How To Balance The Body During Travel With Ayurvedic Chef & Expert

Travel can be hard on the body. Our digestion, sleep, and immune systems all become compromised. Especially when looked at through the lens of Ayurveda. Which addresses all systems of the body to find balance and eliminate dis-ease.

As a way to explore how Ayurveda can be used as a tool during travel, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with chef and Ayurvedic expert, Jo Ann Kim of Little Jo’s Kitchen.

Below she shares simple tools for balancing the doshas, specifically Vata that occurs in the system while traveling. Along with her nourishing recipes and herbs to soothe all systems of the body.

First, what happens to the overall balance of our doshas while traveling?

To start off, let’s get a sense of what’s happening during travels according to Ayurveda.

Basically in traveling, the body is being propelled through tremendous amounts of space/wind at high speeds - whether by road vehicle or plane. Picture riding in a vehicle “top-down”, face in wind, from point A to B for several hours. This as you can imagine, is quite aggravating and thus imbalances Vata (following the ayurvedic principle of “like increases like”).

So regardless of your dosha, it becomes imperative to pacify Vata pre, during, and post travels. There are several ways to ground Vata.

Starting with a general list of Vata pacifying foods:

Ghee
Sesame
Seaplants
White rice
Split yellow mung bean
Steamed/Cooked root veggies
Avocado
Almonds, peeled
Seeds
Salt
Soy sauce
Warming Spices
Sweet (heavy) fruit
Bananas
Cantaloupe
Peaches
Oranges
Figs
Green grapes
Dates
Lemon

Vata is dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, and mobile in nature. In our diet, this looks like warm, cooked, moist foods that are more oily, soupy, and heavy in nature. Vata is pacified by salty, sweet, and sour—rasa tastes, so it’s a good idea to emphasize these in our meals.

Aside from food, what are other ways to stay balanced while traveling?

To pacify the increase in Vata that travel brings, the most grounding thing we can do is to stick to some sort of schedule. Routine is very grounding for Vata. Try your best to set an early start and early end to your day to regulate your body system.

Regular bedtimes and mealtimes are great in balancing airy Vata (who really just wants to be all over the place!) Meditation is also a wonderful healthful practice. Even a brief AM and PM routine will settle your mind, calm Vata spaciness/anxiety, root ungroundedness, and bring peace into your life.

Being someone who is Pitta/Vatta and has a sensitive tummy what supplements do you recommend I take?

Aside from the aforementioned grounding foods, something I take and recommend to everyone is a daily herbal support supplement like Triphala. Triphala is Tridoshic, a Rasayana, that supports digestive balance and immunity. Comprised of three fruits, Amalaki, Haritaki, and Bibhitaki, this mixture encourages balanced, full elimination, by pulling stagnated ama, toxic residue from the digestive tract.

The digestive tract is rejuvenated as it is gently detoxified. Over time, Triphala has a deeply purifying effect and is safe for all doshas to take on a regular basis. As Ayurveda emphasizes, your Agni—digestive fire is everything. It is responsible for regulating your energy, mood, immunity, intelligence, and more. So adding a supplement like Triphala is an easy way to help out your entire system.

What tips do you have for eating while running through airports or on the road?

I am a huge fan of packed meals on days of travel. I’ll often plan out my meal in advance and make something fresh, full of vital prana, and of course, grounding for my trip. Some examples are cooked root veggie patties with cilantro, roasted sweet potato + tahini, simple Kitchari, and ghee-roasted dates (there never was, nor will be a more delicious in-flight pick me up!)

I often will have a tea stash on me, either slices of fresh ginger root in a baggie (sometimes with a stick of cinnamon) or pre-packaged ginger tea bags. You can easily get a cup of hot water and steep your own.

Ginger boosts digestion, metabolism, dissolves congestion and strengthens the immune system. Agni, our digestive fire, is often the first to get out of whack due to irregular, mobile Vata, so any digestive kindling practices are welcome!

Also worth mentioning is getting proper hydration. Jet lag is exacerbated by dehydration, and drinking about 16oz warm water per hour of flying makes a huge difference. Plain h2o is the most hydrating, and warm to hot temperature water is ideal. So I always pack a reusable insulated vessel and keep it filled. Also, stay away from anything iced. Vata is exasperated by cold.

Are there any supplements, oils, remedies, etc that you recommend as essentials to bring while traveling to maintain balance?

Yes! For starters, here’s my basic essential oil blend:

Lavender oil - Calming
Vetiver oil - Grounding
Frankincense oil - Immunity
A tiny vial of this blend in a base oil soothes, increases prana, and oxygenates the brain during traveling.
*Dab onto pulse and chakra points.*

Other necessities:

Warm thick socks, for poor Vata circulation (compression for longer travels).
Eye mask because sound sleep is essential.
Earplugs help reduce noise pollution.
A warm scarf/shawl to protect against windy drafts.

For Jetlag/Insomnia:

Nutmeg is fantastic for insomnia and jet lag, as well as being a digestive aid. A blend of ground cardamom and nutmeg in a little travel case is perfect for a latte (steamed milk/mylk + hot water), or simply as a tea before bed. This is particularly nice on the first evenings of adjusting to a new time zone.

Sleep

Warm sesame oil rubbed vigorously on the bottom of the feet also helps calm Vata and aid restful sleep.

Digestive Tea

Finally, C.C.C.F tea is an old stand-by. Cumin, coriander, cardamom, and fennel steeped in boiled water is an easy digestive tea. I bring a little jar of C.C.C.F with me everywhere I go (it’s also surprisingly tasty!

Happy travels!