Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Fear of Flying?/Roller Coasters?

The calming effects of yoga techniques such as the Complete Breath and the Alternate Nostril Breath can benefit you in some unexpected ways.  Although airplane travel has not been a major issue with me, a number of people who practice gentle hatha yoga have reported that it has helped them overcome their fear of flying.

This makes sense.  Yoga breathing techniques cause you to substantially slow your inhalations and exhalations which can offset your palpitations if traveling through air wreaks havoc on your nerves.  It may also help you overcome the fear of being hurled through the air on roller coasters!

This past fall I reluctantly agreed to take my son to the local Six Flags Amusement Park.  He is a roller coaster thrill seeker who revels in riding those 100 foot plus high roller coasts with sharp twists and turns, slow ascents, and terrifying plunges.  Some of those rides are actually more than I can handle, truth be told.

At my son's insistence, I went on the Superman Ride, an especially high roller coaster ride.  I believe it's the ride that begins by propelling you forward with a 70 mile per hour blast.  After that it's up and down and all around for several tortuous minutes which I punctuated by screaming and screeching at the top of my lungs with every terrifying turn and descent.

But, then, I remembered the calm that yoga can bring and the benefits of breathing in deeply and slowly fully extending my abdomen and exhaling equally slowly while contracting my abdomen.  Granted, I may not have breathed as slowly as I could normally when I am not being tossed side to side or up and down. But, I clearly recall thinking "yoga" and surrendering to the situation and relaxing (sort of) and doing yoga breathing into it. Time did seem to slow down and I managed to get through the ride without losing my lunch or fainting.  Maybe yoga can't eliminate all your fears and anxieties, but isn't it worth a try to check it out?

Wisdom of the Day:  Yoga breathing techniques can turn whiners into winners!~Laura V. Rodriguez

Comments

[Laura Rodriguez]

Thanks for sharing. To eliminate true phobias I would suggest you consult a skilled hypnotherapist. But, in the interim, deep yoga breathing can help!

[fear of flying]

my daughter simply loves a roller coaster ride, but she is afraid of riding. would be nice if she can overcome like me from fear of flying while on-board in flight.