After returning from a recent holiday and incorporating yoga into my journey, I wanted to share this article from Wellbeing magazine on how best to practice yoga during travels. You see its very easy to think “I’m on holidays I don’t need to practice” but the truth is that when you see the benefits from yoga, it becomes very difficult not to practice – even when on holidays!
This article below focuses on easy ways to incorporate yoga poses and practices, Ayurvedic dietary suggestions, breathing exercises, mudras and meditations.
It addresses your body, mind and self before, during and after travel.
Ayurvedic approach to travel
Travel can increase anxiety, and in Ayurveda, the science of self-healing, any form of travel is considered a vata activity and has the potential to throw you off-balance. Travelling at unnaturally fast speeds can affect your nervous system responses, mental clarity, sleep, circulation and hydration.
Dr Rama Prasad of Ayurvedic Elements recognises the need to prepare for travel for a minimum of two weeks beforehand, by eating large, healthy breakfasts and lunches, reducing grains and potatoes, and skipping dinner or eating only a light soup if needed. He says preparing through diet reduces anxiety so that your adaptability improves and travel doesn’t destroy your health.
Dr Prasad suggests taking a 30-minute hot bath after a self oil massage the day before travel, and rehydrating with water while minimising solids during the trip. On long flights, he advises sleeping as much as possible, taking melatonin or St John’s wort to help if needed. If you follow his suggestions, Dr Prasad asserts you are unlikely to suffer jetlag nor get sick with travel bugs, as your gut health will be optimal.
Yoga before travel
A full yoga practice the day before travel is advised, as it helps to release tension, so you can start your journey with a calm and relaxed mind.
Yoga tips mid-travel
Seated alignment & spinal health
To lessen spinal compression from sitting for long periods, become aware of your posture. If you are short, take a footrest on the plane, as it’s important for circulation and alignment that your feet touch the floor. Bring your awareness to your posture. Are you consistently leaning to one side? How’s the position of your lower back — are you raising and rounding your shoulders? Ask, “How am I feeling right now while I sit this way?” Once you catch yourself sitting incorrectly, you can change your posture.
For correct seated alignment
Plant your feet firmly on the floor, weight distributed evenly, press into the balls of feet and lift the inner arches. Move abdomen back towards the spine, lift pelvic floor up, move lower ribs away from hips, lift spine, roll shoulders back and down, move front of throat to back of throat to lengthen back of neck. Imagine your head is lifting off your shoulders. Commence pelvic tilts forward and back with pelvic floor lifted and abdomen drawn in below bellybutton towards the spine. This lubricates your spine, preventing a sore back.
For joints & circulation
Follow the in-flight guidelines for leg-calf exercises to keep the blood flowing while in your seat. Seek medical advice before travelling if you are at risk or concerned about deep-vein thrombosis.
Practise joint-relieving exercises in the chair, including circling the ankles in both directions, flexing and stretching the toes and whole foot, and circling the wrists, shoulders and neck as often as you can.
For your eyes
Yoga eye cupping can make eyes feel well nurtured and less sore. Vigorously rub your palms together to generate heat, then cup your warmed hands over closed eyes for a few moments. Repeat every few hours while awake on the plane or resting at a pit-stop when driving.
For your neck
Notice whether you edge your head forward when driving. This repetitive strain affects the nerves in your neck and blood flow, and creates neck stiffness. As often as you can, move front of throat to back of throat to lengthen the back of your neck.
For your mind
Be conscious of how you relate to yourself and others and consciously practise the ethics of yoga: being mindful of treating self and others with respect and care. Contemplate and practise the yamas and niyamas(yoga’s ethical and moral codes), in particular ahimsa(non-harm), aparigraha (non-greed), santosa (contentment) by accepting the situation, tapas(burning desire) to commit to practising yoga while travelling and ishvara pranidhana(surrendering your efforts to a higher source).
Breath awareness & Meditation
Meditate where you can to balance the mind. If this is not possible, and you are impatient or angry, work with your breath.
- To relax the mind, focus on the breath. Encourage your breath into your belly. Breathe in and out through the nose. Any time your mind wanders, gently acknowledge it without judgement, then bring your awareness back to your breath.
- Practise the so hammantra meditation. Mentally breathe in “sooooo” up the spine; breathe out “hummmm” down the spine with each breath. This is a hamsa meditation, which asks, “Who am I?”, with the response, “I am That.”
- Carry with you soothing kirtan(yoga chanting) or chilled-out yoga music, such as The Future Sound of Yoga, Edo and Jo, and Deva Premal and Miten and Krishna Das. These uplifting words and sounds will rebalance and inspire you.
- Yoga nidra is a specific set of guided instructions that’s traditionally performed lying down but can be practised seated quite effectively. Listen to a downloaded recording with your earplugs in. Note:If you are driving, do not perform meditations until you reach your pit-stop.
Arriving at your destination
Regardless of how you travel, as soon as your feet touch the ground, pause. Take a moment to consciously reconnect and feel grounded with the Earth.
Inverted or raised-legs positions help reduce swelling in the feet and legs, pumping fresh oxygenated blood back through your entire system.
Restorative poses such as these are ideal post travel:
- Viparita karani— Legs up the wall
- Setu bandha sarvangasana – Bridge Pose
- Supta baddha konasana – Reclined bound angle pose
- Upavista konasanaover a chair – Wide angle forward bend
- Savasana – Corpse pose
Wherever the destination, let yoga help you arrive in the present. Enjoy the (inward) journey.
Nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) & pushan mudra (hand gesture)
Nadi shodhana is a breathing practice that balances the nadis (energy channels) in the body. Place index and third finger between eyebrows as shown, thumb on right nostril, fourth finger on left. Breathe in through both nostrils to begin, then close off left nostril with fourth finger, breathe out through right nostril. Breathe in through right nostril, close off right nostril with thumb, releasing fourth finger, breathe out through left nostril. Breathe in through left, close off left, breathe out through right. Continue breathing in this way for as long as is comfortable, ending the practice by breathing out through the right nostril.
Pushan mudra
Continue into pushan mudra position. This mudra (hand gesture) is about nourishment and taking in light. On right hand, tips of thumb, index and middle finger are on top of each other, fourth and fifth fingers extended. On left hand, tips of thumb, middle and fourth finger are on top of each other, remaining fingers extended. Place hands on knees with straight elbows, lift spine. Mentally repeat the affirmation, “I thankfully accept everything that is good for me, let it have its effect within me, and release everything that is spent.” This mudra with affirmation, from Gertrud Hirschi’s Mudras: Yoga in your Hands, is described as being useful for digestion, absorption of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide, regulation of the autonomic nervous system and detoxification, and it is excellent for nausea.
End your yoga practice by choosing a meditation practice outlined earlier in the For Your Mind section, such as the So Ham meditation, yoga nidra or listening to recorded kirtan music.
By practicing all of the above throughout your travels you will see amazing benefits not only through the body – alleviating fluid retention, aches & pains and improving digestion, but also a relaxed mind which gives space to be calm, focused and present to the holiday. Now who wouldn’t want that experience? Namaste
