All your muscles ache, and you don’t care if you ever eat again. The thermometer reads 101 as you lie on the bed feeling sorry for yourself.
You traveled 3,000 miles to be here with everyone, and now you can’t even attend the party. What will you do for the holiday meal, look over from the couch and watch the others eat?
There’s nothing worse than being sick when you travel.
It’s easy to avoid sickness when you travel by following these tips:
Keep Your Channels Open
Prana is corrupted when you travel, especially when you are flying. The body tries to restrict the corrupted prana from entering the body by closing the nadis (vibrational channels).
This puts pressure on the nadis and slows the flow of prana in the body. The digestive system, bowel movements and ojas are all adversely affected. Immunity goes low, making you susceptible to viral infections.
If you want to stay healthy when you travel, you have to keep the channels open:
- Use a Nadi opening spray (e.g.: Flex’nFlow Body Mist) on your palms and inhale during the flight.
- Use a good nasya oil (for example Ida Pingala Oil) to your nostrils during the flight.
- Practice gentle deep breathing at regular intervals to keep the nasal passages open.
- Avoid ice cold drinks, sodas, cold foods, and raw foods, all of which block the channels.
Prepare Yourself For Travel
Sometimes you don’t have much choice, but wherever possible get extra rest before you travel. Plan ahead for all the last minute things that must be done before you go.
Don’t stay up late the night before. If you can get to bed early for a few nights before you travel, your nadis (vibrational channels) will naturally be open and your immunity will be strong.
Try to avoid red-eye flights and late night arrivals whenever possible
Airports and airplanes are full of the highest EMF/EMR.
Prepare your nadis for this by getting a spinal treatment (with Flex’n Flow Transdermal Cream) before you leave. (You can get a professional treatment session with one of Vaidya Mishra’s Shaka Vansya Ayurveda practitioners or you can have a friend swipe your spine several times from top to bottom with the cream).
Also, use Flex’n Flow cream or Mist on your feet before wearing socks. This opens the channels in the feet (the slowest area of circulation in the body) and keeps prana flowing in the extremities.
Finally, apply Maha Marma Oil, Ida Pingala Oil, Karna Oil and Guda Oil before travel. These are all designed to open the nadis of the body and to prevent the build-up of corrupted prana in the nadis.
Food Is Your Friend (Or Can Be Your Enemy!)
Pay attention to your digestion when you travel. Don’t overeat. Digestion becomes weak when the channels shrink during travel. If you eat more than you can digest, you further block the channels, decreasing the flow of prana, and increasing your risk of getting sick.
Take small portions and eat slowly. Keep mealtimes consistent whenever possible. Minimize dining after dark when you are traveling. When the sun is up, there is more agni in the environment to keep your digestive fire high.
Favor sweet juicy fruits like pears, apples, and pomegranate when traveling. Include channel opening spices that enhance circulation, such as black pepper, cardamom, cumin, mint, turmeric, nutmeg, rose, coriander, fennel and ginger.
Rehydrate yourself by drinking natural spring water with good pH balance frequently. Don’t confuse the dehydration and fatigue that accompany jet lag with hunger.
Take Care Of Yourself Immediately After Your Trip
Whether you have full scale jet lag, or are arriving after a short flight or a modest drive, you can start feeling great in no time:
SVA Facial Marma Massage
Wash your face with natural herbal soap. Apply Facial Clay and leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
Do facial marma self-treatment with Lalita’s Age Defying Cream, Deep Moisturizing Lotion, or Lalita’s Facial Oil. You will immediately feel more relaxed and will find yourself breathing more deeply.
If you don’t have any of the products above, just do a dry massage. You will still feel the benefits of flowing prana to your head and neck area through the opened marma points. The herbs in the creams will help re-balance the vata on a deeper layer, but just re-activating the marma points with touch will also help.
Eye Care
Make a thick paste with Vaidya Mishra’s Skin Clay, place a tsp of clay on each side of a cheese cloth corresponding to the location of the eyes, lie down, close your eyes, and place the cheesecloth strip on the eyelids. Leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with cool water. This helps remove puffiness and is very refreshing and cooling to the eyes.
For The Mind And The Whole Body
Use Vaidya Mishra’s Samadhi Set creams, give yourself a nadi treatment, or do the Self Massage for Vibrational Balance.
Remember, this holiday season when you take care of yourself you will have much more to give to your loved ones!
