Traveling Painfree

Painfree AND drugfree travel.

I do some traveling, not a ton. Some for business, some for pleasure. In the past year, two road trips (Denver and Chicago) and two plane trips (Jamaica and Los Angeles). I faithfully bring my little bottle of ibuprofen, yet haven’t taken

Traveling can be tough on the bod, different beds, possibly different cars, inactivity while sitting in the car/plane/airport, different eating habits, carrying bags/kids, little to no access to a reformer. It takes its toll. Here’s the Limitless Pilates guide to preventing most joint/muscle pain while traveling:

--Use a backpack instead of a messenger bag or over the shoulder satchel. A backpack helps to evenly distribute weight and minimizes pulling/tugging on one side of the body.

--Put your little people to work, if age appropriate. It keeps them from running off. They aren’t as fast if you weigh them down with a luggage bag or two. If she does wander, she’s easier to find. She’ll likely be banging the rolly bag into something, a pole, another person, the wall, or even off a curb.

--Mobilize the spine, fascia, muscles. If you feel comfortable

--Balls, big surprise that my trusty yellow balls are on the list. You can use them in the car, on the plane, and in the hotel or wherever you end up. (For the germ-sensitive travelers, put a towel down in hotels. Also my feet were newly showered in this picture. There wasn’t a chair without wheels in the room and this was the only spot where there was enough space. So I put my foot prints on the furniture.)

--Take a walk, get outside (weather permitting), move around. Chances are you’re traveling somewhere to be outside. Unless you’re visiting family, very familiar with vacations centered around visiting family. Hopefully they live somewhere conducive to getting outside for a walk.

--And, last but not least, you can visit the Limitless Pilates website for mat exercises that can be performed anywhere with or without a mat. You can do five minutes or 45 minutes of Pilates. Any little bit will help.

Safe travels, friends!