om body
P
assengers and staf at Stansted
Airport in Essex were greeted to
some pre-light yoga recently,
courtesy of London studio FRAME.
A mini studio space, complete
with yoga mats, was set up right beneath the
busy departures board. To coincide with our
travel report in this issue (starting on page
56) and to get you in the mood for summer,
we’ve got some expert yoga itness tips for
when you’re embarking on your holidays
this year from Joan Murphy, co-founder of
FRAME (moveyourframe.com).
“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 lying. Our bodies are under more
pressure and blood low 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.”
She says there are some simple yet really
efective things you can do pre, during and
post light to minimise the nasty side efects
of lying and help you get to your inal
destination feeling less stressed.Stansted Airport stands still for yoga
Ready for
take off
Terminal Laps: once you’ve checked in
your bags, try to walk around as much as
possible to keep the blood lowing 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 light will
improve in-light 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 ine. Here are some other more
subtle and efective ways to stretch.Seated Hip Openers
1. Take a seat, place your feet lat 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 lexed.
4. Keeping your back straight hinge from the
hips, 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 leg room you can do it
in-light also.Seated Twist
1. Take a seat, place your feet lat 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.