Pilates Self-Care Saturday: Packing Light and Stress-Free Flying

A traveller carefully lifts a four-wheel trolley bag into an airplane’s overhead luggage compartment.

As many of you know, I spend a lot of time travelling, teaching, presenting, and running events all over the world. Like so many of you, I have learnt the hard way how stressful flying can become when baggage rules catch you off guard.

I am not proud to admit it, but I have been stung before. One very early morning flight teaching Pilates from Bulgaria, I was convinced my trusty carry-on was cabin size. I had used it countless times on other airlines. But this time, it was just slightly over, hanging out of Ryanair’s measuring box. Sixty pounds later, I was much less smug and very grumpy for the rest of the flight.

So I was thrilled to read this week that Ryanair is making a major change to its cabin bag policy. It is one of those little updates that actually makes a big difference to frequent flyers like us. They are trialling a system where passengers can bring slightly larger bags into the cabin again, something I think most of us have been quietly hoping for.

But here is the thing. While I love the idea of less stress at the gate and not having to check my bag because I prefer to get out quickly at the other end, I do think there is a balance to be found. Too many oversized bags on board create chaos in the cabin, slow boarding down, and can even delay flights.

I have a little habit when I travel. I usually put my trolley bag in the overhead and keep my backpack under the seat in front. But sitting there, being one of those annoying people who boards early, I get a front-row seat to how others handle their bags. What I see all too often is people putting coats, plastic bags, and even small backpacks into the overhead compartments. These are things that could easily go under the seat in front. When these spaces are taken up, later passengers arrive with their trolley bags and find nowhere to stow them. This of course delays things even more. People do not seem to realise that the longer they take, if we miss our take-off slot, then the entire flight could be delayed.

So as much as I am delighted about this change, I also hope it does not create more havoc with stowing baggage. It would be wonderful if everyone could be just a little more considerate by keeping smaller bags under their seat and leaving the overhead for trolley bags.

Self-care is not always about the big things. It is also about small choices that make our day, like breezing past the baggage carousel and heading straight out into the world.