Yoga and meditation services are becoming more common in business class lounges, offering frenzied fliers a way to stay calm and focused.
The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga at Hong Kong International Airport features dedicated spaces for yoga and meditation.
Jet lag, flight delays and lost baggage make airports a prime breeding ground for anger and frustration. It’s little wonder that dedicated yoga rooms have been popping up at terminals in the past five years, offering travellers the chance to stretch and self-soothe with the mantra that nothing is permanent.
Lately, business class lounges in particular have started taking yoga and meditation to the next level. In February, Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge in Hong Kong International Airport opened a 700 sq ft oasis, The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga. Launched in direct response to the needs of increasingly wellnessfocused customers, it features guided yoga videos, cushioned pods for audio meditation, and dedicated areas for Trataka meditation which sees practitioners staring at a single point to still their mind.
This is not the first airline to provide extra emotional coddling, though. Last year, just before Qantas launched its inaugural Perth to London Dreamliner service, the new Perth International Transit Lounge was revealed to contain a well-being studio offering stretching and breathing classes to elite passengers on the long journey to and from London – conducted every 15 minutes pre- and post-flight.
And, over in the United States, Delta Air Lines offers Sky Club members a unique Deepak Chopra Dream Weaver treatment. Available only at the Asanda Spa Lounge, the treatment uses LED lights of various colours to lull people into various states of consciousness in order to reduce anxiety.
It’s great to know what recourse you have the next time you’re battling a stressful series of flights. But for all other modes of travel, there’s only the old adage: Keep calm and carry on.
TEXT ANGELINE TSE
