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Airplane Yoga Eased the Pain of My Long-Haul Flight

Squished into a 17-inch seat for an 18-hour journey, I tested high-flying tactics to keep myself grounded

Kathleen Murphy
Wise & Well
8 min readDec 26, 2024

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For years, I’ve dreamed of the day my daughter would marry. Yet never in my wildest imagination did I think the wedding would happen halfway around the world.

But true love knows no boundaries. So my husband and I packed our bags and booked a flight for Cape Town, South Africa — a journey more than 10,000 miles from our home in Utah.

Naturally, we looked forward to great food, happy tears, and unforgettable memories. But with an 18-hour flight between us and our destination, we dreaded the travel-related muscle aches and brain fog. I worried how my aging mother-of-the-bride body would handle it all.

Fortunately, some research led me to “Airplane Yoga” — micro-movements designed to keep the blood circulating and muscle stiffness to a minimum on long flights.

“Long flights and time spent sitting for long hours can take a major toll on your body,” Heidi Butler, a personal trainer in Salt Lake City, told me. “Stretches before your flight and small movements such as Airplane Yoga during your flight can go a long way toward easing some of the tightness and discomfort that comes with being…

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Wise & Well
Wise & Well

Published in Wise & Well

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Kathleen Murphy
Kathleen Murphy

Written by Kathleen Murphy

Health writer and essayist offering insights into physical and emotional wellness and successful aging. Subscribe: https://kathleenamurphy.medium.com/subscribe

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