Travel Self-care
How to Find Your Bliss & Get the Most Bang for Your Buck
Do five things a day blog challenge
I am very excited to join The Five Inspired Blog Challenge hosted by Do Five Things A Day and discuss travel self-care with you. My topic for the challenge is travel and adventure. I chose this topic because I have been traveling solo for the past nine months and I have learned a lot along the way. In that time I have visited Japan, Hawaii, Canada, USA, Guatemala and am writing this now from Cozumel in Mexico. Needless to say, I have had many adventures but also many hardships with travel plans going awry and several health issues.
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Therefore, I could give you packing advice, list must-see destinations, tell you how to find the cheapest flights or explain which travel card is best to use; but this information is easily found elsewhere and written by much more experienced travelers than me. However, self-care on the road is rarely covered.
Therefore, I could give you packing advice, list must-see destinations, tell you how to find the cheapest flights or explain which travel card is best to use; but this information is easily found elsewhere and written by much more experienced travelers than me. However, self-care on the road is rarely covered.
Common travel misconception: Travel helps you de-stress
While people tend to think of travel as being a stress-free adventure that allows you to escape the daily norm and return home more refreshed than ever. Traveling also has its fair share of ups and downs. Being alone in a country where you don’t speak the language can be both exotic and exciting, and lonely and frustrating. Being out of routine, being in strange places, and different beds every other night can be challenging.
Before I started traveling, I understood the importance of a self-care regime. Having a yoga, meditation, gratitude journaling and positive affirmations routine pulled me out of the deep depression I had struggled with for years. However, traveling by myself for so long has solidified the importance of these practices.
Benefits of a travel self-care regime:
1. Self-care helps you handle life better when things go wrong
When you travel on your own, you have no-one to cheer you up when you are down and help when things go wrong. When you are crying in the airport after sitting there for four days dealing with canceled and delayed flights you need to learn how to quickly pick yourself back up because there may be no-one to help you. The airline staff certainly aren’t interested, and typically the person sitting next to you doesn’t care either.
When you get sick and live in a hostel, there is no-one to help bring you a warm tea or soup. So when you’re just feeling a little down, you need to be the one to change your thinking and cheer yourself up. These times are when your self-care practice becomes essential.
Related: 5 Meditation Podcasts for Busy People
2. You become more aware of the details
I realize I’m making travel sound like a world of pain, but your self-care practices aren’t just crucial for finding the silver lining in the bad times. Practices such as mindfulness and meditation make you more aware of your surroundings. Then you start to notice more details. You take time to smell the roses. Ultimately, you get more out of your travel experience. With travel costing so much money, you want to make the most of it.
If you’re an animal nerd, you need to be present to notice that tiny agouti that is scuffling in the jungle leaf litter. If you love to swim, you want to feel the silky warm Caribbean water on your skin and the fresh sea breeze in your hair. Art fanatics will want to observe the tiny life-size painted ants scurrying across a canvas by Salvador Dali. Mindfulness and meditation teach you the art of observation.
3. Enhances your experiences.
Mindfulness meditation is not just about clearing your mind and reducing stressful thoughts. The art of mindfulness makes you feel more alive. As well as enabling you to notice more details, these practices help you to experience life on a deeper level that can’t really be explained until you try it for yourself. Travel teaches you a lot. Combined with self-care it can guide you to experience so much more
4. Self-care helps you feel grounded.
A self-care regime is also very grounding. It gives you something familiar to fall back on when you are on the road. Diving into an excellent book to free your mind or 30 minutes of yoga can be done pretty much anywhere at any time and help you feel refreshed. Don’t worry about what other people may think if your self-care regimes are made public. Firstly, you will probably never see them again. Secondly, if self-care is not ‘normal’ then why would you want to be ‘normal’ anyway
5. Self-care h elps you sleep.
Hostels, tents, airplanes, airports, trains, buses, cars, inside a giant boot in New Zealand; You never know where you may need to sleep while traveling. As someone who has been a terrible sleeper my whole life using lavender essence and learning how to meditate has saved me countless sleepless nights.
Another self-care practice that is good for you to do is to take the time to exfoliate your body. Exfoliation and body-brushing stimulate circulation and helps your body relax. Splurging on a delicious homemade soap or body butter can make you feel like a pampered goddess when you’re trudging through the jungle.
Related: 10 Natural Remedies for Anxiety & Stress Relief
6. Self-care helps you reflect on your journey.
Journaling helps you to absorb the journey from a different angle. It helps you to reflect on what you have learned and experience the feelings of joy and wonder all over again. It is also a great practice to help you solidify your travel memories before they slip away like so many of the small moments do.
Travel self-care ideas:
- Meditation
- Mindfulness
- Yoga
- Walking
- Adventure activities
- Pampering with quality bath products
- Self-massage
- Reading
- Journaling
- Aromatherapy
Final thoughts on travel self-care:
Self-care is often overlooked in our daily lives and even more when we travel. We travel for adventure and relaxation but often end-up abandoning what makes us feel good when we are at home. Making an effort to maintain a self-care regime when we travel enhances our experiences and helps us better cope when things don’t go to plan. Ultimately, self-care makes the journey more memorable.
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers in The Five Inspired Blog Challenge. These amazing bloggers will be covering a range of topics from health and fitness to fashion and style.
What travel self-care practices do you use to help yourself relax and rejuvenate while on holiday? Comment Below
