TRAVEL ANXIETY - LAUGH AND PUT A PEA ON IT

In just a few days I will be traveling again. This time I will be flying to South America for a three month tour teaching and playing. Trust me, I will be using many of my own Super Duper Tips while I am en-route. From where I am in Massachusetts to where I will be staying in the city of Buenos Aires it is usually about 24 hours door to door. With cramped airplane seating, awful plane food, bad and drying air, pressure changes and of course going from freezing temperatures to a glorious 80 F (I am a warm weather person) I will need many of my "tricks of the trade" to keep balanced and cheerful. Luckily I am going north to south so I will not need to deal with jet lag, but if you are traveling east/west/east here is a link to a pretty good PDF on using acupressure for jet lag.

So what are my BE BEST tips for flying especially from cold and dry conditions to hot and humid? PEAS! Yes peas. No, not to eat, to use on your acu-points in flight. Let me explain.

Men and women, but especially women have a tendency to blow up like balloons in hot and humid weather. It can make us feel so uncomfortable that it ruins our travel experience for the first few days after arrival. We retain water all over our body and this in turn affects our physical comfort and our emotional tolerance.  By taping a split pea on an acu-point on the foot water retention can be relieved and we can feel great when landing. I know that I covered this tip in a previous post but it is worth noting again. I definitely will be using this tip this week. I am going to link to the previous post so that you can check it out in full. WATER RETENTION POST

The next tip is also really great.  If you don't use it on yourself you may need to use it on a fellow passenger that has a fear of flying (anxiety), or a child seated near you that's crying (more anxiety – learn this and you will be a goddess to the other passengers), or someone with air sickness or a queasy stomach. The acu-point that I am talking about is my favorite and most useful point for travel. It is Pericardium 6, P6 and it works like magic. The pericardium is the double-walled sac containing the heart.

P6 is located two to three finger widths above the crease of your wrist in the middle of your arm. It's where your watch band hits. It's used for air, sea, car, motion, and morning sickness. There's a product on the market that you can buy at your drug store that utilizes P6 for these symptoms. They are called SEABANDS. They are inexpensive and easy to use. You can also simply tape some split peas (round side to the skin, flat side to the tape) to your wrist points.  And if you don't have any peas available you can apply pressure with your finger.

The reason why the symptoms of anxiety, nausea and shallow breathing manifest is because the body is in "hyper state of diaphragm". The diaphragm moves up and down when you breathe. In times of stress most people do not take deep relaxing breaths. Their breathing is done high in the chest putting pressure on the pericardium.  The diaphragm doesn't move fully in its range. This anatomical energy block results in all those uncomfortable symptoms and several more. The way to reduce the symptoms is to release the pressure by using the P6 point while breathing very deeply in and out. Laughter can be a great way to facilitate deep breathing. Breathe in and belly laugh ALL THE WAY OUT and do it again, and again, and again.  Soon people around you will join in.

If you are in a chronic "hyper state of diaphragm" look to see if there is a Laughter Yoga group near you. I am a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader and I highly recommend laughing your way to health.  Check out this short video from Robert Rivest and view the other great videos on his you tube channel. 

LAUGHTER YOGA MOTIVATION

ROBERT RIVEST

Thank you Robert.  VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD, YAY!

Well that's all folks. I need to get back to packing...

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Best!  And share some laughter!

See you on the flip side.