I travel as much as possible, but I don’t like to sacrifice my practice.

Yoga in airports has its own complications. Here are a few tips that will hopefully motivate you to practice even if your life frequently has you a mile in the sky.

1. CLOTHING:

Wear loose, dark, conservative yoga clothing. Avoid bright colors or clothes that are  low-cut or revealing. The main goal is avoiding unnecessary attention that can make staying focused on your practice more difficult.

Make sure your clothes are comfortable. This is not only  ideal for doing yoga in airports, but will make the flight more comfortable as well.  If you need to look professional when you arrive at your destination pack an extra set of clothes to change in to in the arrival airport (you’re clothes will look fresh and less wrinkled as well).

Extra shirt: If you know you sweat a lot consider bringing an extra shirt to change in to.  You will be more comfortable and your neighbors on the flight will thank you.

2. PROPS:

Yoga Mat: Keep a lightweight or travel yoga mat in your bag. I find that folding the mat (instead of rolling it) makes it fit better in my carry-on.  I’ve used several of these mats and they are all sufficient, but as of now I do not have a good recommendation.  I often travel with my cheapest mat in case I want to leave it at my destination.  I’ve chosen to leave my mat at my destination location for two reasons, either 1) I want to make extra room in my carry-on for souveniers 2) as a donation: yoga mats make great sleeping mats for the homeless, for people in developing countries that sleep on the ground, or for people in areas devastated by natural disaster.

Hand Towel and Extra Deoderant: If the airport is warm you might break a sweat and it is nice to take a “sponge bath” in the washroom.  Additionally, I recommend washing your hands (and possibly your feet) after you practice. I will often wear a tank top as my base layer so that I can easily wash my armpits and face without having to get “naked” in the washroom.   My choice for deoderant is a spray liquid rock deoderant and a touch of essential oil (I love Jasmin).  If you use a liquid deoderant make sure it meets the 3oz container requirement.

Ipod or MP3 Player and Headphones: If you want to send the message to others that you don’t want to be bothered while you practice, hooking up to headphones can help.  A word of warning, set an alarm so you don’t miss your flight.  I prefer to keep my headphones off so I can stay connected to whats happening around me, but this  seems to invite strangers to say hello.

3. LOCATION

Find an open corner spot within hearing or sight distance of your terminal. Every airport is different so when you arrive at your terminal take a moment to look around.  I’ve found that there are usually open spaces: near the handicap section, near elevators, and close to the actual gate door.  I prefer to find a spot that is against a wall or window so that I’m guaranteed to have privacy from at least one direction.

Be prepared to move. If you arrive at the gate early, what appears to be the perfect spot might end up a nightmare.  You can’t control who sits next to you.  If a large, out of control family sits next to you, you might end up with kids in your lap. Whether you want this or not is personal preference.  Additionally, keep an eye out for “creepers”  or “gapers.” I’ve been lucky and never had someone act inappropriately while I’m practicing, but I also avoid people that I think might be a risk.  Finally, avoid high traffic areas.  Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out where crowds will build when the plane is loading, so do your best to guess and be flexible if you need to move.

4. ASANA

Keep your expectations low and set priorities for what you want to accomplish. You never know whether you will get an uninterrupted hour or barely have 15 minutes to yourself.  If you have an injury or something you are working on, make sure you focus on it as quickly as possible.  Additionally, I recommend prepping for the journey ahead.  Cramped coach seating usually reeks havoc on people’s back/neck and often their knees. Make sure to open up your chest, quads, and hamstrings, as well as, do a few twists.  This will help maintain general full-body mobility.

Keep things simple and avoid showy asanas (unless you want the attention).

I’ve found that if I move slow and do simple asanas I blend in with the crowd. When I start doing balancing poses or big fancy asanas people can’t help but stare and ask questions.  Sometimes I don’t mind this and enjoy sharing yoga with others, other times I want to bliss out.  Know what your body, mind and spirit need and act accordingly.  As an aside, one of the reasons I enjoy sitting near the handicap section is because I can talk to the injured and elderly about the healing benefits of yoga and open their minds to different healing modalities.

Avoid indecent exposure.  Unlike in yoga class, public displays of asana warrant self consciousness as a form of self awareness.  I avoid waving my lady parts or my fanny in people’s faces.  If I’m doing a forward fold, for example,  I  try to keep my back, rather than my butt facing the “audience.”

5. ETIQUETTE:

Be polite. Inevitably people will interrupt you to ask you questions, people will step on your mat, and kids will come up and put their face two inches from your own.  Expect it.  If you are practicing yoga in an airport, YOU are the one doing something unusual and you need to be prepared for unusual responses.  Practicing yoga is more than asana, and responding with compassion and love in the face of unusual circumstances is part of the process.  I recommend overwhelming people with kindness and smiling as much as possible.  If someone asks you a question, politely answer and visit with them for a moment, BEFORE you politely excuse yourself to return to your practice. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up in a conversation that opens you to a new perspective or teaches you about yourself (which is the reason we do yoga after all). Or perhaps you’ll be in a position to explain to someone why you practice yoga or what it means.  You might just encourage someone else to try it one day.

Hopefully these tips with encourage you to find time for your practice regardless of where your life takes you. In the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a fellow yogi adventurer in a terminal near you.