Wellness Travel is Self-Care for me. Here are 3 reasons WHY you should be putting in your PTO and booking a trip as part of your wellness plan. Someone once said “travel is my therapy” and I could not agree more! As a pharmacist and self-care strategist, I am an advocate of Wellness Travel. I am a member of the Wellness Tourism Association and they define wellness tourism as “a specific division of the global tourism industry that is defined by the common goal of marketing natural assets and/or activities primarily focused on serving the wellness-minded consumer and those who want to be.” Wellness is travel that allows the traveler to maintain, enhance or kick-start a healthy lifestyle, and support or increase one’s sense of wellbeing. Basically, travel is self-care.
Here are 3 Reasons WHY:
It Heals You
Did you know that a relaxing trip is restorative? Research shows that “travel is the best medicine.” Travel can actually improve heart health, lower stress and decrease symptoms of depression. According to one study, women who vacation at least twice a year show a significantly lower risk of suffering a heart attack than those who only travel every six years or so. It has also been shown that travel improves your mental health.
After I lost my husband, I knew that I wanted to include travel as part of my healing journey. It allowed me to grieve on my own terms and create new experiences.
It Teaches You
Yes, it’s cliche, but “experience is the best teacher.” Traveling not only teaches you about the city or country that you are visiting, but it teaches you about yourself. It forces me to change my routines and navigate in a new city while creating new experiences. I consider myself an introvert, but when I travel, I make sure that I introduce myself to locals so that I can get the inside scoop on places to go and eat.
It Frees You
Travel can be life-changing. I have read countless stories about how travel has freed someone from an unhealthy relationship, job or situation. I can recall hiking up Runyon Canyon and then just taking in the view. There was something symbolic about me taking that hike up there alone. There’s something about being up in the clouds on the airplane that allows me to exhale.
There is one company that gets it and it’s Marriott Bonvoy. Whenever I see that commercial, “Travel Makes Us Whole, I smile. They say, “with every journey, travel has the power to shape our world and make us whole again.”
Travel is a form of self-care and refills my cup every time.
Yes, I agree that “travel is the only thing that you can buy that makes you richer.” Don’t you?
Where are you traveling to next?
