Meditation Makes Vacation Better

Pilates organizes your body. Meditation organizes your mind.

Some of the meditative practices you’ve been learning at Optimize, like traditional meditation, as well as HeartMath or special breathing strategies that center and focus you, have the potential to enhance not just your every day life, but also your life when you travel!

Having a European mother means I’ve been traveling to Europe regularly my whole life. Recently, I took a trip to the Netherlands and Scotland and was really struck by how much my dedication to meditation was completely changing the experience compared to past trips.

Before, to have comfortable travel, I needed to upgrade my plane tickets, the hotel, the dining. I tended towards planning ahead in detail, scanning reviews and TripAdvisor to plan the best possible itinerary.

But this trip was different. There definitely was some planning, but there was also more going with the flow and trusting that things would work out. There was more being present. More mindfulness. More calm. More focusing internally rather than externally.

This is the Royal Mile in Edinburgh at midday. It’s like your mind—full to the brim with so many busy thoughts.

This is the Royal Mile at sunrise. It’s like a mind that uses meditative practices to calm and quiet the thoughts. It’s clear. It’s more peaceful. You can notice the small details without all the distractions. You can be intentional about your choices and actions.

International travel can be hard. There are so many things you can’t control. The flight delays, who you sit next to on the plane, the noises in your hotel at night, the comfort of your bed or pillow, the long lines, the crowds of tourists, the food you'll be served. Meditation gives you the opportunity to focus less on the material around you that you can’t control and more on your reaction to it, which you can control.

Flight

This trip, I meditated with an audio guide for 90-minutes on my first flight. It’s amazing how fast the time flew and how much better I felt physically. Normally I get motion sick, headaches, and general malaise. But meditation helped me feel like I’m not on a turbulent airplane and made the time fly.

I also used the focusing of my mind when passengers around me were challenging. Rather than let that person constantly shaking and kneeing the back of my seat get to me, I focused my mind elsewhere. I chose not to be reactive.

On the return flight, a delay led to a tight connection. Already the airline had booked us on another plane. I meditated on us making it through customs and security swiftly and catching our flight. My husband was feeling anxious and in a huge rush. Instead of letting emotions of worry and panic overcome me, I used my tools. I focused on making that flight and felt confident we would. Funny enough, the airline oddly bumped my husband off the flight but not me. I was able to get through security with my boarding pass and get help to get him on the plane too. And the perk? Our new seats were better than our original ones.

Unexpected Hiccups and Synchronicities

Our first full day in Scotland, we planned to visit the Edinburgh Castle. But when we got there at 9:00am, a sign was posted that they were sold out of tickets for the day. Original me would have berated myself for not planning better and not knowing that we should have booked tickets in advance. Meditating me thought “I wonder what my day is going to hold instead.” Within mere minutes, a gentleman approached. He was a tour guide with a group and had had a cancellation. He had two spare tickets and offered to sell them to us. Finding an ATM nearby was a breeze and within minutes, we were walking up to the castle to enjoy our tour. This was my favorite synchronicity of the trip, but there were others as well.

Enjoying the view from Edinburgh Castle after the Universe generously provided tickets for us.

Sleep

Traveling to a time zone 7-9 hours ahead of yours means some serious jet lag. Meditation to the rescue! When I can’t sleep, I meditate instead. Meditation drops your brain waves to frequencies very close to those seen in sleep. Some meditators can even get into theta brain waves while meditating—a state normally achieved only in sleep.

This works for sleeping on the plane and for trying to sleep in strange hotel beds. Often times, I fall back asleep after meditating but if I don’t, then at least I’m in a deeply restorative and relaxed state rather than fretting about being tired the next day. This trip was the most well rested I have ever felt despite jet lag (working to support my circadian rhythms likely helped too).

Overcoming Limitation

One of my favorite things about meditation is it helps you overcome limitations. During this trip, I tweaked my ankle. This was quite unexpected as Pilates has strengthened my ankles and made this extremely rare. However, rather than feeling sorry for myself (which is my typical tendency), I focused on feeling less limited by it. A full day hiking tour to the Isle of Skye loomed ahead and the usual me thought there was no way I’d be able to do the longer, steeper hikes. Meditating me thought anything is possible! I bought some ankle tape and I meditated on doing the hike without too much pain. And when the day arrived, my ankle did amazingly well! Better than my waterproof shoes…

My ankle handled three hikes, including this two hour one with 1100 feet of elevation. Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Being Present

It’s hard to live in the present rather than the past or future. But this vacation, I was able to be more present. To worry less about time and what was supposed to happen next. My better organized mind was able to focus, require less distraction/entertainment on my phone, to avoid thinking about work or what needed to happen when the vacation was over, and to truly experience an area and not just take a photo and rush on.

A surprising thing happened when I was more present like this. I was better tuned in to what I wanted. Did I want to explore that part of the castle? Did I want an audio tour or to experience it on my own? I found myself hearing my own inner voice and intuitions and desires, and following less of what I thought I should do or what everyone else was doing. It was an interesting way to travel—letting go of the “but we have to see this landmark site because that’s what all tourists do!” There was a lot more of “but what do I want to do?”

Being fully present means you can experience each moment more fully. Lake outside of Amsterdam.

Improved Imagery for Future Meditations

Meditation improved my vacation, but my vacation also improved my meditations!

I draw from nature for ideas about how to meditate. On this trip, I stood in grass soggy from rain. I use that feeling to imagine my feet deepening into the ground and eventually, energetically, connecting with the core of the earth. I saw waterfalls and flowing rivers, which I use to imagine energy coming from the Field into my chakras. I saw a harbor whose waters were still as glass, which I use to imagine my mind. Not in turmoil from all its thinking, but peacefully still and empty of thought.

Fifteen years ago, Scotland passed a Right to Roam law. It says that you can explore anywhere in the country, regardless of who owns the land. Without a fear of trespassing, there is so much freedom. No limitation. I think of the possibilities of my life like that—free to be anything!

Eilean Donan castle, Highlands of Scotland.

Harbor of Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Three Sisters of Glencoe, Highlands of Scotland.

A Dram of Whisky?

I couldn’t help but notice how the Scottish normally handle challenges—with a dram of whisky. It is seriously baked into their culture. My own American culture is very similar. The best way to handle a long day, hard work, or difficult people? With a drink!

Alcohol calms you. It helps you settle your mind. It distracts you. You don’t have to think about your problems.

You know what else can do that, and do it better without taxing your liver or disrupting your sleep? Mindfulness practices like HeartMath, breath work, and meditation. You don’t need to medicate your mind or distract it. You can calm it with your own power. It takes time, effort, and practice to overcome the mind, but it can be done. And the results are much better than the buzz from liquor.

Start deepening your mindfulness practices now and the next trip you take might be more enjoyable!