Welcome to this meditation for airport and air travel anxiety.
This is perfect for you if you get really stressed and nervous,
Like I do,
When you're traveling either by plane or by high speed rail or even car and you just feel like a bundle of nerves and you don't know what to do with all that nervous energy,
Especially if you're stuck in a crowded and sometimes chaotic airport or a terminal.
This is the practice I like to do when I'm waiting for my flight.
It smooths out all the rough edges and allows my entire system to reboot and recalibrate so that I can emerge calm and steady and maybe even enjoy the upcoming flight.
If you can,
Find a spot that is quiet and secluded.
I usually prefer a nearby empty gate or if I have enough time,
I've also really enjoyed those designated quiet areas that some airports have.
If you can't and need to be at your gate right now,
That's totally fine.
What's important actually is that you feel safe enough to close your eyes and retreat for a moment where you are.
There is lots of energy in motion at airports and it can be easy to get swept up and carried away by those currents.
It's as if our stress and anxiety have free reign to run wild.
So the first thing we want to be able to do is to construct a solid and grounded container of sorts around ourselves to invite in more safety and more solidity.
We'll begin by establishing a slower,
Deeper belly breath.
Closing the eyes if you can,
If you want to.
Starting to gently sink into the body,
Softly resting in that steady rhythm of breathing.
And if you notice any hitches or shallowness in the breath,
That's fine.
That's actually really normal when we're coming out of a stressful situation or place.
So instead of maybe forcing a deeper breath,
See what happens when you tend to those tight spots with patience,
Trusting that the body knows how to release tension in its own way,
In its own time.
And all you need to do is sit back and let it do its thing.
And if you hear anything or sense any movement,
Know that that's perfectly natural too,
And that there's no need to try really hard to block it out.
One,
Because that would be really hard and impossible.
But two,
It's also just the flow of life going about.
It's also just how airports are.
But if you feel irritated or restless in the midst of all this movement,
Know that that is also perfectly normal and fine too.
If it feels right,
You can invite some movement into your body with stretches,
Light shaking,
Shaking the head,
Hands,
Stomping the feet,
Any movement that feels right to help process and work through that annoyance,
That irritation at what is going on around you.
Now begin to explore what it means to you to invite a sense of strong,
Grounded expansion in yourself.
And go ahead and give yourself permission to take up a comfortable amount of space.
This seat you're sitting in right now is all yours.
For now,
This is your domain.
What would it feel like to claim just a little more ownership in your space?
With this ownership,
Continue to invite in more groundedness and more rootedness into all that is you.
What we're doing here is we're transitioning from a more chaotic,
Energetic environment to that grounded quietude of our inner world.
And in that transition,
You're for a moment in an in-between,
Lingering space where you still might be able to feel the buzz of the outer world,
But it's not as visceral,
It's not as obvious anymore,
And it's kind of like a soft after-buzz is how I'd describe it.
It's like fading away into the background,
Those rough edges.
And this is your nervous system recalibrating in real time,
Switching from a more flight or fight sympathetic system to that rest and digest parasympathetic system.
And even if you can't feel that retreating buzziness I was talking about,
Know that your nervous system is still undergoing this process of transition.
As you start to feel more relaxed and at ease,
Know that that is the nervous system undergoing that transition.
And welcome that wisdom of your body with its ability to rise up to meet the demands of air travel,
And then unwind as soon as you close your eyes to meditate.
I invite you to enjoy these last few moments of the meditative state you've cultivated,
Starting now to open the senses slowly,
Gently,
Welcoming in more awareness of your surroundings and what you hear,
What you sense,
And then gently opening your eyes,
What you see,
Maybe even feeling how your senses,
Which feed into that nervous system,
Awaken as well,
And how you're back to being flexible and ready to respond to anything if need be.
Every time I travel I'm reminded of how our body's nervous systems are like rubber bands.
In the face of more active environments,
It gets stretched,
Pulled,
Twisted,
But then as we meditate we give that rubber band a chance to unwind and soften and relax.
When we turn to meditation during moments of travel stress,
We're ensuring that our rubber bands,
Our nervous systems,
Our bodies remain supple and resilient.
Encourage yourself for taking the time to establish safety,
Space,
And groundedness.
Safe travels.
