It's ALMOST MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!! You are all probably jumping up and down with excitement, thinking I just had the craziest few cold (must repeat the word cold or freezing) months, now time for VACATION!! For some vacation means, a break from the daily routine. You can eat what ever you want, and no yoga. For others, including me, vacations can sometimes cause anxiety. For people like me, who enjoy their daily routine of exercising/ yoga with healthy eating, the idea of not doing it for a period of time can induce anxiety and nervousness. What ever person you may be, there's a solution or compromise.
If you're dying for a break from your strenuous yoga practice and want to lay in the sand all day drinking mojitos, no shame in that, then maybe you should make a compromise within your self. And say I will do at least five minutes of yoga everyday, not only to keep my body in track, but my mind. This doesn't mean you have to do an hour intensive vinyasa or astranga yoga practice, but maybe just sit in sukasana, cross legged positon, (with good posture, no vacations from posture) and practice pranayama (breathing). Sit for at least five minutes while maintaining the ujjayi breath (inhale and exhale through the nose while simultaneously constricting your throat).
Now for the latter person, the high strung type A vacationer who fears loosing their routine. Lucky for you, this is person is me and I've experimented with various solutions and tactics and I will tell you what works best for me! First of all yoga mats are small and the cheap ones are easily folded and often free. Take one of these cheap mats with you ( don't take your $120 lululrmon, unless you want to loose it) and pack it on the bottom of the suitcase. TSA will not have a problem with this. However, they may have a problem with eight pound dumbbells, whoops didn't realize that until after. As for the healthy eating, pack tons of snacks. When I went to Thailand, I packed thirty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tons of organic bars such as kind bars, pro meal bars, and luna bars. You don't have to go as crazy as me, if you're not the pickiest eater known to man (guilty as charge). Also pack tons of workout clothes. These clothes will encourage you to workout and bring comfort in a new place. Now your all packed, and on vacation. You may be wondering, what do I do now? As for yoga, place the mat anywhere you want to practice, whether that's in your hotel room, on the beach, or in the jungle. Your choice. Then do a sequence. Before the sequence create a playlist of music that you want to practice to. The music will not only encourage you, but help time how long your practice is. For detailed and personalized yoga sequences email me at hannahyaffa9492@gmail.com. After your physical asana, posture based practice, lie down in savasana for at least three minutes. Another option, instead of doing yoga by your self, is if you're going to a big city, look for yoga studios. When ever I go on vacation I love finding new places. Not only do I get try out a new studio, but I get to meet new yogis and as a yogi yourself, you may have realized they are coolest most bad ass people you could ever meet. Now you went to class or practiced yoga, another way to keep yoga part of your day is to do yoga poses in front of monuments or attractions. Maybe try to do a handstand on the beach, the sand is soft and kicking up burns a lot of calories (plus it's fun) or do a headstand, sirsansa b, in JFK airport. If you try the headstand people may applaud for you and think you're an entertainer, true story that happened to me. Or maybe just do a tree pose in front of the Eiffel Tower and not cause a scene. Doing these poses keeps your mind in yoga mode. While you're mind is in yoga mode, you will make healthier choices.
It's memorial day unwrap those white shoes and the yoga mat, and pack them with you. Yoga is now invited on your vacation