Yoga on the go // Travel

99 Steps at St Thomas, The US Virgin Islands

There's so much Yoga in Travel, and so much Travel in Yoga! 

Bear with me. 

Here's a little glimpse through the Gunas, the constant interplay of energy: 

Rajas - The take off! The excitement, the getting ready, making plans, googling places, scheming, and the very upward feel of energy. Its the climb and the first few days of the holiday! 

Tamas - The Arrived. A bit tired, a little weary, a tad worn out. Think: the reside from the first few days of exciting travel, of new smells, maybe the food is a little different,  jet lag, rhythms maybe even seasons also contrasting from where you've been. 

Sattva - The Return. A coming home to a sense and feel, of internal balance. The tending of one's self. Looking at yourself through the lens of Ayurveda you could use your own wisdom and sense of "knowing" what you need to restore you. I think here of: good sleep, Oils (Essential or an oil for some Abhyangha), Meditation, reading and for me ... quiet time. These are little but powerful ways of restoring balance and equanimity to one's soul. A balm to the soul if you will.

Essentially, Yoga encourages us to get to know ourselves. We do this through Asana, Mediation, Mantra, (there's plenty more here) and Ayurveda. When we do this, we have sovereignty over our self, and we become wise to know and feel what it is we need.... through our wisdom body, our Vijnanamaya Kosha! 

Here's a few notes of the Yoga I got up to on my 3 week Vacay: 

- On Board. I try to find little areas to stretch, usually its near where the food is prepped. So its quick! Arms up, stretching from finger tips to toes, taking this then into a side stretch. And then usually a forward bend. Careful of turbulence! Oh, speaking of turbulence which I'm not a fan of (who even is!!), Pranayama is my antidote. Its the most tangible way for me to calm my jitters, just the time to notice my breath, release my tight belly, and softly breathe is quite the medicine. On the ship, my SIL and I went and did some lovely Yoga together in the gym, beside people doing kick boxing, ab crunching etc. 

- Theme Parks. So lately I've started to get really nauseous on rides, which isn't great if your family are really into it and you have a 4 day pass! With the simulated rides, I just closed my eyes. I felt into my sit bones on the seat, my thighs in contact with the seat and that seemed to help a bit. So a bit of sensory adjustment there, thank you to Pratyahara for helping me out there. 

- People. So many people, queues, heat, noise. My antidote here is to find quiet. And sometimes that looks like I'm being antisocial, but its more self preservation. I need that quiet time to digest the day. And for me that looked like sinking into the couch on one particular night, and watching Eat, Pray, Love and on quite a few nights, an early night.

I love that this is underpinned by wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita, "no effort here is every wasted, even a little of this practice will shelter you from great sorrow". 

Little moments, simple solutions, provide us with the art of taking care of our selves.