Written by Aviva Tulasi
Summer is here with heat on full blast. This summer many are finding themselves in a comfortable position to travel again.
Dogwood Studios offers flexibility to practice yoga at times convenient for you using our wide selection of pre-recorded videos with our video library. You can purchase a Green Subscription or a Gold Subscription to get unlimited access to our video library allowing you to keep up with your yoga practice as you enjoy your summer travel plans.
Whether you hope to get a quick road trip to a beach or are finally able to take the long trip you planned two years ago, traveling can be stressful. Traveling increases your energy of motion and lightness which will be reflected by your thoughts. As you get closer to a trip, you might find your mind thinking more about the future and what could go wrong on travel day. Will my alarm go off? Will I get lost? Will I forget something? As we prepare to travel we have to remind ourselves to be in the present moment and enjoy the process of travel.
Yoga offers many tools to keep you grounded and in the present moment. And even though I always check if I have my wallet at least 5 times the day of travel, I use these tools to stay calm and grounded on travel day. Here are my favorite tools in no particular order for being grounded as you travel.
Bring your comfort food with you.
Soupy, warm and oily food is very nourishing and grounding. Plus, home cooked meals are much more tasty than foods you find while traveling. When you enjoy the foods you eat, you will find your mind more comfortable. You can consider packing your favorite candy or snack or maybe you bring a meal with you. Although you are not able to take clear broth through TSA, you should be able to bring a rice or pasta mixture. The only food I had confiscated has been an unopened jar of sunbutter that had a layer of oil. The evening before I travel, I often cook a rice dish such as Kichadi and fill a reused container (such as an almost finished nut butter container) so I won’t feel bad about throwing it into a recycle bin later. If you don’t have time to make something ahead of time, you can consider adding some grounding spices such as ginger, turmeric, cumin, mint and coriander.
Keep the body moving
Remember to move when you can and do stretches throughout the day. If I have a layover in an airport, I will purposefully walk up and down a terminal rather than sitting in the chair waiting the whole time. Before finding myself seated for a long time, I will do gentle joint freeing exercises. I practice neck rotations, eagle arms, hip hinge in a figure four and some gentle twists. Sarah Ezrin, a yoga teacher in San Francisco suggests similar postures in a Yoga Journal blog. If I am feeling very stiff and have time, I find a corner to practice my favorite yoga poses right in the middle of all the busy travelers.
Take a minute to breathe deeply
When I find myself seated ready to go, I will close my eyes and focus on my breath. I cross my ankles on the floor, and connect to the heaviness of my hips grounded and let the breath be slow and rhythmical. I repeat that my body is grounded over and over again. Sometimes, I stay focused on the breath and let it turn into a meditation during takeoff. Slow exhalations activate the parasympathetic system which is the nervous system’s natural rest and restore response.
Let your senses explore your surroundings.
When you are in a new place, look around and notice all that is in your awareness. Really look for the details of the room, car or plane. Tune into all of the sounds that you hear and let the sounds turn into vibrations as they travel into the air. Notice the texture and temperature of your skin. Give your hands a massage. I always travel with an anti-vertigo essential oil mixture that contains lavender. Whether or not I start to feel motion sickness, I put a drop behind each ear because I enjoy the smell.
Many of the tools I describe in this blog are tools suggested by Inner Melbourne Clinical Psychology to calm your body and your mind.
The teaching team at Dogwood Studios will be taking advantage of summer with travel. You will notice we will have many different subs in June and July as Sam, Aviva and Ainslee take time for themselves.
Dogwood Studios will not have regular In Person options at Yoga Shala this July.
There will be a special In Person Mindful Movement at The Parlour on July 13!
We will be celebrating July 4th with family so there won’t be Mindful Movement and Yoga on July 1st and 4th.
Reach out to us via email with any questions or comments at info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com.
Aviva Chaye Tulasi is a team member at Dogwood Studios. She is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT). She applies the teachings of classical yoga to reduce the effects of negative stress and to balance the nervous system. Aviva is available for private sessions. Email Aviva at yogawithtulasi@gmail.com with any questions.
SAM Sather, founder of Dogwood Studios, is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT), individualizes the yoga practice with appropriate modifications for participants’ unique bodies and medical histories with a focus on finding calm and improving health. She offers several live, online and in person yoga classes as well as private sessions so you can focus on your needs one-on-one.