When you’re traveling, it can be hard to have a consistent routine for anything. Sleep and wake times get off balance, eating times are all over the clock and it’s very easy to get off balance.
If you’re traveling for business, you may not have the same control over your schedule that you do back home.
If you’re traveling for fun or travel is integral to your personal lifestyle, then having a specific thing to do every day helps support your health and a healthy mind.
Keeping your health on track in the midst of constant movement, lack of space and time, crazy transportation schedules, and less-than-ideal circumstances is vital not getting sick, not being crabby, not being stiff and sore and keeping your digestive tract moving smoothly.
One of the best ways to stay healthy and sane while traveling is to practice yoga.
It’s the perfect blend to nurture your physical body and your mental health while on the road. It keeps you loose and open to the new people, sights, sounds and adventures you are experiencing.
Below are the 5 ways to keep up with your yoga practice while traveling:
Find a time to practice wherever you are
The best time of day to practice is a highly personal decision. You may find that a morning routine is the best, but if you have to be up early to meet responsibilities, you may try a midday practice or one at the end of your day and before your last meal.
The beauty of yoga is that you can also spread short yoga practices throughout your day for the maximum benefit. If you’re the kind of traveler who finds yourself on an overnight sleeper bus or train and waking up in another city, that morning time may be needed to find a bathroom, a meal and a place to sleep that night, so be flexible with your yoga practice.
Find classes where you are
You might see a sign in a coffee shop or spot a local with a yoga mat, but you can always find yoga where you are. Use your yogi awareness when you’re exploring and watch for signs that advertise community yoga classes near you.
If you find a shop that sells yoga clothing, the store keeper nearly always knows where the best local yoga classes are. Yoga Trail is an awesome search directory of yoga classes from areas all around the world too.
Practice yoga with your phone
There are plenty of free high definition yoga videos available to practice yoga, but it’s hit or miss on YouTube and playing those requires using up your data plan and that’s not cool while you’re traveling.
If you really want to nurture your yoga practice on an everyday or nearly everyday basis, try Audible Yoga. They have a wide variety of audio yoga class recordings from teachers around the world and you can download them to your phone and play the class when you’re ready to practice. They don’t have an app yet, but it’s coming soon and they have audio pose recordings if you’re uncertain how to do a particular pose.
Don’t be shy about being a yogi
The widespread popularity of yoga has made it global practice, so don’t be shy about rolling out your mat on the hotel balcony or in a park. If you downloaded a yoga class to your phone, you’ll find those temporary waiting situations that inevitably occur when your traveling are far easier to bear.
Even if you’re stuck in a seated position, you can practice with a chair yoga class to keep your circulatory system on track and avoid thromboembolism, or deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot condition that forms in your legs or pelvis, often the result of sitting for long periods of time.
Skip the yoga mat
While a yoga mat takes up little space in your luggage, if you’re really squeezed for space you can try the gloves and socks from Yoga Paws. They take up even less space in your bags and come with a neat carrying pouch. Slip them on and you’re wearing your mat. You can even practice on carpet with these grippy gloves and socks. If you’re in a cramped room, move the furniture or take your yoga outside. Who knows? Others at that outoftheway eco resort just might want to join you and voila! you have a new set of friends.
About the Author:
Virginia O’Connor is a longtime yoga student who tinkered with the idea of stuffing her favorite teacher into her suitcase when she moved across country. The loss of her teacher’s guiding voice created a void that could not be filled. She created Audible Yoga to help yoga teachers earn passive income and stay connected with their students. Now, she downloads classes from her favorite teacher and practices everywhere.
