Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling

Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling

Whether you’re traveling for work or pleasure this summer, it’s easy to fall out of everyday routines. Relaxation is important, but while enjoying new cultures and places it is essential to stick to your healthy habits. We’ve gathered our best tips to stay on track while still enjoying your time spent on the road

While On the Road

Traveling can be stressful, so we recommend setting aside a specific “travel day” to give yourself some flexible time to allow for delays and rest. If you arrive on time, you can use the bonus time to do something enjoyable such as attending a local  performance or visiting an attraction. While in flight we recommend that you drink at least 8 ounces of water per hour spent on the plane. Also practice Chair Hatha/Prana Yoga and active meditation to stay balanced while in the air.

Do your homework before departure by mapping out green grocery stores or Whole Foods type markets close to your accommodation. Stock up on healthy whole foods that you can easily digest, assimilate and eliminate without burdening the immune system. While restaurant visits are very pleasurable, we recommend staying out of them to the extent possible. Look up organic, raw food and whole food restaurants for the special moments when you treat yourself to a meal out.

Make sure to pack your supplements and line them up next to a colorful array of healthy foods.

Bring stretching bands to include in a routine. A good time to stretch is at night before going to bed and in the morning while still in bed. You can also stretch in the shower or bathtub for a total of 20 minutes along with a 20-45 minute stretching session in the greenest place you can find nearby.

We love noise canceling headphones and eyeshades for the time you want to cocoon and get some proper quality sleep.

If possible, schedule a Feldenkrais / Trager / Alexander technique session. Do research online or get word of mouth referrals to a local practitioner.

Pay a visit to the hotel’s health club. Enjoy the sauna and jacuzzi if available but stay away from spa or hotel massages since they often have inexperienced body workers on staff.

Think of travel as a way to challenge yourself and your everyday habits. Bring a beginner’s mind, and view yourself as a being of light within larger spheres of light and gratitude for meaningful work.

At Your Destination

After checking in, when you first enter your room, we recommend turning the shower to hot and leaving the bathroom door open so that hot steam can fill the room. This is to clear the room of any chemicals and particles in the air. Hotel rooms often have dry air so this is also great for increasing humidity.

Get fresh air into the room by opening the windows. If possible, select a room with a porch or balcony and make sure that you have windows that will actually open. Fresh outdoor air is always preferable to indoor air regardless of the pollution status.

Bring an air ionizer/air filter combination. They restore the healthy negative ions found in nature and some also filter the air.

Avoid slouching and instead stand, sit or lie down. Slouching has negative effects on our bodies such as raising blood pressure, impairing deep breathing, and generally putting pressure in the wrong places.

It is well known that sitting is the new smoking so try to be on your feet as much as possible and make sure to take 5 minute breaks to walk around, stretch and enjoy your surroundings.

Make sure you get restorative sleep by keeping the room quiet and dark at night. Use biodegradable foam ear plugs to reduce sounds. Use curtains, fabrics and pillows to block out as much light as possible. Make sure you switch off all your electronics and leave the TV off.

Stay hydrated by drinking a gallon of water a day. This washes your kidneys, helps waste removal, and promotes wrinkle free skin. If you consume alcohol, you should also increase your water intake on a one for one basis. The same goes for caffeinated beverages such as coffee, espresso, and black tea. Try other hydrating drinks such as herbal teas and broths.

Make sure to enjoy the outdoors and take a walk in the most natural environment available. By just spending 20 minutes outdoors you can dramatically reduce stress hormones and improve immune and defense functions.

Slot in a minimum of 20 minutes of mindfulness. This can include a relaxation response or active meditation or listening to classical music or focusing just on a candle.

Enjoy your trip!