Top Tips For Relaxing And Unwinding While Traveling
If you were to make a list of life’s greatest pleasures, where would travel be? For most people, it will be on the list somewhere, and for a lot of people, it’ll be at or at least near the top – it’s so important because it helps you get so much more out of life in many different ways. You can try new food, do new things, see new places, and even meet new people, and that’s fantastic; is it any wonder humans love to explore so much?
Of course, that’s just the good side of traveling, and there are some negative points like delayed flights, getting lost in unfamiliar places, not understanding the language, having to live out of a suitcase (or, worse, losing your luggage altogether), and much more, and it’s important not to gloss over the bad points just because there are so many good ones. The fact is that having all the information not just about what’s going to be fantastic and go right but also about what could go wrong means you’ll be able to plan ahead and have some emergency ideas in place just in case.
The issue is that these ideas and plans can make people a bit nervous, and although they’re important, that’s going to take away some of the fun of traveling – and here we come to it; if you’ve got the know-how about what to do to help you relax and unwind, you’re not going to feel so stressed, and you’ll have a good time (because the bad things are very often rare and most probably won’t happen at all). With that in mind, here are some great tips for relaxing and unwinding while traveling that are sure to help you.
Learn How To Do Nothing
When was the last time you let yourself do literally nothing at all? Not scrolling through your phone, not listening to music, not getting distracted by anything or trying to control whatever’s happening around you; we mean absolutely nothing. It’s highly likely that you can’t even remember when that was, and it might even be that it’s never happened at all. That’s not as unusual as it sounds (if it sounds unusual – maybe that’s just something you never realized could happen!).
Why do we ask? Well, when you’re traveling, your days and nights will often be jam-packed with things to do, places to be, and appointments to keep, and although when you’re planning those things it might sound amazing and exciting, when the reality hits, it’s not always that great – it can be too much and basically ruin your trip (or at least make it more stressful than it needs to be). That’s why it’s so important to take a break and do nothing from time to time – and to make room for it in your schedule.
Although everyone will have their own way or ways of doing nothing, one good place to start is to find a lovely outdoor space and let yourself just be. Watch the locals do their daily routines, listen to the sounds happening around you, or just close your eyes and soak the whole atmosphere in – it’s an amazing experience that can boost your day massively and relax you so you can enjoy yourself all the more.
Pack Things To Help
One of the things about travel that’s both good and bad is that you’ll have to step out of your comfort zone – that’s the whole point (true, you can travel to other countries and exciting cities and just do the same thing as you would at home, but why would you? It’s a waste of time and money and you’ll probably have a lot of regrets when the trip is over). The problem is that although stepping out of your comfort zone is great for adventure and travel, it’s terrible for relaxation, and it can make you feel stressed, exhausted, and miserable – again, totally not the point of organizing going traveling.
So to stop that from happening, make sure that when you’re packing you include a few comforting things from home to help you feel more at ease and happy – they don’t have to be big things (and actually, the smaller the better because you’ll need to carry them around with you), but something like a favorite cozy pair of socks, a scented candle, a photo of loved ones or a pet, or perhaps something like your favorite playlist or a device that you can play a relaxing game of spider solitaire on, just like you do at home. As you can see, it doesn’t necessarily have to be something big, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be something tangible, but whatever it is, if it makes you feel less out of your depth and soothes you, it’s definitely worth bringing along.
What Are The Local Wellness Rituals?
Maybe you still really love the idea of trying to experience as much as possible while you’re away from home, and although you want to make the most of your time away, you’re also a little bit worried that you might overdo it, as we mentioned above. If that’s the case, what about combining a full schedule with relaxation? It’s not impossible, it’s just a case of doing some research and planning ahead so you can fit everything in (which is more than likely what you’ll be doing anyway).
When we say research, we specifically mean you need to find out how the locals unwind in wherever it is you’ve traveled to – plenty of destinations around the world have their own unique ideas, and if you can book yourself some time doing one of these things, you’ll be experiencing the local culture, relaxing, and using your time really wisely. Some ideas, depending on where you’re going, of course, could include Japanese onsens or a sauna in Scandinavia, or perhaps a massage in Bali, and so on. They sound amazing, and they’re sure to help you feel fantastic.
Try Mindfulness For Travelers
Mindfulness is a good idea full stop, but what if there was a specific way you could be mindful when you were traveling that would ensure you’d be able to relax and unwind wherever you went? What if there was more than one way? Well, as you might have guessed, there are a few different ways you can be mindful when you’re traveling, and we’re going to help you understand a few of them so you can try them out – after all, there’s nothing quite like mindfulness for getting relaxed and de-stressed, is there?
To begin with, you don’t need specific tools and equipment like a yoga mat to be mindful, so don’t worry if you’ve not brought yours with you from home, assuming you even have one in the first place. All you actually need to do is tune yourself into your surroundings and immerse yourself in everything, and that’s really going to help.
Try this exercise the next time you’re on a train or a bus or just walking along a busy street or through a market – take a look around and notice five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. You might not be able to get all the things ticked off the list, but that’s okay – it’s the act of focusing on trying to find everything and using all your senses that makes the exercise mindful, and by the time you’re done, you’ll feel much better and more relaxed. You might even be able to solve some problems and challenges you were facing, so it’s definitely worthwhile.
Get Into Nature
No matter where you’re traveling to, you’ll probably be able to find a bit of nature, and that’s important (remember, even big cities like New York or London have green spaces – just think of Central Park or Hyde Park, for example – and making a beeline for those places is wise). Or perhaps it’s a beach, a lake, a hiking trail, woods, or anywhere else – it doesn’t matter what type of outside space it is, as long as you can get there and spend some time in nature.
When you’re able to take a break from the busy place you’ve gone to and really just immerse yourself in nature (which could be something as simple as a visit to a botanical garden if it comes to it), you’ll get all the benefits that being in nature can bring, including feeling relaxed and soothed. If you can do this every day once you’ve finished your activities, just imagine how great a night’s sleep you’d get, and how ready you’d be to start the next day’s adventures!
Eat Slowly
You’ve got to eat when you’re traveling (just like you’ve got to eat when you’re at home!), but that can sometimes feel like a chore more than anything else – food can seem like fuel and you find what you can and eat it quickly so you don’t miss out on anything and don’t start getting behind on your schedule.
But what if food was part of your schedule? If that was the case, you’d be able to savor the food by eating slowly and really experiencing the taste, texture, smell, and everything else about the meal you’ve chosen – plus you’d get to try all the lovely local cuisine, which is another important part of traveling. Maybe you could add a glass of local wine, beer, or a spirit, or some freshly brewed coffee (made in the traditional way) to make the experience an even better one.