airport

Harriet Baskas Special to CNBC.com

Dec. 11, 2013 at 2:12 PM ET

Chicago Dept. of Aviation

Chicagos OHare International has opened a yoga room.

Chicagos OHare International, one of the countrys busiest and most stressful airports, took a decidedly Zen turn today with the opening of a yoga room in Terminal 3, adjacent to the airports indoor urban garden.

"The yoga room provides a space for yoga practice as well as a place to relax or meditate, said Rosemarie Andolini, Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner. This is yet another amenity to help make the travel experience at O'Hare 'best-in-class.'"

OHares yoga room has a sustainable bamboo wood floor, floor-to-ceiling mirrors along one wall, exercise mats and an area to store personal articles and garments. A wall-mounted video monitor plays soothing sounds and displays yoga exercise techniques and images of nature. And to provide privacy and let in natural light, there are frosted windows along one side of the room.

The importance of exercise and the opportunity in clearing the mind and body during long travels days cannot be overstated as it relates to ones health, said Brad Jersey, CEO and founder of nLIVEn Health, a company that brings sponsored, interactive health care campaigns into airports. We know from our studies that 75 percent of frequent fliers participate in some workout regimen, so this is a perfect complement at ORD.

Wellness tourism is a $438.6 billion global market and a rapidly growing niche within the $3.2 trillion global tourism economy, according to the a study presented in October at the Global Wellness Tourism Congress in New Delhi, India.

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Relax! Yoga room opens in Chicago's O'Hare airport