Whether you are driving, flying or taking a cross-country train ride, a long journey can be hard on your body. So it is vital you are preparing your body. You’re sitting in the same position for long periods, you can’t stretch out as much as you’d like, your back isn’t as supported as it should be and you are just uncomfortable. This can affect your body in a variety of ways. Your circulation can suffer from sitting still, which can lead to thrombosis and issues with varicose veins. Your blood pressure can drop, causing nausea and headaches, your muscles may ache and become stiff and you can generally feel rubbish. It can also affect your mental health. Being cooped up like this for a long time can affect your mood, increase feelings of stress and anxiety and make you feel groggy and tired. Even if you are excited about a break, a long journey can be tough.
There is plenty of advice out there to help make the trip bearable in preparing your body, such as getting up to stretch or stopping for breaks and wearing flight socks. But, there are also things that you can do before you leave, preparing your body to give it the best chance of coping well with less than ideal conditions.
LOSE SOME WEIGHT
If you are overweight, long journeys can be a lot taxing. You’ll be more uncomfortable. Your heart will have to work harder, your circulation can suffer more and you can sweat and get sore or develop a heat rash. If you know that you are going on a long journey later in the year start thinking about losing some weight. You can do this by visiting http://www.liposuctionsydney.com or by trying a calorie-controlled diet and exercise plan.
WORKOUT
Exercise won’t just help you to lose weight to get ready for your trip. It will also help make the journey easier. Travelling is hard work. You might be carrying heavy bags and suitcases around the airport, walking long distances or just spending long periods standing around. Working out will make this all much easier. So start mixing strength work with cardio exercise to make sure you’ve got great stamina and strength before you leave. This will also improve your heart health and the strength of your muscles, making you much less likely to get cramps or tired and achy muscles if you are seated on a plane or in a car for hours at a time.
MEDITATE
Travel isn’t just physically exhausting. It can be very stressful. As soon as you start to pack your bags, you can feel stressed out. And the hustle and bustle of the airport or station won’t help to lower your stress levels either. In the weeks prior to your departure try to practice yoga or meditation. Just take a few minutes every day at home to sit and focus (watch this video for help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB5m6dI9mAw). Take deep breaths and feel your stresses melt away. Then start practising meditation when you are out and about. When you are sitting on a busy train on your way to work, try to block everything around you out via meditation. And if you can do this during your journey, your stress levels and blood pressure are sure to be fine.
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This has been a collaborative post. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are not my own
