The Art of Flying Without Stress

• Posted: Nov 26, 2018

There are various reasons why people fly on a regular basis. Whether you’re doing it for work, family, or recreation, the process of regularly lining up at airports, sitting in an airplane for hours, packing and unpacking, and everything in between can sometimes take its toll on a frequent flier. First things first – the BBC.com reveals that you are not alone in finding it frustrating. Flying actually makes you more prone to stress. If this is sounding all-too-familiar to you, then you might need to do something to counter the stress.

Pack Light to Travel Light

One of the simplest ways to remove stress from flying is to pack as lightly as possible. Keep in mind that clothes and shoes almost always take up the most room in your luggage. Roll your clothes, put your socks inside your shoes, and always try to stick to the essentials. Don’t be too frustrated if you’re finding this difficult to do. In our article ‘The Art of Packing Light’, Lucid Travel contributor Willow Groskreutz tackles how it can take several tries to actually pack light in an effective manner. But once you figure out how to do this for your frequent trips, you will have removed a major source of stress with regards to your frequent flights.

Meditation is Free and Effective

Sometimes, there’s just no way to avoid flying regularly. Duty calls and your family and your work are at opposite ends of the country or even the world. You may not be able to avoid frequent flying, but what you can learn to avoid is the stress that comes with it. There is perhaps no better way to do this than through meditation. Believe it or not, meditation can get you through stressful lines, extremely long waiting periods and stopovers, and any other hassle that you might encounter on the way to your next destination. But just like packing lightly, it may take some time before you can do it properly. The good news is that there are tons of resources both offline and online that can teach you the proper ways to meditate. Expatbets.com, which provides articles on gaming guides for Asia, explained in their feature on meditation how to achieve relaxation in 10-minutes. This includes a four-part breathing cycle that includes inhalation, pause of awareness, exhalation, and a second pause of awareness. When you learn to restart your mind, control your breathing, and become present in the moment, no amount of flight-related stress can bring you down.

Positivity Can Make All the Difference

It may sound cliché, but fly with a positive attitude. Don’t try – just do it. Everyone knows that airports and airline travel comes with unpredictable stress triggers, and you’ll only be making it worse for you if you dive into the situation with a poor attitude. Here’s another cliché that bears repeating: while you may not be able to control what happens around you, you can control your reaction to them – an especially useful piece of advice for stress-heavy places and situations. Psychology Today actually counts reacting positively as one of its 20 Ways to Reduce Stress When Flying – and we can’t agree more.

Remember: do your research, pack light, stay positive, and try to learn how to meditate. Flying doesn’t have to be as stressful as it’s often perceived to be – not when you apply these simple techniques.