Tips for Maintaining Your Yoga & Meditation Practice while traveling.

This month I relocated to a different country and it was a challenge to continue my Yoga practice and meditation while packing, cleaning, running errands and chasing the clock to manage to do everything that needed to be done in time.  Flexibility and adaptation plus the tips listed below helped me to stay on top of it all.  However knowing when to let go and not overstress about situations we cannot control is also an important skill to master.  Relocating countries is not something we’ll do too often and for many it may never happen in their entires lives, however the same basic tips and principles can be applied whenever we go traveling or on holidays.

If you decide to go away for a few weeks to disconnect, or do a weekend getaway on the coast to enjoy the beach, how do you maintain your Yoga and meditation habits you have achieved throughout the year? When we get used to a routine, leaving it may not be easy, and keeping your Yoga and meditation daily during the holidays can be quite a challenge. Furthermore if you add the days of flights, car trips, party nights, small hotel rooms, impromptu days to go to visit beautiful places, etc., our routine can go completely out of whack.  We do not have the same tranquility and space where we usually practice Yoga, and that’s why we tend to forget about our practice when we are traveling.

How do I maintain my yoga and meditation routines during a trip?
Surely maintaining your usual routine is going to be difficult, but you just have to adapt to the new environment and the new rhythm of the day. This is the good thing about vacations, that you don’t have to go to work or fulfill your “obligations”. So if you cannot keep your routine, you can create a new one adapted to your new environment and situation.

If you decide to take a long trip through India or Thailand, you know that you will do many short stays and keeping your routines is going to be complicated, but with a few small tricks you can do it:

    • You do not have to plan all the sessions you can do, but you can organize the day and save yourself a space to do your practice or meditation.
    • If you travel with more people then move and adapt your yoga sessions. You can even invite your fellow travelers to join in for meditation or yoga. This will create a positive energy for the whole group.
    • Spend less time on your sessions.
    • If you have a beach nearby, you can carry out your meditation by taking advantage of the sun’s energy first thing in the morning or during the afternoon after people leave.
    • When you arrive at the hotel, ask if there is a quiet place where you can do your yoga practice, even the garden can count.
    • If you go to a new city, you do a google search for nearby yoga centers to go and try a session, you can even consult opening times and class schedules in most cases. Do not be afraid of the language barrier, Yoga is quite Universal and in most classes the class can be followed by observing your teacher and his/her body language.
    • Wear noise cancellation headphones for guided meditations if you are at the airport or inside a plane. These places are usually very noisy and may make it difficult to concentrate. Developing the ability to find peace amidst the chaos is an important skill to develop, however using headphones with soft music and guided meditations will surely help calm your mind. This is particularly helpful for those who suffer of fear or anxiety of flying.
    • If you decide to make a trip by car, you can stand in a rest area on the highway and take advantage to stretch a little. Awaken the body with controlled Pranayama work and do some forward bends and spine twists.
    • Take advantage of all the new places you discover to do a little meditation: e.g. while visiting a temple, walking along a beach, taking a road trip, etc.

Every place in the world has a different and unique energy of its own. Taking the opportunity to practice and meditate in different environments and all the new places you discover can yield untold breakthroughs and memories from past lives and visions of the future. Safe travels!

Namaste

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