Hitting the Krounchasana

When people ask me where I live I say, “United Airlines.”

It’s no joke. I’m always flying somewhere to attend a conference or hold a yoga workshop. Besides, being on an aircraft — one of the most stressful and noisy environments imaginable — gives me an opportunity to practice what I preach.

Normally, I focus on deep-breathing exercises and subtle poses that I can do while seated. For example, one move is to put my left ankle over my right thigh and bend forward, something known as a modified back release. When I hang my head, it allows me to stretch my back and neck. That’s an area that tends to get knotted up when I’m sitting for an extended period.

Another one that works for me is a spinal twist. I turn and grab the arm rest or seat back, whichever is reachable, and take five or six breaths. That releases a lot of tension and eases my back muscles.

Passengers are often curious about what I’m doing. They say, “What is that?” And before long, I’m showing them a couple of poses.

Kids are the most receptive to yoga. Sometimes, when I’m feeling stressed-out or claustrophobic on the plane, I do Ujjayi breathing exercises — it’s a whispering, wind sound that is very soothing to listen to.

If there’s a child sitting next to me, he’ll sometimes say, “You sound like Darth Vader.”

“Yeah, but you know how powerful Darth Vader was,” I’ll answer.

On some longer flights, I’ve held impromptu yoga classes for kids. We do the fun poses that are easy, with names like the tree, firefly or frog.

And adults? Not all of them are as open to yoga, or to a fellow passenger who wants to practice it on a plane. On a recent flight from Denver to Seattle, I was doing a stretching exercise and had brought my leg over my shoulder in the Krounchasana position — basically my foot was sticking in the air, but it was in my personal space.

The woman seated behind me was incredibly offended. “Look at her,” she said to anyone who would listen. “She’s got her foot in the air!”

I was surprised to hear such acid in her voice. I almost told her, “Yeah, you might try it. You’d probably feel better.”

But I took a deep breath, lowered my foot and said nothing.

Of course, there are a lot of stereotypes about yoga. Sometimes, when I go to the aircraft galley to do a few standing exercises, people come by and offer me a granola bar. What they don’t know is that I’m no vegetarian. Quite the contrary — I’m an out-of-the-closet carnivore.

“No thanks,” I reply. “I’d rather have an elk steak.”

They don’t know what to say.

That isn’t the only time I’ve left a fellow flier speechless. On a flight from Chicago to Dallas I was sitting next to a large passenger with a heavy drawl and a 10-gallon hat in the overhead bin. He smelled like a distillery.

I needed to get centered, so I began my exercises. I stretched, I breathed. Then I started to do some not-so-subtle poses, like extending my foot and calf over my meal tray. Finally, I hit the Krounchasana position.

At that very moment, the drunken cowboy turned and looked at me. He saw my foot next to my ear. I don’t think his brain had the circuitry to understand what he was seeing.

But he didn’t say anything. He just looked at his drink, shrugged and drained it in a single, unflinching shot.

Ana Forrest is the founder of Forrest Yoga in Santa Monica, Calif.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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