Between social media and the pandemic, you’re incredible at self-care by now. You wake up and do your Daily Stoic Journal, keep your massive Hydroflask of water nearby all day, load up your meals with veggies (and stay away from gluten/dairy when possible), close your Apple Watch rings, journal before bed and meditate during your regimented bedtime routine. You are crushing it at self-care! When you’re at home, that is.

My self-care always slips as soon as I start traveling, and I always pay for it. Travel is not only taxing on the body, it also throws us out of our familiar routine. This is one of the most psychologically beneficial aspects of travel, in my opinion, but it certainly breeds situations ripe for mishaps, delays, and other general challenges. And it all feels more consequential when you’ve only got a few days to two weeks to make the most of your travel experience. We need self-care more than ever while traveling, to help stabilize and re-ground us in what’s really important about the experience and to keep us resilient and calm in the face of challenges. 

Here’s my tip to keep up the self-care on your next trip: Just chop down your normal routine. Miniaturize it. Make it pocket-sized.

My last trip to LA was one of the first times I’ve successfully implemented this tip across the whole length of a trip. Over five days of wine and laughter, too much good food and late nights, I managed to keep my anxiety and acid reflux in check - two things that usually go haywire on my travels. 

Here’s an example of the chops I made to my usual self-care routine: 

• Alone time. This is a sacred part of self-care for me, and something I usually get every day. I made sure not to overfill my trip and gratefully accept a few hours of downtime here and there.

• Walking. People drive most places in LA, leaving little opportunity to hit my normal step count. During my alone time, I prioritized walking to the places I wanted to visit, in order to get some sunshine/vitamin D and movement in my day.  

• Journaling. I carried my journal around with me anytime I was alone or headed to bed, and ended up getting a long session in while waiting for my lunch at an open-air resto. 

• Yoga. I usually like to get in a 60-minute yoga practice at least once a week. Instead, while traveling, I might chop it down to a quick 20-minute stretch to loosen up, breathe, and ground into an intention for my day or trip. 

• Green smoothies. Biggest pro-tip! Add a green smoothie to your day whenever possible, instead of going all or nothing on healthy meals. It will brighten your mood thanks to the micronutrients and keep your digestive system on track thanks to the fiber. 

• Probiotic drinks. Another mood and GI hero. I always try to up my intake of kombucha and water kefir (shoutout to my favorite brand, Kif!) when traveling, as I know my gut can use the extra probiotics while my diet is swerving into the more indulgent lane.

It seems like almost too simple of a concept to write about. But it’s often the most simple advice that we forget in our day-to-day. Why else would meditation be such a hit? Even though we take approximately 20,000 breaths per day, we have to constantly remind ourselves to do so with intention and presence. It is the same with self-care. Don’t let it slip on your next trip, and enjoy it all the more. 

What’s been your experience with self-care while traveling? Any tips to share? Drop it all in the comments!

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