Fear of Flying: Herbs & Yoga to the Rescue

I'm terrified of flying. It scares the living poop out of me. Who are the pilots? Did they get enough sleep the night before? Why is this so bumpy? What’s wrong? Are we going down?!

My fear of flying got worse after experiencing mountain waves on a New Zealand flight. I was on a plane leaving Queenstown, and as we took off into the air, the plane aggressively shook from side to side, and dropped unexpectedly multiple times. People were screaming, bags were flying around the cabin, I grabbed the arm of the person next to me, we all thought we were going to die. The flight attendants even said it was the worst turbulence they ever experienced. Now I white-knuckle grip the armrest for at least half the flight.

So, after that trauma, I’ve learned these protocols to help me get over the fear of flying (or, at the least, reduce the anxiety):
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Visualization

I visualize myself doing sun salutations, to the beat of the music I'm listening to. It keeps my mind busy, and turns on the part of my nervous system that relaxes when doing yoga. Plus it helps me plan yoga classes.

Nervines & Adaptogens

Drinking alcohol to relax can be very dehydrating. Instead, I use herbs that relax my nervous system. Gaia Herbs makes a makes a blend called Calm A.S.A.P. I also use the Reishi Mushroom Elixir packets from Four Sigmatic. Reishi helps to support the body's sleep cycles as well as support occasional stress.

Movies

MOVIES -Make sure you bring a tablet or smartphone (fully charged), and download the app of the airline before takeoff. You can get really sucked into a good movie and not pay so much attention to what the plane is doing.