly filthy—probably because thousands of people walked on it with their dirty shoes every day, spilled their coffee drinks on it, rolled their strollers across it—you know. So I thought for a moment about what kind of practice I could do keeping my shoes on and using just my airport chair as a prop but that still involved a lot of movement. Fortunately, I usually wear pants with some give (either loose or stretchy) and always flat shoes. Here’s what I came up with:
- Half Downward-Facing Dog with hands on the chair.
- Several Sun Salutations with my hands on the chair (so that meant hands on the chair seat for Lunge, Plank, and Upward-Facing Dog)
- All the standing poses I could think of that did not involve balancing on one foot (I was pretty sure my shoes would throw off my balance). Warrior 2, Warrior 1, Triangle pose and Revolved Triangle, Extended Side Angle pose and Revolved Triangle—that sort of thing, ending with Pyramid pose.
- Standing shoulder openers (see Standing Shoulder Stretches). At this point I was guarding the suitcases so my husband could take a little walk.
- Oops! It’s time to board the plane.
I have to say, I did feel a lot better after my practice. And if I’d had a bit more time, I would have done some finishing poses, like maybe some seated twists in the chair followed by a chair forward bend of some sort (see Mini Office Yoga Sequence). Sometimes these restrictions even make your travel yoga practice more fun as they force you to be creative.
I hope this inspires you to try practicing yoga when you’re stuck somewhere, even in less than ideal circumstances. And if you have your own story about doing creative yoga in a challenging situation, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
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What you did sounds like the chair yoga class I teach. We do everything you mentioned. You can also sit on the front edge of the chair and place your hands behind you on the chair seat. Then arch back and get a nice stretch in the upper back. You can even lift your pelvis off the chair seat to achieve purvottanasana, upward facing plank pose. I have a 93 yr old student who can do this pose, using the chair.
Hi, Nina.
Thanks so much for your airport yoga story! I love doing yoga in airports. It's the perfect way to kill some time when you get there too early or have a long layover, especially because you've either just been sitting stationary in a confined space for a long time or are about to be such (or both in the connecting case). My strategy is to take a walkabout and find a gate that is currently unused. Even in a busy airport like O'hare, you can usually find one that's currently empty. Then I just go over by the windows where it's not a traffic area and the carpets are usually pretty clean over there. You can always hit the restroom and wash your hands afterwards anyway. Just put your carryons where you can see them, take off your shoes and go for it! If people look at me funny, it's ok with me. I'm a Yoga Dork in good standing, so deal with it! The one thing that's never happened is to have someone come over and join in. If you see a person doing yoga over by the window at an empty gate, come over and join the party!
Best regards,
Paul
Great article! I try and squeeze a few poses in the back of the plane when I'm travelling, even more challenging! (mind you, using a toilet in economy class is a yoga class in itself and makes me grateful for stong quads from chair pose when I hover!!). Also when sitting in those horribly uncomfortable plane seats (no first class for me!), I like to do that Alexander Technique of sending my head and neck forward and up, to lengthen my spine and ease tension in the back/neck…and asking my thighs lengthen out from my hip joints. Cheers, Tracey