Although oxygen is flowing, the bag may not inflate!
I love traveling, but I don’t really enjoy flying all that much. It’s the sitting and the confinement and…the turbulence. But, I have to do it quite a bit, so I figured I would try to get over my dislike. I tried ignoring it at first, but I think the Universe was trying to teach me a lesson on awareness, so it decided to shake things up, just to make sure I was paying attention. Then I tried hypnotherapy, which wasn’t at all like I thought it would be. It was a simply an hour set aside to help me understand what I didn’t like about an aluminum object shuttering at 37,000 ft. while moving at 350 miles per hour.
I once had someone tell me that his favorite part about flying was the turbulence.
I wanted to punch him in the ribs.
What my session with a hypnotherapist allowed me to experience was how tense my muscles became when the bumpiness came up…or in the case of my session, the mere thought of choppy air was enough to get my muscles all bunched up. My muscle tension was actually making the movements seem greater than they actually were because I was resisting the motion of the plane instead of going with it. THAT made a lot of sense to me and I am happy to say that when a bumpy sky is on my flight plan, I can relax into it and barely feel the movement. I suggest you try it next time you fly, because it really works! While flying, I now play with my muscle tension and pay attention to my shoulders (keeping them down from my ears) and my legs (not gripping them like I’m going to keep the airplane in the air with my tight quads).
So, I just learned something new just now (I’m flying right now, if you hadn’t realized…) and wanted to share it with you. Turbulence is not a continuous activity. If you really pay attention, you’ll see that within a bumpy bout is a pause of gentle floating. The only thing your are feeling during turbulence is the shift from one quiet position to another. Thinking that turbulence is a minute-long or an hour-long activity means you aren’t paying attention to all the smooth times in between!
Hmmmm…where else could we apply this concept?
Buckle up, it’s going to be bumpy life!
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Yeah, new tips for me for when I’m flying! I think the next time is February to Michigan…thanks, Katy.
I realized this a long time ago. Like your friend, turbulence is probably my favorite part of flying. I like to think of it like riding a horse, sit into the saddle and go with it. Imagine your body as a wet noodle, spine and all. It can actually be a little bit soothing if you can convince yourself that the pilot knows what he/she is doing and your aluminum tube is safely airbound.
Great insights, Katy, and here’s to a 2010 for all of us with plenty of gentle floating between the bumps!
Just curious about something. I wonder if that aluminum object, shuttering at 37,000 feet while moving at 350 mph, were to suddenly plummet downward…would it be the “Universe” you would cry out to…or would it be God?
I’d probably do exactly what I do now – say the Our Father all the way down!