Habits on Vacation

Last week my boyfriend and I went to northern California for a wedding. I was swamped with work the whole week leading up to the trip and I knew I would be the week after, so I made a point to prioritize running and meditation. I have to be honest: usually I completely abandon all healthy living on vacations. I like to overeat, oversleep, and veg out as much as possible. 

But, surprise, surprise! Sticking with my habits actually enhanced my relaxation and made me feel less stressed going into the new work week. Also, running on vacation is awesome in general because you see parts of your destination you may not otherwise. On my 8 mile run the day of the wedding, I ran to a park where I had a nice bike trail system by the river and through some small meadows. Plus I ran past a herd of sheep, which thrilled me beyond belief (I'm a knitter, so sheep and alpacas are basically my dream pets).

A View from the Bridge (on my run)

After my run, I had plenty of time to get ready for the wedding. It was a very beautiful wedding and the fact that the couple is one I really admire made it all the more enjoyable. An added plus of running before a wedding: I didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt about overindulging on champagne and cake.
I was able to make meditation a priority also, although I didn't do it every day (I cringed from shame as I wrote that). But! After going through security for our return flight, we found that SFO has a yoga/meditation room, so my boyfriend and I popped in to meditate for 10 minutes. Why doesn't every airport have this? I thought it would be difficult to meditate with the background noises of body scans, conveyor belts, and last calls for passengers, but all the activity was somehow soothing. Maybe I was just really exhausted from the weekend and needed a still moment. Regardless, it worked for me. 

In the future, I will definitely continue to prioritize my healthy habits even on vacation. Hopefully this will help avoiding the need to "reset" or decompress after a trip.