The Importance of Having a Spiritual Practice While Travelling

Your spiritual practice can help you feel grounded when you’re frequently up in the air.

In 2022, inspired by my friends at Soul School, I left Toronto to travel for 7 months, the longest I had ever been away from home. I wanted to push myself. I wanted to create more adventure, excitement, and spontaneity in my life, and I did find all of those things, but I also learned that being on the road all the time is incredibly hard. Waking up in a different bed all the time, far from what’s familiar, meant that there were many days when I felt ungrounded. In those moments of uncertainty, my spiritual practice is what helped me the most. 

Travelling comes with a lot of newness - new spaces, places, faces, things, and energy - which can be exciting, but can also be overwhelming if you’re not feeling centered inside. The disruption to your routine, or lack thereof, may disorient you or cause you to feel disconnected from yourself. And though you may have jetted off wanting to step out of your comfort zone and face the adventure of uncertainty head on, the journey can be scarier and more stressful than it needs to be if you don’t have a spiritual practice to lean on.

A regular spiritual practice can be a lifeline when you need to feel safe and at home within yourself. It also can enrich your experiences while travelling. Have you ever gotten home from a vacation and needed another vacation - having left seeking peace and relaxation, but came home feeling anything but peaceful and relaxed? There are so many things we can get trapped worrying about while travelling - itinerary, overplanning, etc. All these things we get hyper focused on pull us out of the present moment so that we’re no longer enjoying the experiences we embarked out to have.

Your spiritual practice can help keep you rooted in the present moment and open to the exciting experiences, both inner and outer, that are bound to come your way during your travels. Conscious travel is an opportunity to also go on a pilgrimage of the soul. All your little spiritual practices and rituals mean a lot when you’re surrounded by the unfamiliar and will help you have a deeper, more meaningful journey. 

How to Maintain a Spiritual Practice While Travelling

Keep it simple

Create realistic expectations for yourself while you’re travelling. If you keep things simple, you’ll be more likely to commit to the practices you’ve set out. You don’t need to do an hour long daily ritual to maintain your spiritual practice while travelling, especially if it pulls you away from enjoying yourself or feels like a burden. Something as simple as setting aside 5 minutes in the morning or night to sit with yourself is enough to reconnect with yourself and integrate all the experiences you’re having. 

Travel with intention

Ethical tourism begins by travelling with intention. You can honour and respect the land you’re on by taking the time to not just explore superficial attractions, but fully immerse yourself in your surroundings. Learn about the culture, take a class or workshop, and listen to what the land has to offer. Don’t just travel somewhere because it’s a hot tourist spot. Ask yourself what you really want to see, what you really want to gain, and where you’re being called. Let the land speak to you and make sure you feel aligned with what you’re doing. 

Slow down

There’s going to be so much you want to see and do, but you may have to accept that you can’t see and do it all. When you rush from place to place, not only are you not giving yourself time to enjoy, you’re not truly allowing yourself to explore. You don’t have to plan every minute of the day. Leave room for miracles. When you allow yourself to slow down and just roam, you discover really cool things you may not have come across before. Slowing down also helps us listen better, so you can connect to your intuition and use it to guide you through new experiences. 

Leave an offering everywhere you go

The world is having more and more conversations about how we can travel more responsibly, and one way to do this is by thanking the land and its people for welcoming you. Practice gratitude everywhere you go and always consider the impact you have on a place. Maybe that’s by supporting local businesses. Maybe it’s by volunteering. Or maybe it’s even just by taking a moment to sit somewhere in meditation to honour the land. 

Carry sacred objects with you

An easy way to make every new place feel a little bit like home is by carrying a small object or collection of objects that resonate deeply with you. Small meaningful objects that support your spiritual practice, like tarot cards, crystals, or sage, are easy to travel around with that way you can set up a little altar everywhere you go to protect your energy and stay grounded. 

Surrender to the journey

Sometimes our trips don’t always turn out the way we want, but that’s often when we create the best memories. You can use travelling as an opportunity to practice the art of surrendering. When things don’t go according to plan is when beautiful things happen and the real purpose of your soul journey unfolds. Welcome diversions in your plan as blessings. Trusting the universe, listening to your intuition, and you’ll always be guided to the place you need to be.