We all know it, sometimes going on vacation takes so much out of us we need a break from the break! You might travel for work and thats still takes us out of our familiar homes and can overwhelm our senses.
Often times vacations have busy schedules, unique foods, new sights and people to see/meet and not much of any kind of routine. Vacations can leave us depleted and anxious about our return home anticipating the piles of laundry, early morning, paperwork/computer work and a yearning for more memories like the ones we captured while we were away.
Here are some tips and tricks that help me when I travel, including many tips from the science of yoga, Ayurveda:
Stay as close to your own routine as possible. If you are an early riser, continue to do that. If you shower before bed every night, continue to do that. Staying as close to our normal routine will help us with the rebound when we come back home. Here's a picture from our trip to Miami in June 2024 - up at 6:15 for a walk around Brickell Key with water first and coffee around 8:30.
Whenever possible, get a head start on laundry. If you have an opportunity to do laundry before you come home do that, then everything in your bag goes straight back to the closet and dresser. Otherwise, when you are packing, put the dirty laundry on top so it''s the first thing you can unload in the laundry room and get a head start on it.
If you have spent the day outside, seeing bright lights or just had extra long work hours, you can palm your eyes. To do this, place slightly cupped palms with your pinky fingers touching right around your nasal bone. You can rub the palms together to generate heat and this is so restorative. The palms rest in the eye socket and the fingers rest on the forehead. You don't need to press or push very hard. This helps relax the ocular muscles and the teeny tiny ciliary muscles too. Even 30 seconds at a time noticeably reduces tension and can even relieve headaches.
Use a tongue scraper! So many new places come with new culinary experiences and sometimes, especially when we are stressed, they have a tendency to linger a little longer than normal. Tongue scraping helps stimulate the digestive tract, clears out excess bacteria that accumulated overnight and in turn, this helps us taste and enjoy our food even more! If you don't have a tongue scraper, you can use a metal spoon! However, a copper tongue scraper is the best choice and they're only a few bucks.
Bring your own water bottle. All airports have their own hydration stations and this makes it so easy to stay hydrated. There's no reason to decrease water intake while traveling so my trusted recommendation is y our bodyweight, divided in half, and in ounces. So someone who weighs 140 pounds should drink 70 ounces of water.
In addition to water bottles, there are spray bottles of purified water that are exceptional for skin hydration and respiratory concerns. The air in planes is so dry - so is the desert! If you are traveling to a dry place or in a plane for more than 2 hours, it's a good idea to spritz your face and breathe in to keep the moisture lock balance and nose happy.
Add Nasya oil to your bag of tricks - I learned this from my friend Layne about 10 years ago or so. 3-5 drops of Nasya Oil in your nose (nares/nostrils to be precise) each morning keeps lymph tissue strong, helps with the microbiome and can even help fight infection and we all know airports are petri dishes. If you know anything about gravity, the oil will spill out unless you tilt your head backwards. I like to perform my inversions OR when I don't need that much upside down time, I just hang my head over the side of the bed to do it. If this makes you too dizzy - use your pinky finger after those 3 drops to swirl it around; lightly blot the excess away.
If you are traveling internationally, it's always a good idea to take walks every now and then up and down the plane to stretch your legs. The bigger picture here is that it's beneficial for the circulatory system and helps prevent clots. If you have an extended layover, don't be afraid to explore the various concourses and walk around. Using the moving walkway defeats this! Use the stairs and avoid the electric systems are much as possible - the object is to move around!
I always carry a bottle of oil with me wherever I go - this is for the practice of Abhyanga or Self Massage. If you walked a lot, you can rub your feet. If you had a sun filled day, you can apply it to your sun-kissed skin. If your ears are bothering you, you can massage the ear lobes or put a few drops on a cotton ball and insert that for restful sleep. Practicing self massage really heightens the sensations in the skin and nervous system and in turn, helps me stay fully present through all experiences!
Don't skip any days on the rebound. If your normal schedule includes an early morning, a workout or walk, plenty of vegetables and an early night like it should then get right back on the horse and don't delay. Commonly around holidays I see people say "Well, in 3 weeks is Christmas and then a week after that it's NYE and then a month later is Valentine's Day so I can slide and pick it back up later in 12 weeks." This is so detrimental to progress and momentum. Getting right back into what you've established will be so much easier without negative self talk or the vacillating between should and shouldn't.
We all want to enjoy travel and trips that we have planned, especially if they are for fun or leisure! These are the helpful things I try to do when I travel to stay as close to normal as possible. Pick and choose a few if you never have heard or one or another. If you struggle with routine or even traveling, you can always reach out and we can plan the best trip so far!
Where do you find a tongue scraper?