Flexibility on the Road

What’s up, EndorphinFriends? Much love to you all from the road! As one member of the EndorphinClan has embarked on another journey, hopping her way through continents, we thought it’d be fitting to talk about self care and travel. Long holidays, day trips, work trips, any kind of travel. How the heck do you do it? How do we make sure to take care of ourselves while still being able to enjoy whatever form of travel we’re doing? We’ve been talking about simplicity and releasing in the newsletters, and these things are all important to think about in terms of travel, too. Whether it’s for a day, a month, or a year. 

Being on the road can sometimes feel unsettling. There is this uncertainty of what will happen next, a lack of the comforts of your own home, new sights and scenery, new people, perhaps even new cultures and customs. And that is cool. That’s what traveling is about. Seeing and experiencing new things. But finding the balance between letting go, and holding on to certain comforts we’ve grown accustomed to, is necessary if we want to grow, learn, and evolve with each experience we have and actually enjoy the travel.

So, how can we do this anyway? Well. Perhaps the first thing is to check in with ourselves about our routines and how they make us feel. And then think about them in terms of travel. Will they keep us grounded and calm, or will doing them bring us more stress and anxiety, especially while we’re traveling and there’s a variety of foreign stimulation not in our daily routine? Be honest with yourself. Vacation is about enjoying, giving yourself a break, being gentle with yourself, and allowing yourself to just be. To enjoy the moment, without any cares or worries. Because you deserve a break. And if we’re too strict or obsessed with keeping the same exact routines on the road that we have at home, then it takes away from our other experiences. Been there, don’t want to do that again!

And let’s be real. It can be a challenge being on the road and finding food that makes you feel good, or a gym, or a place to walk, whatever it is that you do daily. EndorphinGirl™ and EndorphinDaughter™ have spent many a day running circles in the most random places, or doing yoga on the bed in a hostel dorm with no floor space. It’s definitely possible, to maintain the things we do for ourselves each day that help us feel good. But perhaps some of that energy spent worrying about crossing those things off the list could be used towards something new that might open up even more wonderful experiences.

As the EG team has learned, and still continues to learn, it’s about being flexible. And that can be so hard. Because perhaps we’ve gotten so deep into whatever routines we have. And letting them go, even just a little bit can make us feel anxious or not enough. Been there, don’t want to feel that again either! But being comfortable with the uncomfortable, this is what travel is about. Learning, experiencing, opening up. Not everything will be the same as it is at home. And being flexible about our self care routines is crucial for travel. Being flexible in general while traveling is crucial for travel. Otherwise, we wouldn’t experience all the things we possibly could if we’d created the space for them. 

In short, keeping some sort of self care practices is super important always, especially if they help keep you sane. We all know how consistency and routine create habits, and good habits make us feel more balanced and healthy. But in the case of travel, what might be even more important is looking at those practices, whether it be yoga, or running, working out, or meditation, or whatever it is, and making some flexible choices. Perhaps simplifying, shortening, or foregoing, for the time being, to create some space for new experiences during your trip or new adventure. Because it is okay. We are enough if we don’t go to the gym on vacation. We are enough if we don’t journal each night on vacation. We are always enough. Irregardless of the self care practices we do, or don’t do. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many days we spent in the gym, or how many hours we spent trying to meditate, or if we maintained the perfect diet for the rest of our lives. In the end, what matters is that we enjoyed. And if that means we skipped a workout to enjoy some pizza in Napoli, or some chips and guac in Mexico, or some veg thali in India, well then that’s what we’ll do. As long as it’s done mindfully with true intentions, and most importantly, pure fun and enjoyment. 

Written by: Mia Kataisto