written by NAIRI RIGON
We are traveling for work, traveling to go on vacation, or traveling just for the sake of it. Travel is now part of our lives; taking a plane is equivalent to taking a train or bus. Travel has become quick and easy wherever we are in the world. Many of us do not have a routine always in the same city, but are forced to move all the time or choose to do so as we did. For us, traveling is a real way of life. We enjoy living in a van, exploring new cultures, and seeking new stimulation and inspiration. We have decided to dedicate our lives to our passions, yoga, climbing, and nature and contact with it.
Can you practice Yoga when on the road?
There was only one thing that scared me at first before I embarked on this “digital nomad” lifestyle – that’s what it’s called – and that was how I was going to reconcile my yoga practice with life in the van. I always thought, wrongly, that the practice had to be tied to its own “sacred” place within our home. I thought you always needed soft light and incense to be able to start practicing. Would I still have been able to take my practice out into nature, at different times and places each day? Would it have been too big a change that might have compromised my daily practice?
We set off, overwhelmed by the desire for new adventures and to escape the traffic of the metropolis. So I started practicing yoga outdoors, at first with some difficulty concentrating, but slowly I got used to it. I slowly changed my perspective: I told myself that yoga is not only what we do on the mat, but also outside of it. I realized that I no longer wanted to do yoga but to be yoga. I wanted to bring yoga to all levels of my life and in all situations, even and especially the most unthinkable ones. Starting with travel. Because travel means learning about ourselves even outside the comfortable walls of home.
I would like to share some lessons learned on my journey so that you can put them into practice on your travels, whether short or long.
The first thing is to get a yoga mat while traveling, one that is easily transportable, lightweight, and not bulky. Having the right mat is a great trick to give us the right motivation to take the first step toward our daily practice. With that done, the road is downhill!
It may be inconvenient to bring the classic sponge yoga mat, just as it is inadvisable to bring a very thin mat that does not provide the right support: the ideal solution is to buy a fabric travel mat, I for one use Grippy Boo Reyoga.
The second thing is to create our ritual, a gesture even when traveling that tells us “it is time to practice.” It could be a song we listen to, a mantra we recite, or anything we can replicate that creates the right atmosphere.
Let’s also remember to accept that there will be bad days when we don’t feel like getting on the mat, or when we are tired or stressed or busy doing something else. The world goes on even if we miss a day of practice; let us not blame ourselves, but accept it with serenity.
A final tip for those who want to do yoga on the road is to share the practice with those around us. Our partner(s), our neighbors in the van, and our climber friends at the crag with us. Even if we are on the road, let’s involve other people to practice together with us, this will help us regain motivation and energy!
Happy travels and good practice to everyone!
Nairi
Nairi is an Odaka Yoga teacher and Ashtanga practitioner. She studied for several years as a self-taught teacher, then moved to Milan for work and began to practice with perseverance and dedication. After her first Teacher Training in 2020, she decided to change her life and became a yoga teacher. Today she lives in Madrid, tomorrow who knows.
In September 2020 she founded the As We Flow project together with her partner Lorenzo, a professional climber. The dream of wanting to live as connected as possible with nature and their passions takes shape. Being 8 hours in front of a PC, disconnected from reality, was a future, but more importantly, a present that Nairi no longer wanted to live.
She became aware that yoga was what she wanted to do, so she decided to drop everything and set off on an adventure. After several months traveling around Europe, she stopped in Madrid, to do what she loves, with whom she loves, in the places she loves.
“It takes a lot of energy, but when work coincides with passion, it doesn’t even feel like work”-Nairi says-“I feel that I’m on a journey, but the journey is not over yet.
Who I was yesterday is not the Nairi I am today and will not be the Nairi of tomorrow. Happiness is a journey that can take a lifetime. It is a flow and I am in it, completely.”
Follow her on Instagram: @nairi.rigon
