If you’re an avid traveler I urge you to make this one New Year’s Resolution: “Make my health and taking care of my body my number one priority.”

Recently I tweaked my knee lifting some heavy bags of soil. It was bugging me a bit, but nothing major. Then I flew to Turkey at the end of October… in economy… 13 hours. At the end of the flight I stood up and was in excruciating pain. I figured I’d walk it off just as I had every other time I sat for too long. But this time it was different – it wasn’t going away.

For two weeks I elevated my knee as much as possible, took lots of Advil, put on my game face, and withstood a whole lotta pain. I had to – I was on a 5-country trip with my sister – the trip of a lifetime! I wasn’t going to let a little thing like chronic pain slow me down. Needless-to-say, we still logged in over ten thousand steps a day!

That trip was a wake-up call! I mean, I’ve got an entire planet to explore – I certainly can’t be derailed by a bum knee or any other health or mobility issue!

The point is, you’ve only got the one body – TAKE CARE OF IT! If your goal is to see all the places on your bucket list, then you’re going to have to be in as good of shape as possible. You certainly don’t want to miss out on the view of the Greek Islands because you are too out of shape to walk to the top of the hill do you? Or not take the 20 hour flight because it wreaks havoc on your body!

Here are 8 EASY ways to keep your body travel-ready:

1. Stretching.

Whether it be an actual yoga routine or just a series of stretches, the benefits are numerous:

• increased flexibility,
• increased circulation,
• stress relief,
• better activity performance,
• improved posture,
• pain reduction,
• increased motivation to do other things,
• lower risk of injury, and
• endorphin release.

And the best part of stretching? No gym membership or fancy equipment required! Here’s a great 10 minute stretch to get you started:

2. Eat Healthy.

This seems rather obvious, but it is amazingly simple to NOT eat healthy! How many times do we have the best intentions but are thrown off track by grabbing fast food on the run, eating the extra dessert, or munching on unhealthy snacks throughout the day. Our food is our fuel; if you put low-grade fuel into your body, you can most certainly expect low-grade outcomes. Instead of thinking of eating healthy as some kind of deprivation (“I can’t eat any crackers or bread??”) think of it as a wonderful added bonus (“I’ll be able to see ALL of Rome in a one-day walk around the city!” or “It will be so fun swimming in the Adriatic and not feeling self-conscious about being in my swim suit.”).

3. Drink Water.

Staying hydrated has a plethora of health benefits:

• maximizes physical performance (this includes hiking and walking),
• affects energy levels and brain function,
• may prevent and treat headaches,
• may help keep you regular,
• may reduce kidney stone formation,
• helps prevent hangovers (drink that extra glass or two as you ring in the new year!), and
• can aid weight loss… among a whole slew of other health benefits!

Here’s a great article if you want to see the research behind the findings: Benefits of Drinking Water.

4. Get Regular Exercise. I think we ALL know the benefits of regular exercise, but how do we work it into our busy lives? Easy! Even if all you have time for is 10 minute chunks – do it! There are plenty of 10 minute workout videos on Youtube. Experts say it’s important to balance out your workouts by mixing and matching cardio (even brisk walking will do!), strength or resistance training, balance (Tai Chi anyone?), and flexibility (that’s where that stretching comes in!).

5. Get Plenty of Sleep.

It amazes me how many people suffer from insomnia or are out there driving and doing important tasks on only 2-3 hours of sleep a night!

Here is an article that gives detailed reasons to stay hydrated: 10 Reasons Why Good Sleep is Important. Here are a few worth mentioning

• Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain,
• Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity,
• Poor sleepers have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke, and
• Sleep improves your immune function.

6. Be Proactive. The easiest way to avoid illness or injury is to prevent it. This runs the whole gamut from knowing your limits (not lifting heavier bags than what you can carry) to taking the preventative steps to keep yourself healthy. Lately I’ve had two friends experience really frightening health scares. Thankfully, neither turned out to be life-threatening, yet both admitted that they had symptoms that they ignored. You know your body best; if something doesn’t feel right with you HAVE IT CHECKED. Also, do the usual preventative tests – the ones we all hate, but know they’re necessary.

7. Limit Alcohol and Don’t Smoke. This seems fairly obvious, so not much needs to be said except that “excessive” alcohol consumption is considered more than one drink per day for women and more than two drinks per day for men. I think we all know the negative affects of smoking tobacco. Here’s a great article if you want to learn more.

8. Make a Healthy Mind Your Priority. My dad will be 93 in a couple of weeks. He is still sharp as a tack. I realized after reading an article about 10 Ways to Stimulate Your Mind, that my dad does almost all the things on the list. Just a few include:

• make reading a habit,
• write frequently,
• play games or draw,
• listen to music or play an instrument,
• learn a foreign language, and
• take up a new hobby.

These are such small steps, but done together they’ll keep you healthy and add years to your life. And you know what THAT means, don’t you? Yeah, you got it… MORE TRAVEL!

And speaking of more travel…

We originally planned to view the Northern Lights from Yellowknife, Canada in the North West Territories. However, during these interesting times, the Northwest Territories is still not open to visitors. So, making lemonade from lemons, we’ve changed things up a little and decided to view nature’s light show from the good ol’ U.S. of A. – in Fairbanks, Alaska. We’ll be doing all the same fun activities as we’d planned to do in Canada (with the addition of a natural hot springs!), but without the stress of wondering if NWT will open in time.

Most of our original guests who signed up for the Canada trip have carried over to this one, but we do have a few spots available! Check out the website to see if Alaska is calling you. Oh, you hear that? It IS calling… join us!