Yoga on the Road

Got the summer travel bug?  Remember to add some yoga to your travel days and nights. 

Child's Pose on the road

I encourage my student's to do a little bit of yoga everyday, even (and especially) when they are traveling.  I took a weekend road trip recently in a rented camper van.  I could stand up in the van but didn't have enough room for full sun salutations.  So I did a few yoga poses on my air mattress before and after bed.

 

Twisting right and left in the van

Happy Baby on the ceiling

It's a great idea to stretch in any way possible when you are on the road.  All of the sitting and holding the body in one position for too long is damaging.  If you can get up every couple hours and stretch, do it.  Set reminders on your phone to stop driving and take a stretch break.  Or, when you are on the airplane, get up and walk the aisle and stretch.  

If you have room in your suitcase or backpack to bring a foam roller or tennis ball, do that too.  You can massage the feet, calves, hips, buttocks, shoulders -- anything that feels knotted and needs some relief.

And no need for yoga clothes, pajamas work just fine in bed, in the tent, in the camper, or on the hotel room or guest room floor.  Yay!

Yoga Retreats Rock!

Sky Temple Yoga Retreat, Yelapa Mexico

I recently was fortunate enough to attend a week-long yoga retreat in Yelapa, Mexico with Baxter Bell and his Yoga For Healthy Aging students.  I went as a student, not as a teacher, and that was a real treat.   

Twenty nine of us yoga students attended class in the beautiful Sky Temple twice a day.  Some students were brand new to yoga.  Some were spouses of long-time yogis.  Some of us were teachers.  Some were in shape, some were out of shape, some were in between.  Some were nervous about the experience, some were eager.  The age range of the students was 30s - 70s.  The smiles on our faces here truly represent how we all felt at the end of the week.

The great thing about the type of yoga Baxter Bell teaches is that it is accessible.  Each morning and afternoon I looked forward to class.  I never dreaded marching up the steep stone steps to the yoga platform.  Each class was slightly different.  We always had a healthy dose of meditation, poetry and music at the beginning and end of class.  I practiced deep yoga in a fun, supportive, educational, magical environment.  And guess what, we didn't do any downward facing dogs or sun salutations all week!

The view from the yoga deck at Sky Temple

What did we do when we weren't practicing yoga each day?  We had long conversations with new friends, we hiked on the beach and in the hills, we sat on the beach, we read books, wrote, went into town and shopped, went on mini travel excursions, we talked with the locals, we bird watched, we took photos, we experienced a different culture and pace from our normal lives.  We listened to the waves crashing on the beach.  We sat and stared into space.  We ate and drank.  We chill-axed!  And, we never threw paper in the toilet or drank out of the tap.

If you find yourself dreaming about attending a yoga retreat someday I suggest you find a teacher, program or studio you love.  Find a type of yoga that works for you with an instructor you can imagine learning from for an extended period of time, then...go for it!  Even if you go alone, like I did, chances are, you won't regret it.  You will learn many things from the experience and may even really enjoy it. 

Open your heart to a new yoga experience and see what follows.