I’m no Oprah, but I do have a lot of well-known favorite things: puppies, blankets, parks, mountains, warm food . . . And in a ranking of my favorite things, traveling scores highly, while spending time in airports places very low.

The combination of sitting still for a long time, falling asleep in strange and uncomfortable places, eating processed food, feeling the effects of dehydration, and generally feeling greasy makes me want to get out immediately.

Airport Yoga Rooms

Luckily, some sweet humans have built yoga and meditation rooms in a few airports to help out us uncomfortable travelers. I’ve spent a decent amount of time in the yoga room in O’Hare International Airport, and it’s wonderful: available mats, bamboo floors, mirrors, and—at least in the wee hours of the morning—it’s pretty much empty.

o'hare yoga room

photo: Katrina Kopeck

Other airport yoga rooms include:

San Francisco International Airport, CA

Located near gate 69 in terminal 3

Burlington International Airport, VT

Located on the second floor

O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, IL

Located in terminal 3 near the USO

Midway International Airport, Chicago, IL

Located in the C concourse

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, TX

Located near gate D40

Heathrow International Airport, London, England

Located in the SkyTeam Lounge

Helsinki Airport, Helsinki, Finland

san diego meditation room

San Diego Meditation Room
photo: seatmaestro.com

Airport Meditation Rooms

A few airports have also rolled out meditation rooms in varying degrees. These include:

Albuquerque International Sunport, NM

San Diego International Airport, CA

Located in terminal 2

Raleigh-Durham International Airport, NC

Located near the terminal 2 ticketing lobby

Schiphol International Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Yoga Apps

Once you get into one of these rooms, what do you do? My favorite way to do an at-home or at-airport practice is to start moving without thinking too much and let my body tell me what it needs. However, if you’re on the newer side to yoga, it might be worth checking out a yoga app to get started. This site and this one offer reviews for a few paid and free yoga apps.