There have been so many times in my life where trips go wrong.
Hotels lose reservations. Car services don’t show up. Busses get flat tires. Life happens, and it can be stressful. Add that to being somewhere foreign, not speaking the local language, and not being sure what to do next, and it can wreak havoc on anyone’s nervous system.
There are a lot of tools I’ve been able to pick up throughout years of travelling as someone who gets anxious. If you’re looking for ways to calm your nervous system that you can do anywhere, I hope sharing them will help! Mindful travel isn’t easy, but there are things you can do to make it easier.
Remember—they’re called practices because, well, you’ll need to practice. Please trust me when I tell you, you have to do these regularly for them to feel natural, and to see the effects. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t fall down sometimes with these, especially when I haven’t practiced them in a while. They’re tricky—but I promise they’re worth it!
Breathwork
You’re probably thinking, I breathe all the time. And yes, of course we all do—but there’s a difference between breathing to survive, and using breath to regulate your nervous system. Paying attention to your breathing, and creating deeper breaths, is a great way to create calm among chaos. Mindful travel starts with being calm.
How to practice breathwork: There are so many ways to practice breathwork, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario. I’ve tried a bunch–including counting inhaling beats, belly breathing, and closing nostrils. Some work well for me, and others don’t—you’ll need to find what helps you. Some that help me include the Square Breathing Technique and the Five-Finger Breathing Technique.
Body check-ins
A body check-in is a chance to drop into your body and reconnect with what’s going on physically. Even if you think you’re fine, you might be holding tension in your jaw, your shoulders, your calves. You might find an irritant—a stone in your shoe, a tangle in your hair—that’s causing you grief. You might find that you’re holding onto feelings you don’t want—irritation, stress, anger. Checking in with body gives you a chance to just notice what might be happening.
How to practice body check-ins: When I’m overwhelmed, I really enjoy finding a quiet place, and doing a full-body scan. Starting at the top of your head, start paying attention to how you feel; move down to your ears, your jaw, your neck, all the way down to your toes. When you tap into something that doesn’t feel right, stay with that feeling for a moment. Let’s say your stomach is upset—think about why that might be. Is it hunger? Stress? The result of unfamiliar cuisine? If it’s a feeling, try to move through it by feeling it through completely, and letting yourself off the hook for feeling it. If it’s because of something physical, remember you can remedy it later. Do this until you reach your toes.
Another body check-in that will calm your nervous is curling/flexing your toes 20 times in a row. It’s a somatic exercise that’s said to force your brain to pay attention to physical sensations, which can really help when it comes to mindful travel.
There’s also the famous five-senses exercise: name five things you can see, four things you’re touching, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
Gratitude
This one is…the most annoying, I’m not going to lie. Gratitude is something that’s work, even when everything is going well. When you find money or get a free coffee, it’s easy to say “Thank you, universe!”. It’s a lot harder when things are going poorly, and sometimes on trips, things go pretty badly.
How to practise gratitude in those moments: Try to see some silver lining, and be grateful for it. If you’re stuck in line behind someone slow: I’m grateful for the opportunity to slow down. Some of mine have been:
Getting heatstroke in Lisbon and missing out on a day of activities with friends: I’m so glad I have a room to myself, so I can sleep for 36 hours.
When a carbon monoxide leak caused me to abandon my AirBNB in Budapest: I get to live in apartments and hotels in different parts of town, that’s kind of cool.
Having a panic attack because I came back to my Paris hotel in Paris to an unlocked door: I’m so glad I found this café to stay safe in. It’s nice speaking to the waitress.
Pacing & Lingering
This one, I struggle with when I’m not paying attention. My default setting is to walk fast and get stuff done, which isn’t the point of slow, mindful travel. I call it pacing when I slow down how fast I’m going; lingering is when I push myself to stop and smell the roses.
How to do this: I try to be flexible; to be okay with changing plans, and going with the flow. But I know enough about myself to know that doesn’t work; I’m too high-strung to change plans. So instead, I try to limit the amount of things I’ve got planned in a day. This way there’s built-in time to slow down and pace myself.
I look out for places where I’ll enjoy spending longer stretches of time. For me that’s book shops, cafes, and museums.
When it comes to food, I can end up wolfing down a delicious meal within minutes. So I’ve been trying to pace myself more by putting my fork down between bites, and not picking it up again until my mouth is empty.
Journalling
When I’m travelling, I don’t take my actual journal: I take a small notebook that’s lighter in my luggage. And checking in with my thoughts is a great way to clear my head at the beginning or end of each day!
How to practise it: Set aside time daily during travel, and try to make a goal of at least one page per entry. I’ve got a handy little guide of journal prompts for mindfulness here if you’re not sure where to begin!
Remember, all of these take practice—don’t beat yourself up if it takes a couple of tries before you feel the results. They’re hard to master, but so worth it in return for a calmer trip. Happy travels!
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