Tight from Your Nomadic Lifestyle? Yoga Can Help (Guest Post)

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Today’s guest post is from Noah, an editor at Runnerclick. Noah approached me and offered to write a post about how yoga can enhance a nomadic lifestyle. I thought his idea was a great one. Yoga is one of those activities I always want to do more of. Maybe this post will be the inspiration we all need to bring more yoga into our lives.

Living and traveling in your van, motorhome, truck camper or other rig can be a truly mesmerizing adventure. You have a unique opportunity to change locations frequently, to stop and explore whenever you wish, and to avoid the limitations of travel programs.  Unfortunately, driving, exploring, and living in close quarters can make you tired, overwhelmed and mentally drained. Luckily, yoga is the perfect remedy for all of your traveling troubles. Yoga can revitalize your whole body after long hours of sitting and driving or stooping down in a rig that’s too short to stand in. Here are some useful tips on how to get your blood flowing with yoga while you live your nomadic life.

Start fresh 

Our bodies feel best early in the morning. Before you head out to your next destination, do a few basic but productive yoga stretches. If you want to feel energized even during long drives, increase your stamina by doing  mindful yoga workouts. Any stretching exercise will be beneficial. Try the balancing table pose where you need to raise your right leg straight up behind you and in a plank position raise your left arm. A wall warrior stretch or a pointed star pose will have similar effects on your body. After these yoga exercises, you will feel refreshed and loosen up.

Go for a productive hike 

Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash

When you stop at some scenic and picturesque natural location, go for a walk or riveting hike. Find some exciting trails; take a bottle of water, a yoga mat, and headphones; and go for a hike that will help you stretch your tired legs. Walking in combination with yoga is ideal; doing the two activities one after the other enables you to loosen up after a long drive. You don’t need to engage your whole body or every muscle group; just pause every 500 meters (about a quarter of a mile) to do yoga. Do gentle poses like camel pose, locust, cat/cow pose, or side plank poses. With these yoga exercises, you will bring balance within your body, restore the agility needed for your nomadic life, and breathe in fresh air.

Speed up your metabolism 

Photo by kike vega on Unsplash

When you are inactive due to long drives, muscles tend to get groggy and your whole metabolism can slow down. For instance, foot muscles can ache from tediously long driving; luckily, there are many ways to aid your sore feet. While in your rig, lie down straight, lift both your legs up in candle position, and slowly rise up and down your hips. (If you don’t have room to do this posture on the floor, do it while lying in your bed.) This yoga pose will help increase your blood flow as well as reduce muscle aches and inflammation. Another useful pose that focuses on muscles that ache from driving is the Baharadvaja’s twist. Sit sideways with both feet to your right. Pull right heel as close as you can and take it with your right hand and place it outside your left knee. Place your left arm far behind you, hold the pose for 30 seconds, then switch to the other side.

Loosen up on a daily basis 

Living in a small space doesn’t mean that you can’t stop from time to time and do something productive for your health. Sitting too long may cause blood clots, various muscle aches, and even agitation and stress. Loosen up with simple yoga workouts designed to aid those who sit too long. Place a blanket or a yoga mat on the floor or ground and do the classic downward dog which is utterly beneficial for loosening and straightening your spinal and leg muscles. The boat and bridge poses are also very helpful. For boat pose, you need to lift both legs and touch your toes with your fingers and balance your body like a boat. The bridge pose is another classic that aids with aching back after long driving.

With yoga, you can restore the balance in your body, release tension, and prepare for any challenges your nomadic life brings. With these tips, you won’t have to suffer from tight muscles caused by long hours of traveling and living in a space that’s a wee bit small.

Bio: Noah is a very private person. If you go down a rabbit hole, you just might find him.

Did this article inspire you to try yoga? Have you already been doing yoga for years? Please share your yoga experience in the comments below. If you’d like to read about some of the Rubber Tramp Artist’s yoga experiences, click here.

Remember, neither Noah nor Blaize Sun is responsible for your safety and well-being. Only you are responsible for your safety and well-being. You should consult a doctor or other medical professional before you start any new fitness program. Don’t push yourself too hard when starting a new fitness program. Take things slow and easy.

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

I'd love to know what you think. Please leave a comment.