Traveling is adventurous, but it can be as taxing as it is fun. If you have knots, cricks, or just need a yoga break from sitting for too long, you have no shortage of obstacles—a cramped cabin can really put a damper on limbering up. But by listening to your body and getting a little creative, there are ways to work in some yoga and combat feeling tight and tense.
- Sitting in your seat in a car, bus, train, or plane can be a trial, whether it’s for one hour or 11. However, it still may be possible to do some forward folds. Performing garudasana (eagle pose) arms while seated is a great way to work out kinks in the upper back, especially between the shoulder blades, and there’s almost always plenty of space for neck stretches.
- If standing up in the aisles is allowed and safe, you can turn to the side and perform a few side bends. The overhead storage on a plane or bus can provide small support for some shallow standing backbends.
- Rubbing your hands together and cupping the eyes is a rejuvenating technique that can provide relief from eyestrain after too much reading or watching in-flight programming on those tiny screens.
- In waiting or staging areas you can sometimes find enough space to perform some lunges or standing forward folds/ half salutations. Some wall or pillar space can often be found to do a supported dancer pose.
- Breathing and meditation practices are the most portable and only require that you be where you are.
Got any travel yoga tips of your own? Let us know in the comments section below.