In yoga, awkward airplane is a balancing pose.  From table, on hands and knees, you extend an arm in one direction and the opposite leg in the other direction. It can indeed feel awkward, but challenging in a good way.  Today I experienced a different kind of awkward airplane.  I am on a flight to San Diego, seated in an aisle seat.  Across the aisle, all of two feet away, sat three other people. The young woman in the aisle seat was clearly unsettled.  She wiggled and stood up multiple times, blocking the aisle and preventing boarding passengers from taking their seats. She finally spoke to the woman in the middle seat next to her.  She said "No offense, but you smell." No offense? She then summoned a flight attendant and announced she would need another seat. She couldn't sit next to "that woman" because she was too big and smelly.  I kid you not. All of this out loud, right next to "that woman". That woman closed her eyes,turned her head to the side, and likely wished she could disappear. While the flight attendant scrambled to find a seat on the almost full plane, I found myself challenged by this awkward airplane in a very negative way.  Part of me wanted to reprimand the young woman, part of me wanted to plead with her for some decent human compassion and kindness, perhaps some discretion. Part of me wanted to say something to "that woman", to tell her I was sorry about her insensitive seat mate. Feeling awkward (in a bad way) as I was, I did neither. I wrote this instead. What would you have done ?