Hotel Yoga

Recently, while trying to keep up with my practice on the road, I found that I had to exert a bit more discipline on that first early morning at the hotel. Was it the king-sized bed, or the wide selection of pillows, or the enticement of having breakfast delivered to me that kept me sleeping in a bit longer than planned? In my case, it was all of the above plus the fact that I was coming from a warm environment into the cold, icy city of Ohio.

As much as I wanted to extend my lounging, I did come to Ohio for work, so it was important that I was not only prepared from a business point of view but that I was also mentally aware during the meeting.

So I kicked off the silky 400-thread count sheets, delayed the breakfast order, and unpacked my portable yoga mat. On a previous trip, I had tried using the hotel towels, but I just didn’t have the balance to keep them from slipping on the carpet. I ended up looking like I was playing the game Twister – and losing.So this time I had come better prepared with my yoga mat. I began with some light stretches to unravel the “airplane pose” from my joints and then moved on to a round of sun salutations, which I then followed up with a series of mild asanas that would allow me to breathe and release any tension with ease. Mission accomplished – my head was clearer and I was ready for breakfast, except that I now chose fruit instead of the chocolate chip pancakes and drank full glasses of water instead of the full pot of coffee I had initially craved.

And during the meeting, I felt I was listening better and contributing with more self-awareness, which in turn led to a successful and shorter meeting than originally planned.

[tags]airplane pose, joints, yoga mat, yoga at hotel, yoga practice during my trip, sun salutations, yoga while traveling, self-awareness[/tags]