Balancing Vata while Traveling

I'm taking a much-needed break and hopping on a plane to Seattle tomorrow for a few days.

I planned this trip with the intention to envelop myself in a cooler, more lush, and moist climate to escape Southern California's intense heat and the bone-dry environment. Ironically, the Northwest has been experiencing an unprecedented heatwave and no rain.

Regardless, I am ecstatic to exercise my wanderlust. I am an adventurer at heart. Exploring is in my blood and bones. It is this spirit that pulled me to SoCal so far from all whom I love in New England.

Unfortunately, having a dominant vata constitution can make traveling very imbalancing for me. We all have vata dosha in our constitution, some more than others, but anytime we travel, vata can become more pronounced.

Vata is the subtle energy of movement, activity, and sensation, and is composed of the elements air and space, so it embodies the qualities of dry, rough, light, and scattered. This energy governs all the physical movements in the body that include breathing, blinking, heart pulsations, circulation, muscle and tissue movements, ingestion of food and water, peristalsis, movements in the cells - you name it!

If something moves, it has vata energy to thank. Vata also governs the mind, sensory perception, and the movement of thoughts, feelings, and nerve impulses.

Any time you travel, you introduce more vata into your system, and symptoms can manifest in the body and the mind. Things like digestive issues (gas, bloating, constipation), dizziness, palpitations, dehydration, anxiety, scattered mind, feeling ungrounded, and fatigue are some ways excess vata will present itself.

Having some simple and supportive self-care tools while you travel is helpful for all, but it's critical for balancing vata dosha. Here are some of the tools I use to help support digestion, hydrate the tissues, and settle and ground the nervous system:

Drink copious medicinal teas

Herbal tea is such an easy way to adjust your energetic state, whether you need to soothe your nerves, aid digestion, or moisten your tissues. Even though I love to create my own tea recipes when at home, store-bought tea bags are truly perfectly convenient for travel. I stuff a whole quart-size bag full of various teas like ginger, turmeric, chamomile, licorice, tulsi, and peppermint, to name a few. I always make sure to put a few tea bags in my carry-on for the plane ride, too. If it's a car trip, I'll have my thermos full of hot tea along for the ride.

Remedy: When my body is calling for deeper nourishment and hydration, I like to melt about ½–1 teaspoon of ghee into my warm tea. It brings a soothing, unctuous quality that lovingly coats and supports the digestive tract.

See my recipe below for Replenishing Rasa Tea - offering you hydration from a deep level. This blend of herbs unites in sattvic harmony, guiding prana to flow with ease as it nourishes and revitalizes tissues that are seeking renewal and juiciness. To learn more about the magic of this blend and more about our rasa (lymph) from an Ayurvedic view, see my article on it here.

Stay cozy with a scarf

It can be so drafty and cool on the plane, and vata doesn’t like to be cold, so I always pack a scarf with me to cocoon myself. I wrap this around my neck and sometimes around my ears and eyes to help soften the excess draft and stimulation you can encounter on the plane. The scarf can help you 'create space' between you and the external world. For an added layer of soothing, I put a few dabs of lavender or palo santo essential oil on the scarf before I pack it to further help calm my nerves.

Pack some essential spices for meals

Not knowing what spices I will have available to me while I'm traveling, it’s really helpful to have a spice mix at the ready. In Ayurveda, every spice is a drop of sacred ancient medicine, a gift from nature to nourish, balance, and heal. They provide several benefits like supporting digestion and circulation, stimulating liver function, and calming the nerves. I often bring a couple of different blends or a few must-have jars with me to cater to any meal. Spices like cinnamon, fennel, ginger, and cardamom for sweet, and then cumin, coriander, and turmeric for savory.

See below for an easy vata churna (spice mix) recipe that you can make at home before your trip.

VataPacifyingChurna.pdf

Download PDF • 2.21MB

Keep this on hand for travel constipation

Triphala is a revered formula in Ayurveda that is a highly efficacious yet gentle laxative that helps keep the colon clear of toxins. It is considered the great "microbiome balancer" composed of 3 distinct fruits that make this remedy balancing to all doshas. Triphala promotes the growth of healthy gut bacteria, enhances digestion and nutrient absorption, eases constipation, and supports stronger immunity. It also strengthens the brain-gut axis which helps support the brain and balanced emotions. For those who tend towards constipation during travel, and for all those rich and adventurous meals, triphala is here for the rescue.

