Yoga rooms offer stress relief at Chicago airports

The yoga room at O’Hare Airport is a great place to unwind while traveling. | Tina Sfondeles~Sun-Times Media

The holidays bring with them a lot of of fun, but there’s a considerable amount of stress, too. And if you’re heading out of town right about now, that brings its own brand of high anxiety.

That downside of air travel is the often lengthy time it takes to get through security. The upside now is yoga at the airports.

What a great idea; just when you really need to unwind, there’s the yoga room. The one at O’Hare is a little more than a year old. There are mats and a place to stash your belongings. Right outside the room is a monitor where you can check on your flight.

A video monitor on one of the walls displays yoga exercise techniques while the audio plays soft, relaxing sounds. One wall is frosted glass so sunlight is let in while privacy is maintained. Yoga mats and hand sanitizer are available for use.

The room is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Find it on the mezzanine level of Terminal 3 (not far from the urban garden).

Midway Airport also has a yoga room equipped with mats if you’re looking for a spot to unwind. It, too, has a wall-mounted video monitor that shows yoga moves and has a similar frosted glass wall that allows in sunlight. The room is on Concourse C.

By the way, San Francisco and Dallas also have yoga rooms if you find yourself in those airports in need of a quiet spot. Check them out.