Travelling is fun, travelling is thrilling! When you are out exploring new corners of the world that you were unaware of, you savour an exciting and enriching experience. You can be a history buff or a nature lover or a tourist of any kind, travelling would always keep you intrigued. When you walk past your favourite place, you often get lost in its symphonies and beautiful vibes. Isn’t it? So, why refrain from travelling when you have holidays to enjoy?
But travelling can be stressful at times, which in turn, can affect your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. To keep a check on it and retain your health, yoga should be your best friend. Its exercises and discipline prove to be a good option for those who wish to possess a healthy lifestyle. With the help of yoga asanas, meditation, pranayama, and other yogic techniques, you can hold on to a flourishing mind, energetic body, and vibrant spirit.
So, if you are someone who ventures off regularly for travel adventures or someone who is constantly on the move, here we bring to you the top benefits of yoga. Take account of it and get ready to travel exceptionally. Let’s understand in detail the most prominent benefits of yoga for travellers. Let’s explore why you should pay heed to a yogic lifestyle if you are a frequent traveller.
Enhance Mindfulness: Yoga can be a powerful tool for cultivating mindfulness, especially when travelling. Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and fully engaged with your surroundings without any significant distraction. Travelling can often be a busy and chaotic experience, with new sights, sounds, and experiences around you. Hence, practising yoga can help you to ground yourself and cultivate a sense of inner peace, allowing you to be more mindful and present during your travels. Yoga involves focusing on the breath and being in the present moment.
Improve Flexibility: Travelling often involves sitting in a plane, train, bus, or car for long periods, which can cause stiffness and soreness in the body. Practising yoga can help improve flexibility and alleviate muscle tension. There are a variety of yoga postures or asanas that involve stretching and strengthening the muscles, which eventually can improve mobility. So, by practising yoga regularly, you can improve your overall physical well-being, making it easier for you to travel.
Reduce Stress: Yoga is an effective way to improve flexibility as well for travellers. Travelling often involves sitting for extended periods, which can cause muscles to become stiff and tight. Yoga postures focus on stretching the muscles and a range of motion. Practising yoga regularly can help travellers to improve their overall flexibility, reduce the risk of injury, and alleviate stiffness and soreness caused by long periods of sitting. Whether you are a seasoned yogi or a beginner, incorporating yoga into your travel routine can be a great way to stay flexible during your travels. Practising yoga can also help reduce stress levels by calming the mind as it involves deep breathing and meditation, which lower cortisol levels and reduce stress.
Boost Energy: You must have experienced fatigue, laziness, and other symptoms of the same kind during your travels. It is because travelling is an exhausting activity, especially when you are on the road for long hours. Practising yoga can help boost energy levels and increase stamina. With the help of different yoga techniques, you can practise deep breathing and movement, which can help increase circulation and oxygen flow to the body. This can help travellers feel more alert and energised, making it easier to explore new places and enjoy great experiences.
Connect with Locals: One of the major reasons why people travel is encountering different communities and cultures. When you travel, you get to mingle with a variety of people. So, when you have yoga in your travel routine, you tend to explore destinations with yoga centres and studios. Attending yoga classes at these places can be a great way for travellers to connect with locals and experience the culture. It can provide a unique and authentic experience for travellers. And as you get to meet new people, you develop a sense of understanding of cultures, thoughts, and ideas, thereby deepening your overall travel experience.
Strengthen the Immune System: Yes! With the help of yoga asanas and other yogic activities, you can also strengthen your immune system and keep your mind, body, and soul healthy and happy. Travelling would expose you to new environments and germs, which can weaken your immune system. When you practise yoga, you make yourself less susceptible to illness. It is because yoga involves movement, breathing, and meditation, which have been proven to boost the immune system. By practising yoga regularly, you can stay healthy and enjoy your travel journeys and day excursions without the worry of getting sick.
Relieve Jet Lag: Travelling across time zones can cause jet lag, which can lead to fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms. Yoga can help relieve symptoms of jet lag by promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and improving sleep quality. Practising yoga every day before bed can help you improve your sleep cycle, thereby making you fall asleep more easily. This would certainly help you adjust to new time zones and feel more refreshed during your travel adventures. So, next time, when you have long flights, you wouldn’t have to worry about jet lag because yoga has got it covered for you. Isn’t it?
Now that you know the top benefits of yoga for travellers, get going right away. It’s time to incorporate yoga into your travel routine and improve your overall physical and emotional well-being. Consequently, relish a more fulfilling and enriching travel experience. Always keep in mind that yoga is a way of life and under no circumstances, it should be compromised, if you are seriously into keeping your mind, body, and spirit healthy and dynamic in nature.
Here are a few basic yoga asanas to practise on the go.
Natarajasana (Dancer’s Pose): To Stretch the Quadriceps
Stand firmly on the ground in Mountain Pose. Gently shift your body weight onto your right foot and fold the left leg behind you gently lifting it to make a curve behind your back. Bend your torso forward to maintain balance while holding the left ankle with your left hand for balance. Stay in this pose for a few seconds before repeating the steps on the other side.
Trikonasana (Triangle’s Pose): To Release the Hamstrings and Open the Chest
Stand on both feet firmly grounded. Turn your right foot to 45 degrees and put your left foot back. Bend your waist slightly to reach your right ankle with your right arm while lifting the left arm upwards. Keep trying to reach the sky with your lifted fingertips as you feel the chest opening up. Press the right leg thigh back to release the hamstrings.
Vasisthasana (Elevated Side Plank): To engage the core area.
Find a sturdy rock or a bolster or a bench, anything that can help your upper body stay a few inches above the ground. This pose might require some level of fitness in your body. However, it is a deeply relaxing as well as core-strengthening asana. Come into a side plank position with your body resting on your left palm or left elbow. Lift the right arm with your fingers open as if you are making a conversation with the sky above. Stay in the pose for a few seconds before releasing it and trying it on the other side.
Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge with a Stretch in the Shoulders): Ideal for releasing stress knots from the shoulders and back.
Come into a low lunge position. You can do this by putting one of the feet forward and then bending the front leg at the knee till the knee of the other leg almost touches the ground. Interlock the fingers of both palms behind your torso. Stretch it towards the back as you move your torso forward. Feel the stress knots melt away into nothingness with this pose. Stay in the pose as long as you are comfortable before switching the sides.
Uttanasana (Forward Fold Yoga Pose): To stretch and release knots from the hamstrings, calves, hips, and thighs. It also helps release any pent-up anxiety that many of us feel before boarding a flight. Sit on the floor. Fold your left leg in front of you as you unfold your right leg back. Feel the calves, ankles and hips open as you do it. Bend your torso forward to rest the upper body on the left thigh. Breathe in and breathe out for a few seconds. Rest and unwind to your comfort level.
Above all, keep breathing slowly and deeply to maintain your zen throughout the expeditions.