5 Āyurvedic Travel Tips to Help Keep You Balanced and Sane during the Holidays
Oh SNAP! Christmas is almost here, you’ve bought gifts for everybody except for your Uncle Tom who has been wearing the same jacket since ’72 and "don't want no damn cell phone cause all they do is spy on you anyways”( touche, Tom, touche), and all you have to do now is pack. However, the REAL fun starts when we begin boarding planes, disrupting our daily routines, habits, and lives for the sake of the Holiday Spirit. So what can you do to keep yourself grounded and so you don’t feel like you need a vacation from your family vacation? Read on, kimosabe, for some ayurvedic tips and tricks sure to lube you up nicely for the ride to come.
- Self oil massage daily- Self massage with sesame oil is a FABULOUS way to balance vāta dosha, which is responsible for giving that sense of anxiety and unsettledness and which gets aggravated by travel and routine disruption. Oiling is the perfect antidote and will help pull you back into your body. Rub warmed oil generously all over your body, and leave on for 15 minutes, or as long as you have time, and the bathroom should also be pleasant and warm. Rinse off, leaving a fine film of oil on the skin. This will also give your skin a warm glow so you can be a part of the “Dang, you look amazing!” tribe. Do this daily, and especially before and after plane or car travel.
- Put oil in your ears. That’s right! Add a few drops of warmed sesame oil to your ears before travel. This is another great antidote for the effects of travel and should be done before boarding a plane. Why is this helpful? The ears are a major site of vāta, and applying oil helps keep vāta pacified, which is what we are always striving to do in Ayurveda as vāta is what ages you and is the primary cause of disease.
- Take some adaptogens! Seriously, these wonder herbs are known for their ability to help your body cope with stress. Ashwagandha is always great, ½ tsp morning and night with warmed milk, or you can do the same with anantamula, my personal favorite herb off all time. In fact, I make a formula that has both, and yes, I’m going to plug it here- check out Yogini and its badass stress-managing, wellness promoting ingredients.
- Exercise! Seriously, even if it’s only ten minutes of stretching or a walk around the block, commit to taking care of your body daily. Much of our mental tension is rooted in physical tension. A little exercise will loosen you up so you can feel more relaxed all the way around.
- Let go of all attachment to daily routine. While many practitioners will recommend trying to maintain one, if it’s stressing you out, better to just drop it. What’s the point of all of our daily practices if attachment to them makes us miserable when we can’t do them? So do your best, but remember to chill, my friends, and enjoy this opportunity to function outside of your normal habits.
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Zhenya
January 13, 2020
I love the last point about letting go of attachment to routine. That definitely spoke to me the strongest. Thank you for pointing out that the attachment to the routine can cause more stress then if we just let it go and flow. This is something I’ve been learning over the last year. I’m definitely a planner and need structure in my life. What I’ve been implementing into my life is having structure that I can be flexible and flowy within. This gives me working guidelines that are easily adaptable.