Yoga and meditation sessions offered at airports as travel anxiety gets worse amid the coronavirus pandemic
- Air travel is tough at the best of times, but fliers are noticeably more stressed because of Covid-19, which has led to procedures such as mask wearing
- Airports are introducing yoga, guided meditation, soothing music and counselling to make passengers – and staff dealing with them – less anxious
Robin Hancock, a nature meditation guide, gently plays a steel tongue drum with a pair of mallets, producing soothing notes that blend with the soft sound of chirping birds and bubbling creeks pouring from a Bluetooth speaker.
The 20-minute guided meditation took place at an unlikely location: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the US state of Georgia, which until 2020 was the world’s busiest passenger hub. The airport interfaith chapel’s executive director, Blair Walker, introduced the meditation sessions last year in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
People were noticeably more stressed during the past year, Walker says, an ordained minister who previously worked in higher education and public health. He says people have been quick to lose their temper, lose their patience or lose it altogether.
“There was a tightness that I’ve never seen before,” he says.
That’s why he brought in the nature meditation guide, to join his team of 40 volunteer airport chaplains. Her role is to provide people with “a piece of calm in whatever storm is going on at that moment” and leave them with a tool to use the next time they’re feeling overwhelmed.
