GABRIEL SCHIRM

I recently had the privilege of commenting on a great piece written by Kelsey Dallas over at Deseret News National and I loved what she had to say about building wellness into travel. More and more people are making travel good for you.

Many times what you want from a vacation and what you get are at odds with each other. I have experienced this all to many times. I want to relax, refresh and rejuvinate turns into, dear God I need to eat a vegetable. Then when you finally get home you tell your friends that you need a vacation from your vacation.

So how do you make travel good for you? It might be yoga, as the article focuses on, and it may be long-distance treks, running, walking, hopping on a bicycle or spending a few minutes each day during your vacation for ‘self improvement’. I admit to being a bit of a food snob. This means I refuse to eat at fast food restaurants while traveling and obsessively seek out the most local and fresh food I can. This food tends to be good for you too.

The more I travel the more I realize that the trips I remember most are not those where I see the most sites or stay in the nicest hotels, but those trips, like the Camino de Santiago, that leave you somehow different. Somehow better.

So why not make your next trip good for you by incorporating something that makes you better than the person you were yesterday? Maybe a walking mantra or simply hiking, doing some yoga or meditating on a secluded beach in Costa Rica. As you read in the article this doesn’t have to cost you a cent.

How do YOU make travel good for you?