Spotlight on Charles Brandt

In 1996 I had been flying across the pole from Munich to Anchorage. That’s where I met my wife. As we started dating she soon introduced me to Susan Winter Ward’s video, YOGA FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART.

She had found the VHS tape in a local grocery store, right here in Anchorage. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered my own copy. I started doing the program several times a week, and over the years I have ordered several more copies for family members.

In those days I was flying on a monthly basis—very long transports. In preparation for these flights, Susan’s basic yoga exercises not only kept me limber, but also in good spirits. I was living in Virginia Beach then, and would need to take commercial flights half way around the world before reaching my starting destinations for a month of flying.

I would even write down the exercises (I didn’t know about Susan’s book at the time) to carry with me so I could do them in hotel rooms, which did not have VHS players. It wasn’t long before I had all the exercises memorized.

In the last years of my flying career I was carrying our troops to Kuwait, the

staging area for Iraq. Whether I was flying from Europe to Kuwait, or taking those long commercial flights back home to Anchorage, doing Susan’s exercises and stretches were a great benefit to my flying profession.

Furthermore, with the stringent, recurrent training required every year, I found that Susan’s yoga exercises would also help reduce the stress of “you bet your job on your training performance.”

Most “pax” these days [editor’s note: airline jargon for “passengers”] are crammed into a sardine can with wings. One can easily end up with one’s knees around his or her ears. Susan’s exercises [SITTING FIT] help me avoid cramping and achieve relaxation. I add worship, praise, meditation and prayer to the Lord to the different exercise positions, and this really enhances my well being.