Travel Light & Be the Light
Kick puffiness and bloating to the curb with these travel tips that will guarantee your arrival appearance to be just as fresh as your departure appearance.
Except for a few lucky souls, everyone is probably familiar with the infamous travel bloat – that puffy, swollen feeling after a long flight or road trip. The feeling often persists after a few days of hotel room service and plentiful local cuisine. It’s annoying, it interferes with your vacation, and it is undeniably the worst. Luckily, BWB has the wellness expert’s secret to avoiding the uncomfortable travel bloating blues.
Traveling to new environments involves undergoing changes in air pressure from high altitudes of air travel and eating new food. The change and body shock often causes bloating, gas, or even constipation.
Thankfully, you can keep discomfort away and step off the runway feeling svelte in your favorite bodysuit. Put these pro tricks on your next packing list and enjoy your holidays light and lean from now on. You’re welcome!
1. Stow That Tray Table
First, avoid eating on the airplane. You may think your bloating is attributed to the pressurized cabin air or the change in altitude, but heavy foods certainly don’t help either. The most important thing we’ve learned is to avoid eating in the air. If you must eat for those longer flights, stick to easily digestible foods. Skip dried and dehydrated fruits that will just create more air and gas in the body.
I stay hydrated during flights with sliced cucumbers, fresh berries, or sliced fruits like kiwi, papaya, and mango. It’s my secret to feeling light and refreshed on those lengthy flights to and from Costa Rica!
2. Before & After
Aim for a juice cleanse during the days leading up to your travel. Upon arrival, take a detox bath and get moving with an activity such as Kundalini Yoga. Chelah Carty – founder of GYROTONIC® Nosara, rebirth breathwork facilitator, and certified hydrocolon therapist – insists that everywhere she stays has a bathtub and a place for lighting a fire at night. “Purification is a must,” she says. “If you’re not cleansing your energy daily, you’re holding onto it and it’s going to weigh you down.”
3. Avoid Alcohol & Caffeine
In flight, skip the alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol is very dehydrating and can make you look and feel extra puffy when you arrive at your destination. Coffee is a diuretic, which will cause you to lose water. To boost hydration, opt for herbal teas, adaptogenic dusts (Moon Dust has great ones), or a hot water with lemon.
4. The Magic of Magnesium
Also, make sure to pack some magnesium. This important mineral is a natural relaxant so it helps the aches and pains associated with traveling and airplanes. It also helps control fluid retention so those swollen fingers can get a break on the plane. Even better, it can help soothe overseas constipation and keep you regular no matter where you are.
5. Colonic Cleanliness
Speaking of constipation and staying regular while in a new location – for those brave enough to try it – colonics and enemas will change your life. An enema is an at-home procedure that administers liquid into your body through your rectum. Enemas are typically recommended for people suffering from constipation, but there are so many other health benefits. You can use purified warm water or add a cup of organic brewed coffee, which is an excellent way to reduce toxicity, improve digestion, boost bile flow, and ease bloating.
Expert Pick: Foret Light Cleanse At-Home Enema Kit + Travel Bag
- The cleanse helps remove toxins from your colon and liver, eradicate free radicals from your bloodstream, reduce inflammation and bloating, relieve constipation, enhance concentration, improve your skin and breath, increase your energy, and skyrocket your happiness (90% of your body’s serotonin is produced in your digestive tract!), among a heap of other awesome benefits.
It’s always important to be well-hydrated, but it’s especially important to keep hydrating while practicing any form of enema or colon therapy. It is essential to drink water before and after. It’s also a good idea to take a probiotic and mineral supplement when traveling. Our favorite is LoveBug Probiotics – Here’s The Skinny for preventing the bloating and irregularity often associated with travel.
Fern Olivia is the founder of Thyroid Yoga® and Ajai Alchemy.
Combining her education in Biomedical Engineering with her studies in yoga and integrative nutrition, Fern Olivia has created Thyroid Yoga®, a unique approach to supporting thyroid health.
In addition to teaching, retreats, events, and speaking on the topics of holistic health and self-expression, her course is a best-seller on MindBodyGreen and she trains wellness leaders and practitioners in her Thyroid Yoga® training, now available internationally. Fern Olivia is also the founder of Ajai Alchemy, an all organic essential oil fragrance brand specifically formulated with synergistic hormone balancing and aphrodisiac benefits.
Through her authentic storytelling, media platforms, and new TV show, Sensual Intelligence, Fern Olivia has inspired a mass movement of conscious self-expression and holistic health.
Traveling to new environments, undergoing changes in air pressure from high altitudes of air travel, and eating new foods is going to shock your body, no matter what. That means bloating, gas, or even constipation may follow.
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