Grounded Traveler

A post-flight practice helps you get grounded and enjoy your destination after a journey.

By Diane Anderson and Ross Rayburn

Traveling, especially by air, can wreak havoc on your posture and your mental state, not to mention your energy body. Not familiar with your energy body? Think of a time when you felt spacy, anxious, or generally unsettled after traveling. Many yogis believe that such a state occurs when there is too much upward-moving energy in the body, which leads to a sense of imbalance.

"My teacher John Friend believes that travel results in decreased apana vayu, the downward-moving, or rooting, energy of prana," says Anusara Yoga teacher Ross Rayburn. To mitigate the negative effects of a long journey, Rayburn designed the following sequence to root your energy down, which will help you feel physically strong, mentally clear, and energetically balanced.

"As you do this practice, cultivate a slow, deep, even breath. On slow inhalations, focus on rejuvenation, and on long exhalations, focus on steady groundedness," says Rayburn. "And focus on a peaceful image or thought so that your attitude grounds you as well." On the physical side, he advises that you anchor yourself in three primary ways: "Hug the muscles to the bones," he says, "like a warm embrace with the intention of insulating the body and making it feel secure"; move the thighbones back toward the hamstrings, which has a grounding effect on the body; and root the pelvis down toward the earth so the abdomen, low back, and upper body feel light. 

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