Wellness Travel: How to Plan a Rejuvenating Trip

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What is wellness travel? For some, it might entail booking a yoga retreat to Goa, India. For others, it may mean a long weekend to rest and recharge while participating in rejuvenating spa-like activities closer to home.  

A wellness retreat implies a break from your traditional routine. It’s a span of days devoted entirely to self-care, to healing yourself so that you can give others the best version of yourself. It’s a vital part of some spiritual traditions, although every one of any faith — or none — can benefit. The world may well become a kinder, more understanding place if everyone took such a retreat once or twice a year. 

However, you can only control yourself and your energy, and your wellness retreat is all about you. Are you ready to start planning? Here’s what to keep in mind as you chart your healing journey.

Ensure a Pleasant Flight Experience

Kicking off your wellness retreat by running a 5k through the airport in hopes of making your connecting flight in time doesn’t qualify as relaxing or healing. The stress hormones your body generates during that mad dash will do your body more harm than the pleasant bit of unplanned exercise. 

While there are no guarantees, taking the right steps goes far in ensuring a more pleasant flight experience. You might even decide to skip the plane, depending on your destination. Train fare is often more than $100 cheaper, and it’s a more relaxing and sustainable mode of travel. Plus, if you take the train you can stop off at interesting places along the way, and if you make use of Radical Storage to keep your bags safe, you can really make the most of your trip. 
 

If you do decide to fly:

• Book on a Friday: Airlines tend to advertise the lowest fares on this day. 
• Arrive early: You should arrive at least an hour and a half before departure to ensure adequate time to get through security and relax a bit before boarding. 
• Ask for help: Are you traveling with a disability? Contact the airline. They can help by providing navigation assistance and wheelchairs. 
• Plan for comfort: Take comfort travel essentials with you. It’s incredible how soothing a travel pillow and blanket can be, and a relaxing novel or uplifting self-help book can take your mind off travel fears. 

Choose Your Wellness Immersion With Care 

You can put nearly infinite variations on wellness travel — customize it for you. Spend some mindful time considering what activities might benefit you the most. What can you do? Take hints from some of the newest wellness retreats that recently opened, and place some of these gems on your itinerary:

• Forest bathing: Boosts immunity and restores inner peace. 
• Yoga: A perennial favorite for mind and body. You can book a full yoga-based retreat, or many hotels with attached spas include regular class times. 
• Cooking: Some retreats focus on teaching you nourishing cooking techniques you can use to preserve your wellness at home. 
• Meditation: You might participate in group guided meditation or find a shala dedicated to silent contemplation. 
• Massage: The ultimate in relaxation. 
• Alternative medical treatments: Some wellness retreats offer treatments like acupuncture, reiki, laser skin refinishing, cryotherapy, and even intravenous nutrition infusions. 
• Saunas and steam rooms
• Traditional spa treatments: Such as manicures, pedicures, and facials. 
• Art and craft therapy: You might participate in such activities to improve your mental health while creating a one-of-a-kind souvenir of your trip. 

Include Fun With Your Fitness 

Many wellness retreats center the experience around fitness. For example, many yoga retreats entail practicing two or three times daily. Other facilities may offer various activities, so many that you end up booking every minute of every day. Before you know it, you feel as stressed out as you did back at the office as you rush from Gluten Free Cooking 101 to meditation hour. 

Although you want to squeeze in as much wellness as possible, give yourself time to simply breathe and be. Remember, a retreat is, above all, a relaxing escape, a chance to break free from the demands of a rigorous schedule. Filling up your agenda like a typical workday could leave you feeling more fatigued than refreshed. 

Are You Traveling Solo or With Others?  

If you go on your wellness retreat solo, indulge in anything that delights you. However, what if you plan a girls’ escape or travel with your family? 

If traveling with a group, include equal time for family and solo activities. You don’t want to spur resentment or make your loved ones feel neglected. However, you also need time to engage in those activities you find curative, but others might not enjoy. Share and discuss your plans beforehand to avoid unpleasant disagreements while away. 

Reflect on Your Experience 

A wellness retreat is a full sensory experience, an immersion you want to remember. Perhaps the best way to reflect on all you learn on your journey is to invest in a travel diary. What should you write in it? Tap into the three types of core memory, recording:

• Iconic memories: Quick, lasting images, like your first thoughts upon seeing the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. 
• Echoic memories: Auditory memories triggered by sound, like a mantra that has particular meaning to you. 
• Haptic memories: Touch-based memories like the feeling of easing your aching muscles into natural hot springs. 

You can also scrapbook, including postcards or photographs from your retreat. You might consider a shadowbox, perhaps containing sand and shells from your beachside wellness getaway. 

Ease Yourself Back Into the Real World 

Even the most rejuvenating wellness retreats must come to an end. Easing yourself back into your regular routine is as important as making tension-free travel plans to get to your destination. 

Give yourself a day or two upon your return to tend to necessary chores with ease. For example, you may need to pick up pets from the sitter, freshen up your home or catch up on a long list of work-related emails. Give yourself adequate time to do so without rushing. The last thing you want is a panicky return where you race to get back to work, instantly rebuilding all that tension you went on retreat to shed. 

How to Plan a Rejuvenating Wellness Trip 

Wellness travel can entail visiting a spa or participating in healthy activities closer to home. It’s a break from your daily routine, a chance to rest, recuperate from stress and learn healthy new habits to take with you upon your return. 

Follow the above tips to plan a rejuvenating wellness trip. Your destination is less important than the total healing experience you create.