I love travelling. But I don’t always like its impact on my body.
While travelling can create novel opportunities for exercise (ie: sightseeing a new city, doing a vacation sport like skiing), the fact is that travel will often disrupt our cherished wellness regimes. When we are away from our habitual classes and teachers, it can be easy to fall off of our health wagon. (And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been guilty of treating vacation as an opportunity to “take time off, ” and then found out that I felt worse rather than better!)
However, with a little ingenuity and planning, we can not only feel great on our vacations, but feel better, more healthy, and better rested.
Here are some of my personal tips.
Cultivate irrepressibility.
Are you embarrassed to do a little warrior two on the plane? Sheepish about whipping out a sun salutation near
your gate at the airport? Yes, thats normal! Most of us are a little self-conscious when we buck the norms in a public place. But as someone who has done the full Ashtanga primary series at Heathrow Airport, let me tell you that my body’s sigh of
relief was well-worth my pangs of mortification. While you may not need to do your HIIT routine in public, embrace a little social awkwardness and run yourself through some stretches and lunges. Your body will thank you. Even better, some airports are now developing DIY yoga and stretch stations. Do a little research before you travel and find out if you can work a practice into your layover.
Celebrate Small Daily Acts.
When we go on vacation, we may not need to do our usual workout routine. But doing a little will go a remarkably long way towards keeping your baseline strong. Even if you don’t have time for a class, do twenty sit-ups, twenty lunges, and hold plank for a minute. Do little end of the day yoga stretch. Even five-ten minutes will help you feel better.
Go local.
Travelling brings fun opportunities to participate in the local scene, and walking can be a great way to take in a new town. See if there is a local bike or walking tour so that you can learn about local history as you go. Maybe there’s a local 5K to run. And if your travel involves physical activity (scuba, skiing, snowshoeing), so much the better!
Bring your balls.
I take my Roll Model® Massage Therapy Balls everywhere. Rolling around on them for ten minutes makes me feel like I had a spa treatment. You can get great little sequences online with Jill Miller to target grumpy body areas. (I LOVE her, she’s a pro.) But you can even just bring a tennis ball. That’s right. A tennis ball. Just seeing it in your luggage will remind you to give yourself a little TLC.
Drink water.
Okay, I love coffee. Love it, love it love it. But when I travel, I guzzle water. Water helps you to stay hydrated, flushes out your system, and will help you arrive at your destination feeling cleaner and clearer from the inside out. Take your own travel bottle so that you don’t have to buy water (unless you’re in a non-potable water zone). Let’s try to keep disposable plastic out of the picture.
I got this handy little infographic to the right from De Vere Hotels UK.
They offer some actionable and common sense ways that you can use to minimize the effects of your travel on your body. If you have some favorite tips and tricks, share ’em below. Happy trails!
