Downdog on the Go in Airports With Yoga Rooms

What seemed like a humorous one-off a few years ago is now a bona fide trend: Airports are embracing the popularity of yoga by providing special rooms where travelers can practice on the go. Given that air travel is super stressful and yoga is a great way to relax, it makes a lot of sense.

These international airports offer permanent yoga rooms (although a few are in exclusive lounges, limiting their access). Several other airports are experimenting with temporary yoga spaces and even teacher-led classes.

If you have a long layover somewhere, it's worth taking a minute to check the airport's website for the latest news on yoga availability.

San Francisco International Airport

SFO lays claim to the first airport yoga amenity. Its first yoga room opened in January 2012 and offers a quiet, dimly lit space provided for relaxation, self-reflection, and practicing yoga. You'll find the room Post-Security Secure connector between Terminal 1 C Gates and Terminal 2 D Gates.

A second yoga room is located in Terminal 3, Post-Security E Gates near Gate E6. It is open 24 hours each day.

Use of these facilities is free. Bring your own mat or use one of the communal ones available in the room (be sure to disinfect before and after).

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

The DFW Yoga Studio, which opened in 2012, has locations in terminals B and E. The yoga room is located behind a privacy screen for your comfort and contains yoga mats and hand sanitizer. There are broad windows in the yoga area for plenty of light.

These rooms also provide mats, though you may prefer to pack a lightweight travel mat or mat towel if you plan to use a heavily trafficked public yoga space. These yoga rooms also provide instructional videos for guided practice.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport

The O'Hare yoga room opened in December 2013. It is in Terminal 3, on the mezzanine level of the rotunda. The room is a plentiful 15 x 16-feet featuring bamboo wood floors and floor-to-ceiling mirrors to check your pose form.

Mats are provided, as is a video monitor showing suggested poses and nature imagery. You will need to silence your phones and disinfect before and after use. An area for personal items and clothing storage is available. A similar yoga room opened at Midway Airport's concourse C in September 2014.

Burlington International Airport

The yoga room on the second floor of the Burlington, Vermont airport is sponsored by a local yoga studio, which may explain why it looks more like a yoga classroom than some other airport yoga spaces.

It is called Evolution Yoga and it provides a quiet area for relaxation and yoga practice before your flight. The room is small, light, and airy with light green walls, bamboo flooring, and yoga mats.

Miami International Airport

Head to Miami's terminal H on the first floor for a free, designated yoga room where you can practice before a long-haul flight (note that it is located outside the security checkpoint).

The studio is open between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily to all passengers. You'll need to bring your own yoga mat to this studio.

London Heathrow

Space for yoga in London's Heathrow airport is in the Terminal 4 SkyTeam Lounge. Unfortunately, this means the room is not available to all travelers but only to those in first and business class, SkyTeam Elite Plus members, or those willing to pay for a day pass.

Heathrow provides a relaxation room in Terminal 3, after security between gates 24 and 25, which is freely accessible. It is not a proclaimed yoga space, but it could be used for light stretching, unobtrusive yoga, and meditation while waiting for your flight.

Hong Kong

In 2019, Cathay Pacific opened a yoga room in the Hong Kong International Airport at the Business Class Lounge at The Pier.

The yoga and meditation room is called The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga. It is a 700 square-foot room with two zones called The Body Sanctuary for yoga, and The Mind Sanctuary, for meditation.

In The Body Sanctuary, you can access guided videos led by Pure Yoga instructors as well as a private area for your own practice. Seated stretching areas with pictorials and instructions for stretching different parts of the body are also available.

Helsinki Airport

Helsinki airport has a Maja Living Room Space that is dedicated to relaxation, stretching, and yoga. There is also a balance beam and relaxing chairs. The space is appropriate for young and old alike.

While not a dedicated yoga space, Helsinki's Kainuu Lounge is a relaxing, quiet area where you may feel comfortable rolling out a mat for a few stretches. The area provides soft carpet and a quiet atmosphere for unobtrusive yoga practice.

It is open 24/7 and has a free Wi-Fi connection so you can stream some yoga or meditation to do in the space.

Frankfurt Airport

This German airport offers two yoga rooms (in terminals 1 and 2), each open 24 hours a day and free to all travelers. Music, low lighting, and instructional videos are provided along with floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

You can also obtain mats, blocks, cushions, and pads to help you make the most of your relaxing yoga experience.