I love to travel. It’s funny I can say that, because I actually hate the travelling.

Wait, what? Yeah, I love the destination, not as much a fan of the journey to get me there. On the beach with a cool drink? I love it. On the plane with an upset stomach. Not so much.

I don’t think humans were meant to fly through the air at over 500 mph. Ever step off a plane feeling unsettled? It’s because you were going 100 times as fast as your body could go on its own power. Car. Plane. Bus. Please, in the name of all that is holy, don’t make me ride in the back of a commuter van for more than 5 minutes. It just won’t work.

There are a few things I do to deal with the tumult of travel so that I can further enjoy the point of the trip–the destination.

Great nutrition

A few days before I go, I start eating really colorfully. Lot’s of veggies, raw and lightly cooked. I hydrate like crazy, cut down on amounts, do some daily cleanses, and really overdo the healthy eating thing. That way, when it comes time for my body to cross time zones or hemisphere lines, it will have all the power it needs to keep me feeling great.

Over hydrate the days before, medium hydration the day of

Having enough water in our bodies gives us the best chance at health. I’ll over hydrate in the three days leading to the trip. The day of, I back off a bit, because well hydrated people need bathrooms more than half a dozen times during the day. That’s not as ideal during the travelling, so I’ll have a glass of water in the morning, a little bit during the day, and then fill back up when I’m at my destination.

Breathe

Thousands of people are bustling around. Huge technological wonders work around us, sorting things, moving people, protecting access, carrying bags, flying, and doing everything it takes to move us a distance in a few hours that 100 years ago would have taken weeks, months or years.

This machine of transport is beautiful. It can also be intimidating, scary, and at least unsettling. We wait in line to sit in moving chair to wait in another line to sit in another moving chair. The whole day and ordeal of travel is just one wait after another and one chair after another. There isn’t much to do to deal with this besides breathing mindfully.

Wherever you are forced to wait; in line at customs, at the departure gate, on the tarmac (yikes!), the only way through it is to breathe. Breathe in to the count of 5. Think “I’m breathing in clean air”. Breathe out a longer count, to 8 counts. Think, “I’m breathing out with great health and happiness.”

Eliminate negative thoughts like “How long will this take?” or “I can’t wait until this is over” and just breathe calmly. You are here, so is your breath. Everything is fine.

Stay up late

Double check this advice, because lack of sleep is not generally good for us. I find that if I am leaving early to fly, when I stay up late, maybe getting everything ready for the trip, preparing the house for my absence, etc., and hit the plane seat on not quite enough sleep, I crash for most of the trip.

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