If you have a steady yoga and meditation practice at home or attend regular classes at a studio and now find yourself on the go for work or pleasure, it’s not uncommon to lose momentum in your practices. Over the years I’ve started traveling more as a yoga teacher and Ayurvedic Health Educator and have figured out a few ways to maintain my wellness routines and yoga practice no matter where I go. I hope to inspire you to do the same.
On the road, yoga is a lovely companion and can help you physically recover more quickly from fatigue, time zone changes, and long airplane rides. It mentally supports you in staying grounded and calm in the midst of all the unexpected circumstances you may face in travels! Here are a few of my favorite ways to incorporate yoga on the go:
Before Traveling:
- Purchase a thin traveling yoga mat for your adventures.
- Schedule a private with your local teacher to design a practice that is realistic and suits your personal needs.
- Research possible yoga studios close to where you are traveling and schedule them into your itinerary.
- Find a yoga-inspired book to help you learn more about the philosophy or history of Yoga for those long airplane rides or to help you relax before bed.
- Build a wellness-travel kit with tongue scrapper, neti pot, sea salt, nasya oil, triphala (take in the evening if you suffer from constipation when traveling), tea tree oil spray (to sanitize your hotel room), and your Ayurvedic oil to treat yourself to an oil massage before bed or your morning shower.
On the Road:
- Wellness Practices = Healthy Yogi Expand your morning routine to include a large glass of room temperature water to hydrate. Also, scrape your tongue to remove bacteria in the mouth, use the neti pot to rinse away airborne pollutants, and squeeze a few drops of nasya oil post-neti to lubricate your nasal cavity.
- Mindfulness Practice Meditate in bed for 5-20 minutes first thing in the morning or lying down in bed at night listening to a Yoga Nidra recording. Meditation can be very helpful to prepare you for the unexpected and new experiences that accompany traveling.
- Schedule Your Asana Time Write down in your calendar when you plan to do your asana practice. Create a 15-30 minute sequence of standing poses in case you don’t have a mat or clean floor to do a full practice. If you’d like some ideas for your home practice, check out my Art of Sequencing books (at www.melinameza.com) for some inspiration.
- Online Yoga Classes Ask one of your regular teachers if they can recommend a yoga video or audio practice for your travels. If you travel often enough, you might consider joining something like Yoga Anytime, YogaUonline, or Gaia (also known as My Yoga Online/Gaiamtv), which allows you to stream or download numerous videos to your computer.
