The Calm Cockpit Podcast

Season 2: Bonus Episode 

New series from The Calm Cockpit designed to help you start off your week on a positive note!

High performance in aviation is evolving. In this Monday Briefing, we explore the growing recognition—seen clearly in this year's Winter Olympics—that peak performance and mental well-being are not opposing forces, but complementary systems. The old “rise and grind” mindset is giving way to a model of sustainable excellence, where visualization, deliberate rest, and active recovery are treated as professional requirements, not indulgences. 

We examine lessons from Olympic figure skater Gracie Gold, whose public success masked significant private struggle. Her story highlights how high-pressure cultures can normalize unnecessary suffering—and why world-class performance systems are now changing from the inside out. The International Olympic Committee’s introduction of “Calm Zones,” recovery spaces, and neutral welfare officers offers a compelling blueprint for how high-stakes professions like aviation can better support mental performance without lowering standards.

The takeaway for aviators is clear: small, intentional choices matter. Prioritizing rest, nutrition, movement, and mental training helps prime the brain for better habits under stress—and allows less helpful patterns to fall away. These Monday Briefings are designed to be a steady nudge, a reset between flights or duty days, reminding you that taking care of yourself is not stepping back from excellence—it’s how elite performers sustain it. Have a great week, and fly safe.

 

Mentioned in the show:

Boston Globe Article on Grace Gold and Olympics Mental Health Initiatives

 

Outofshapeworthlessloser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out 

by Gracie Gold

Bonus Episode

 

Optimize Your High Performance & Neurological Resiliency

Do you need to compensate for lost sleep? Or maybe improve your brain’s ability to learn and retain information? Yoga Nidra is a practical and trainable recovery tool; allowing you to find deep relaxation and rejuvenation without that napping “groggy” feel. Rest isn’t always passive relaxation, it can be intentional neurological training that creates “mental white space” in the middle of demanding schedules. 

This practice supports nervous system regulation, clearer thinking, and improved resilience—helping you fly smarter and stress less, both in and out of the cockpit.

The short and sweet practice includes a simple environmental setup, a short structured breathing pattern (4–2–6), and a systematic body scan that releases tension from the toes to the top of the head. 

In your practice go for consistency over outcome: you don’t need to feel calm, relaxed, or “good” for the practice to work. Each repetition trains the nervous system, regardless of how it feels in the moment. 

Life and flying are already demanding, and recovery is not optional. With practice, a sense of steadiness and ease becomes portable, accessible anytime, and always as close as your breath.

Season 2 Episode 3

 

Aviation demands sustained focus, emotional regulation, and high-quality decision-making—yet many of us carry a quiet “recovery debt” from constant task-loading, long duty days, and a grind mindset that treats rest as optional. That's why we are dedicating a whole episode to the concept of mental whitespace.

 

We break down how skipping real downtime degrades executive function, narrows cognitive bandwidth, and keeps stress hormones elevated—conditions that erode safety margins long before they show up as obvious fatigue.

 

If you’ve ever felt “on edge” while thinking you were fine, this conversation will sound familiar.

We also offer practical, pilot-friendly strategies to restore performance and resilience without adding more to your to-do list. You’ll learn how to “try softer” by pairing effort with intentional ease, using tools like the Five-Point Reset, simple task-switching rituals to actually shut work down, and Yoga Nidra—an evidence-backed recovery practice shown to improve emotional regulation, motor skill retention, and neurological rest.

 

The takeaway is simple and actionable: treating recovery as human system maintenance isn’t just good for your health—it’s essential for clear thinking, consistent performance, and safer flying over the long haul.

 

 

Links to sources mentioned in show:
Drastically Reduce Stress with a Work Shutdown Ritual by Cal Newport: Great advice from MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University. 

Clinical Benefits of Practicing Yoga Nidra Regularly like Reduced Mind-Wandering, increased dopamine, enduring improvements in brain functioning…

Research on How to Improve Motor Training with rest/meditation: Post-training Meditation Promotes Motor Memory Consolidation

Insomnia help research: Yoga nidra practice shows improvement in sleep in patients with chronic insomnia: A randomized controlled trial 

10 minute guided “Non-Sleep/Deep Rest” by Andrew Huberman

Bonus Episode (Season 2)

Whether you’re living out of a suitcase or looking to future-proof your health, this episode delivers clear, actionable guidance to help you stay strong, focused, and mission-ready. 

In this bonus episode airline pilot, mentor, and author Jeffrey “JJ” Madison shares how he successfully returned to the cockpit at age 60 after a 14-year hiatus—and the specific approach that made it possible. Drawing from decades of experience, JJ outlines practical strategies for maintaining physical strength, mental clarity, and emotional resilience amid the unpredictable demands of airline operations.

This conversation reframes pilot well-being as a professional performance requirement, not a lifestyle preference. JJ encourages pilots to train for life, treating aviation like a sport where fitness, recovery, and sleep are essential to safety, longevity, and consistency on the line.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why functional fitness matters more than training for a single athletic goal.

How to maintain training consistency on the road with limited time and equipment.

Why strength training outperforms cardio for metabolism, immunity, and energy.

Practical airport and hotel nutrition hacks to avoid hidden sugars and excess calories.

How sleep hygiene and nervous system downregulation support recovery and decision-making.

Why rest, sweating, and recovery are critical to long-term performance.

How mindset and humor build mental resilience in high-stress aviation environments.

JJ also challenges the outdated stereotype of the “airline pilot body,” advocating for a new standard of strength, mobility, and professionalism that supports career longevity and safe operations.

Season 2 Episode 2

 

In this episode we welcome our first repeat guest, Jeffrey “JJ” Madison. A Harvard-educated flight instructor, mentor, airline pilot, aviation advocate, and author, JJ has accomplished something few pilots ever do—returning to the airlines at age 60 after a 14-year hiatus. His story, and the discipline behind it, underscores that personal accountability for our lifestyle choices is not optional in aviation—it’s a safety imperative. 

JJ reframes flying as an athletic performance, where physical conditioning, cognitive clarity, and deliberate recovery are not optional wellness habits but essential safety systems. In an operational environment shaped by altitude exposure, fatigue, disrupted circadian rhythms, and sustained decision-making demands, the pilot’s body and mind function as mission-critical components of the aircraft system.

The discussion connects fitness, sleep, nutrition, and mental health to real-world safety outcomes. Cardiovascular conditioning supports oxygen utilization and brain performance, while strength training and intentional recovery reduce fatigue-related errors over long duty days. Hydration and stable nutrition help prevent cognitive fog and energy crashes that degrade judgment, and unmanaged personal stress is identified as a leading human factors risk. By addressing physical and mental health proactively—before they manifest as distraction or impairment—pilots reduce operational risk, protect their medical longevity, and strengthen the safety margin for their crews and passengers.

 

Links:

YIKES! 100 Smart Pilots and the Dumb Things They Did Yet Lived to Tell About ‘Em   A Great Book for a Great Cause! Fueling the Next Generation of Aerospace Professionals.
Every copy sold provides scholarships and equipment to under-resourced flight schools, Civil Air Patrol squadrons and STEM programs through the Victor Kilo Fund, a non-profit, aerospace education foundation.