“Up to the highest height, let’s go fly a kite… and send it soaring. Up through the atmosphere. Up where the air is clear….”
A stunning vista that Mary Poppins could only have dreamed of greets us on the cover of issue 170. But Sasha Serebrennikova has studied not only her highs, but also her lows, over the last three years. Inside, she gives a fascinating insight into monitoring and managing the stresses and strains of flying, from rocky take-offs to low saves.
Wired to a heart rate monitor to record her BPM, she could see how chronic stress was impacting her ability to fly safely and wisely, and then reports on how she managed to moderate it all.
“Finally”, Sasha writes, “it’s worth noting that those calm flights, where my heart rate drops to 85-90 BPM, leave the best memories. The brain is awake and clear, allowing me to focus on the art and beauty of what we do. Being calm truly does leave magic moments indelibly marked in the mind.”