There’s a particular flavor of stress that comes with hurricane season, and if you’ve cruised through one, you know it well. It’s not the storm itself — it’s the days before, watching the cone of uncertainty wobble across the screen like it’s mocking you, refreshing weather apps you’ve already refreshed eleven times today. The waiting is its own workout, and not the good kind.
I’ve ridden out enough storm seasons aboard to know that how you handle the wait matters almost as much as how you handle the storm. So here are five tools I lean on — starting with the one that actually does the most work.
1. Preparation
This is the real stress reliever, hands down. A vague, unprepared boat in the path of a storm creates vague, unprepared anxiety — the kind that keeps you up at night running mental checklists. But a boat that’s actually ready? Lines doubled, chafe gear on, dinghy secured, sails off or secured, documents in a dry bag? That anxiety has nowhere to land. Do the work early, and you buy yourself the mental space to actually breathe through the rest of the wait. And don’t forget to stock up on food, water, fuel and hurricane party supplies!
2. Breathwork
Once the prep is done and all you can do is watch and wait, your nervous system needs something to do besides spiral. A simple box breath — in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four — tells your body you’re not actually being chased by a tiger, you’re just watching one on TV. Do it while you check the forecast instead of just white-knuckling the screen.
3. Meditation
Even five quiet minutes below deck, eyes closed, just noticing your thoughts without chasing every one of them, can take the edge off. You don’t need incense and a gong. You need to sit still long enough to remember you’re not actually in control of the weather — and that’s oddly freeing.
4. Yoga Asana
No mat, no problem — I’ve practiced many times on boats (or airports for that matter) without one anyway. . A few standing stretches, some gentle twists to wring out the tension in your shoulders, maybe a forward fold to remind your body it’s allowed to relax. Movement helps metabolize the stress hormones that pure worry likes to leave circulating.
5. Essential Oils
I also keep doTERRA’s Adaptiv system nearby during storm watches; it was literally built for exactly this kind of anticipatory stress. And Balance, rolled on the wrists, bottoms of the feet or the back of the neck, does exactly what it sounds like — helps me feel a little more steady when everything else feels up in the air. (email me at Kim@KimHessYoga.com to learn more)
None of these tools stop a hurricane. But they do stop you from white-knuckling your way through five days of “will it, won’t it” before the storm even arrives. Prep your boat, breathe through the waiting, and give yourself permission to not have it all figured out.
P.S. — More onboard wellness tools like these are in the new edition of Yoga Onboard*, currently in the design stage.
You can grab early access using this pre-sale link.*
*Pre-sales get reducing pricing and my Yoga Foundations 6-week online course ($297 value)
