Picture This

Picture this: A warm November morning in Italy. A big tour bus rollicking down a major highway linking Florence to Siena. I’m having a wonderful, exciting holiday adventure. But suddenly, without warning, I’m seized with a virulent attack of motion sickness, powerful and intense.

Throwing up would be inconvenient and embarrassing but seems inevitable. I can’t reach the bus driver to ask him to pull over and let me out: he’s hurtling down the road at 80 miles an hour. I can’t make it to the tiny emergency lavatory. I feel a sickening surge in my gut and my throat … uh-oh.

I say a quick prayer to St. Anthony and then in a flash I remember “Joyous Breath” from my T’ai Chi Chih class and remember my teacher saying it can help calm you. Sitting up straight in my seat with my feet planted firmly on the floor, I begin Joyous Breath, exhaling forcefully four times. I am still nauseous and my apprehension doubles.

The bus is filled with jolly travelers on vacation, and I am about to be sick all over the bus. Desperate, I jump to my feet and anchor my hip against the seat post behind me. I wonder if I’m going to fall over and break my neck and be sick at the same time.

Clearing my mind, I begin the practice of Joyous Breath for one minute, then two, then three full minutes. When I stop, the motion sickness is gone. I am totally fine. For the rest of my journey throughout Italy, I am never sick again.