Meditation tours are a great option for those looking to make a lifestyle change. Here’s how you can incorporate mindful moments into your next vacation for an altogether new travel experience!
As you make your plans for summer vacation, pause a moment to understand what prompted you to make all of the travel preparations, buy tickets and leave familiar surroundings to venture out into the world.
Adventure is the key here. More often than not, when we go on vacation, we’re seeking new experiences. When we encounter something for the first time, our presence of mind and focus is there in the moment. So, when we recall that memory, we have a heightened sense of the experience.
Mindfulness is the conscious state that helps us turn life’s ordinary moments into spectacular memories and can lead to greater enjoyment of life all year long. By pausing to center yourself and become aware of your senses and surroundings, it’s possible to get more out of the adventure that your vacation holds, and the excitement that is daily life itself.
Try this mindfulness meditation on your next vacation to get more out of your exciting experiences.
Mindfulness Meditation for Vacation
Sit
Sit comfortably, with your back straight and tall and fill your belly with three deep breaths, in and out.
Relax
Close your eyes and relax into this moment as you allow your senses, other than vision, to take over.
Listen
What do you hear? Soak up the sounds and allow them to lead you to the sense of what you can smell. Can you “taste” the smells? What of touch? Is this place cool, or warm? Is there a breeze on your cheek?
Breathe
Before you open your eyes, clear your visual palette by taking slow deep breaths that relax and clear your mind.
Finish
As you open your eyes, notice how colors are bright and fresh as your five senses blend into one mindful experience.
As you prepare for your vacation, pause and become mindful of your adventuresome spirit, eager to travel, seeking new input through unfamiliar places and experiences. Decide to awaken your senses now, before you depart and keep this state even as you rush through crowded airports and settle into your seat.
Turn on your senses to the smells you encounter, the changing light and scenery as you travel toward your destination. Above all, keep in mind that it is always the journey and not the anticipated destination that holds the moment-to-moment pleasures along your path. Bon voyage!