Travel Essentials
Ayurvedic and Yogic Travel Tips
“Not all those who wander are lost”
J. R. R. Tolkien
I love to travel. Explore new places, and revisit the old. I could write an easy about travelling but instead I want to share some of my favourite ways to stay grounded, balanced and well during travelling, flying, across time zones and in new environments.
Before you travel
Move, breathe and meditate. If you are going to sit down in a car, train or on a flight for several hours get exercising before you head off. A couple of rounds of sun salutations will get blood circulation, lymphatic system and breath going. Enjoy a couple of warrior poses (1 and 2) to open into the hips too. Add a pigeon pose too for it’s grounding and hip opening qualities. A few stretches while on board is also helpful. Always take time to take a walk on the plane and move your ankles arounds whilst seated.
Warrior 2
Warrior 1
Pigeon pose
Take time for some long deep inhales and extended exhales. Breathing properly will oxygenate your blood, get the blood circulation to both brain and digestive system. Try the 3-part-breath for a full breath and nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing, to calm any nerves.
Let the breath become a meditation. Travelling can be stressful. The energy in airports and on planes may make us feel uneasy, annoyed and stressed. Other people’s anxiety or irritation can easily affect our energy too. Taking time to meditate and being still before the chaos will make a difference to your experience. Try this meditation – which you can do even during your travels (although not if you are driving!).
Support your digestion. Ginger is one of the best herbs for travel. It is excellent for the digestive system and has been used as an old household remedy against nausea and travel sickness. Drink ginger tea before you leave, take it as an extract or capsule form during travel and keep taking it during your holidays for an efficient digestion.
As someone with a delicate digestion and tendency to travel sickness I love ginger. On my recent travel to teach yoga retreats in Morocco I also added: acupressure wrist bands and have been taking Scleranthus flower remedy. Flower remedies are subtle but very effective. Scleranthus is a remedy that suits me and also happens to be indicated for people with tendency to travel sickness. So have a look and see if it is indicated for you too. Even with a delayed departure and a few bumps in the air I felt absolutely fine.
During your stay and travels
Travelling is vata increasing. Especially air travel. Vata is associated with the elements of air and space. Vata dosha increases with change and movement. Air travel is obviously even more ungrounded and vata can become deranged. When travelling it is difficult to stay grounded and balanced. We become anxious and flustered. Physically vata derangement can manifest as dryness of the skin, being bloated, constipated and windy.
There are specific herbs that are useful if you already have increased vata dosha. Mixtures such as Banyan Botanicals Vata Digest is one I am trying out at the moment. But the old favourite of Triphala will always be handy. Triphala is said remove excess vata, pitta and kapha from the body, bringing balance and proper functioning to the system.
Remember to practise abhyanga, oil massage. In our ayurvedic daily routine we oil our bodies every morning. This is especially important when travelling. It calms down vata and it helps your skin against dryness. Use any oil such as sesame, coconut or specific ayurvedic oils. Get one local to where you travel – I am going to get some Moroccan argan oil while here in Marrakech for my abhyanga – although for a luxurious feel and fragrance I wish I brought some of the
September 26, 2016