The title seems like a bit of an oxymoron doesn’t it? We’re travelling, away from work most likely, away from all responsibilities other than keeping oneself alive, fed and mediocrity clean, and yet, taking time to nourish our souls, move our bodies and feed our minds is often thought of as a given in the realm of travel and not something we need to put effort into.

Travelling is expansive, enriching and enlivening. It doesn't just show you different ways of living and being, it lets you be apart of a world that was once only known through the images our mind sums up, or perhaps we never knew they existed before we traversed on the adventure of a lifetime. And yet we can easily feel run down, disconnected, out of alignment and meh. If this is you, don’t worry, you’re not travelling wrong. We are just human beings feeling human things.

I’ve been on the road for six months now and I’m at the end of my travels which has made me overly nostalgic and reflective. This adventure has been supremely unlike my other solo travelling expeditions because I know myself a lot better, and what helps me to handle the loneliness and disconnection. For example I distinctly remember on my last trip in the Philippines crying wondering what the fuck I was doing and why I was travelling and how others made it look like sooo much fun when in reality a lot of it is planning, problem solving, long travel days and a lot of trust. And I use this as an example because I was also on an incredible secluded picturesque island with good weather and it was unbelievably cheap. And yet I was sad and disconnected.

And what about now? I’ve cried once this trip out of loneliness and it was more because I had no one to hold my bags while I risked using a public bus station bathroom after a long overnight bus lol. This time though I just made a friend. Female bathrooms seem to always be a place for bonding no matter what country you are in or what language you speak.

So how can we come back to feeling energised, connected, and aligned when travelling?

Good thing is its very similar to the practices you probably already do at home, but I’ve also gone ahead and included a few other practices and thoughts to help make the transition from disconnected to connected a little more enriching, fun and accessible.

Yoga

Bet you saw that one coming! But really moving your body is necessary for every reason. Your are travelling long distances most likely, crammed in shuttles busses or on flights, the body needs the space to open. So creating more space in the physical body will help to clear energy channels, help to make to feel lighter and more spacious as a result and ground you back down to earth.

You don’t need much space and often what’s holding us back is feeling that we need the ‘perfect’ space, you don’t, you just need a little space and a little time. Starting is always the hardest part.

Along the way I’ve posted some YouTube classes so feel free to follow along!!

2. Meditation

Now meditation is a branch of yoga for many of us and can also be a stand a lone practice. There’s many ways on how to meditate but my favourite is using an app on my phone that I’ve used for years now. It’s called Insight Timer, they have thousands of recordings, a timer option (personal fav), courses and many other features. There’s also many other apps and YouTube videos to follow along to, but we don’t need to complicate it, try just setting a 3 minute timer on your phone and follow your breath. It’s not necessarily easy (especially at the start), but it is simple and effective.

Try this when you’re in nature too, picking up on all the sounds and colours around you.

3. Journal

It’s an easy one to start and a hard one to keep up with. Good thing is your journal doesn’t care if it’s been 1 day or 1 month since you last wrote anything down. It’s taken me years to build the habit of regular journalling so bringing it on my travels was just a natural continuation of that but for many they start journalling when they travel to help obtain some of the memories they are making. And I highly recommend it. You can start by writing down dot points of your day, how you feel, what you noticed and see what comes up. Sometimes it will be just a few lines and at other times it might be pages long.

If carrying around a physical journal isn’t for you a great option is using the app Polar Steps that helps to track your travels. Here you can upload photos and videos with a caption of your time in each place. Bonus is family and friends can also follow along with you and at the end it feels really satisfying seeing where you have trotted along the globe laid out.

4. Use a camera!!

There is something about using a camera as opposed to the one on your phone that just feels more connecting. It definitely does not need to be some big fancy expensive camera just a simple point and shoot will do. Challenge yourself to put your phone away and go exploring. Look at the details, the architecture, pretend you are a world class photographer and take look at the world around you, the faces, the colours, the leaves, everything. The world is small but diverse and you are living in it, don’t miss the moment.

5. Stay with locals.

I chose to stay at a home stay from Christmas while going to Spanish school in Antigua and man was this incredible. Not only was it more affordable than regular travel but it was a wonderful experience to immerse myself in the language and in the culture. Setting up a little routine and slowing down. Give it a go, I only had time for a week but found it to be incredibly enriching.

6. Volunteer

Now I love to be political, and I do believe that if you are long term travelling we should use our privilege to help out in some way. The spiritual has always been political after all! I based my trip around a 5 week volunteering stint at the phenomenal Inti Wara Yassi sanctuary in Bolivia. This is by far the most rewarding experience of my entire trip (maybe even life)! There are so many ways to help out and so many fields to volunteer in. You can use websites like Volunteer World or Work-Away to see what’s available and where needs help. If you don’t have time you can also ensure that the tours you do are ethical for example many hiking companies and eco-hostels have partnered up with or started their own community outreach programs that you can be apart of or feel better that who you’re supporting is supporting others.

7. Walk

An easy one but an effective one. Walk around where you are staying (as long as its safe of course). Get your bearings and recalling take it in. Listen to music that lights you up with just one ear bud and just listen with the other ear. What are the building like? What nature is around you? What kind of stores line the streets? Bonus: find a bench at a local park/square and notice the life around you.

8. Make friends

Oh boy I can feel the anxiety of the introverts reading this. But I promise its not as hard as our minds make it out to be. For me the simplest way of making friends is staying at hostels. Solo travellers coming together to save a few dollars and meet other travellers. Simply asking how someone’s day was and what they have planned will open up the likelihood that you are doing something similar and even if you aren’t doing doing similar it helps to create connections and seperate that boundary of strangers that can feel so isolating at times.

Personally I also never get sick of ‘the small talk’, I love to know where others have travelled, how long they are on the road for, what’s been their favourite part etc. You do not need to ask ”deep” questions to start a connection, a hello is all it takes.

Don’t worry as well if you’re nervous every time, if that pang of worry still sits with you as you initiate a connection, it does get easier over time but can still be daunting. I find myself in times of anxiety, awkwardness and isolation, repeating a statement I heard from one of the cast of The Imperfects Podcast time and time again to give me that push of confidence which is “I can’t wait to be friends”. People are generally nicer than you expect and if they’re not then hey at least you’re nice and can say adios.

So there you have it. My suggestions on how to go from disconnected to connected. Just a reminder to close things off that you can do all of these, learn the history, eat well and you can still feel disconnected. It’s a human emotion passing through, not an indicator to how well you are travelling. So go out there, feel all the things and notice the life around you that you are apart of.