Suggestion: take triphala powder 2 hours after your last meal and 2 hours before bed. Follow with a glass of hot water. Talk to your Ayurvedic practitioner for more detailed instructions for your unique constitution.

If your body could use a little extra loving support to get things moving, enjoy this Smooth Move Tonic—chock-full of fiber-rich treasures like psyllium husk, flax seeds, and sweet dates.

Smooth Move Tonic - Google Docs.pdf

Download PDF • 405KB

Lubricate, nourish, and ground

Oil, oil, oil - if you know me, you know I love oil! I typically pack a small travel bottle of oil in my carry-on, but I often pick up a big jar of organic coconut (in hot weather) or sesame oil (in cool weather) once I land. Picking it up once I land lessens my load, plus I don’t have to worry about a massive spill in my suitcase. Oiling the body is essential to settling the nervous system and feeling grounded. I thoroughly coat myself well when I travel because oil has the opposing qualities of vata and therefore offers the perfect medicine to pacify vata dosha. Opposites are medicine in Ayurveda! Its moist, smooth quality lubricates the dry vata body, and it deeply grounds your mind by offering soothing protection to the nerve endings.

Jet Lag Remedy: once you get to your destination, coat your body with warm oil, then have a warm bath. If a bath is not available to you, you could take a warm shower. But if neither of those are available to you, you can simply towel off any excess oil, then get into some warm and cozy pajamas. Steep a cup of relaxing tea (like licorice root, chamomile, or tulsi), and call it a night! This routine will greatly support the realignment of your circadian rhythms.

Check out my guide here on how to give yourself a blissful oil abhyanga (daily self-massage).

Deep Breaths

Taking time out regularly, even if for just one minute, to find your breath and follow the air moving into your lungs and the air moving out, offers you an opportunity to slow down the hamster wheel of thoughts, experience a state of relaxation, and bring you into the present moment.

When you practice conscious breathing, which is taking a moment to focus solely on the breath moving into and out of your lungs, you can control your mind and quiet the chatter. Conscious breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which consequently slows down heart rate and digestion, lowers blood pressure, and promotes feelings of calm and relaxation.

A very simple practice that will help you quiet the mind, calm the nervous system, and connect you with your higher consciousness is the So Hum Meditation.

Take a few moments, find a comfortable seat, and just focus on your breath.

Let the breath flow naturally, breathing in and out through the nose.

On the inhale, mentally recite "So".

On the exhale, mentally recite "Hum".

These sounds constitute the natural sound of the breath. Using this mantra as support, as an anchor, helps you stay focused on the breath. This can be done anywhere, anytime, and it is one of the primary and foundational forms of pranayama (breathing practice). It is an easy way to calm your mind and reset your nervous system.

Routine rules

In addition to all of this, having some semblance of a routine is critical while traveling. Although this could be quite challenging during travel, it is one of the most powerful ways to keep vata in check. Vata is changeable, spontaneous, and is so easily affected by the energy around it, so it's easy to get swept up and scattered from the chaos of travel. When we do things routinely, we offer the nervous system an opportunity to know what to expect, and therefore a chance to relax and get into a rhythm.

Having some routine practices, like waking and sleeping at the same time every day, or eating meals at the same time every day, is potent medicine for vata. If those practices are not always attainable, at least find some time and space for yourself in the morning or evening to pay attention to your breath and quiet the mind - a little So Hum here goes a long way!

Whether you travel by plane, train, bus, or car, I promise you, balancing vata allows the wandering spirit to feel grounded and peaceful, so you can truly embrace the joy of travel. And with that, happy travels to you!

There is never a one-size-fits-all, for each of us is a unique expression of nature. If your heart is seeking a more personalized path of nourishment and lifestyle, I would be honored to walk that journey with you. Connect with me here.