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If you needed to pack for a trip tomorrow, what would you take? When faced with imminent travel plans like these, many of us choose possessions we know will definitely provide us comfort. A lot of them. There are an infinite number of things you might need, for every possible instance of bad weather or sickness or good times (or bad times).

And yet, ironically, it’s the time and energy we spend carting around all this stuff that always seems to cause the most stress. It can also make us stick out, uncomfortably, from the rest of our surroundings: like a couple of backpackers in Europe with massive packs, eager to see the world while carrying a kitchen sink from America.

Longtime travel writer Rolf Potts ventures overseas with a slightly lighter hand; he only carries a small daypack. He also challenged himself to take this minimalist philosophy further in 2010 by venturing on a 6-week world tour through 12 countries on 5 continents with no baggage at all, his only possessions stuffed into carefully-placed pockets hidden in his clothes. Sound unreasonable? He thinks he packed too much.

Keep reading for his insights into the benefits of minimalist travel and how to apply its principles to living simply, mindfully, and more happily—at home.

What do you take with you when you travel?
I take a few clothes and a few toiletries, plus a smartphone and a charger. If traveling on business I’ll also take a laptop, but everything can be fit into a daypack that fits in an airplane overhead bin. The benefits are huge—I have little to slow me down, little that I have to pack or unpack or store or keep watch over. I am extremely mobile, and I can focus on the people and experiences I find in my travels; I break the ties with all the “stuff” that binds me to home and immerse myself in my new environment. The challenge with the smartphone is balance—using it enough to inform my trip without using it so much that it distracts from my trip.

How can someone relate habits like that to the way they live at home?
The heart of my travel philosophy—and, really, my life philosophy—is that time is your truest form of wealth in life. Too often we tally our wealth in terms of money or possessions, when in fact time and experience is a far more valuable commodity. Abiding by the principles of simplicity can help you live in a more deliberate and time-rich way:

How much of what you own really improves the quality of your life?
Are you buying new things out of necessity or compulsion?
Do the things you own enable you to live more vividly, or do they merely clutter up your life?

Scientific studies have determined that new experiences satisfy our higher-order needs in a way that new possessions cannot—that taking a friend to dinner, for example, brings more lasting happiness than spending that money on a new shirt.

How do you apply philosophy like that to your own home life?
I try to slow down, to seek experiences over possessions, to keep things simple and to not set limits on what can be experienced in a day. Home is a place where habits and routines can make life more efficient, but I try not to let those habits and routines take over my life.

What do you try to improve on?
Balancing my desire to be in the moment with my various professional ambitions. I like work, and it brings me a lot of satisfaction, but it can begin to wear on me if I’m not taking the time to enjoy my day (or parts of my day) in a non-goal oriented manner.

Do you have any other insights into how travel has taught you how to simplify your life?
I think that fear is one of the things that gets in the way of living simply. We think that the comfort and happiness we desire is tied up on owning more, seeking more, desiring more—when in fact the opposite is often the case. Travel is a good way to confront these fears—to strip down your possessions, get away from home habits and realize how simple it is to live fully.

You can only take so many things with you on the road, and you put yourself in a situation where you can experience the world in a transient, non-habitual way. If you travel long enough, this rhythm becomes ritual, and you can incorporate this new attitude into your life at home.

I might add that this kind of simplicity involves cutting back on your addiction to gadgets and online diversions. Often what is cluttering our psychic world at home is our addiction to constant information online and through our smartphones. Knowing how to unplug from all this on the road can remind you how pleasurable it can be to get your information and enjoyment from your immediate surroundings and experiences.

Photo (cc) by Flickr user Alex E. Proimos

Does this scenario sound familiar? Your skin’s completely dried out, your lips are chapped, your whole system’s dehydrated, and your brain is fuzzy and barely functioning. To top it all off, you can’t even seem to fall asleep even though you’re bone tired. According to ayurvedic expert Kathryn Templeton, you’re suffering from holidaze, a common malady this time of year when we all feel a little out of whack. We can blame our condition on a combination of holiday chaos (or cheer), travel, and the dry, windy environment we live in.

If you think the only way to combat dry, hectic conditions like these is to slather on the cold cream and hibernate until spring, you’re wrong. Put the bottle down and try these ayurvedic remedies instead. Templeton relies on them anytime she travels during the holiday season, but they work just as well from the comforts of home.

For Dehydration—and Digestion
According to ayurveda the best way to stay hydrated during the winter is by drinking lots of warming, hot liquids. A cup of your favorite herbal tea works, but if your system is a little sluggish make some CCF tea instead: a simple infusion of cumin, coriander, and fennel (in equal parts) will warm your belly and promote better digestion. To prepare the tea, just add hot water to your herbs and let it all steep for at least 3 minutes.

On the road a lot? Carry a sealed, plastic baggy of the herbs with you, and add hot water as available.

For the Airplane
If you’re flying, says Templeton, and you know you’ll be held captive by the dry, stale air of the airplane cabin, pack a small bottle of nasya oil in your carry-on. Once you’re in the air, you can dab a pinky of the oil inside both nostrils, saturate a couple cotton-balls and stuff them into your ears as well. “At the end of a flight, my neighbors are usually my new best friends, or—they’ve moved,” Templeton says, laughing.

For Bedtime
Before crawling into bed, give yourself an abhyanga (a self-massage). You can go for the full monty—dry-brushing combined with a head-to-toe massage with sesame or triphala oil. Or, if you’re pressed for time, just go for the feet—you’ll get many of the same rejuvenating benefits as a full massage.

One of the best side effects? A good night’s sleep.

Bonus: For dry eyes, Templeton recommends dabbing a little castor oil at the corner of your eyelids.

Get more of Templeton’s ayurvedic tips for every season here. Or curb your holiday stress with an in-depth lesson in the healing practices of pranayama from Rolf Sovik.

Photo (cc) by Flickr user thisisbossi

The winter travel season can bring us closer to our family—or drive us further apart. As spiritual teacher Ram Dass once said, “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a weekend with your parents.” Rediscover your compassionate heart with the following tips.

The holidays are an opportune time to practice vairagya, or non-attachment. Parents (and our reactions to them) often serve as a mirror for where we are spiritually and emotionally.

During any length of travel, try to designate a physical space for practice. Use it as a reminder to utilize spare moments for yoga. Even if you only think you have time for a single sun salutation, one nadi shodhanam cycle, or 10 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing, each of these practices promotes clear-headed understanding and balance.

And remember—as the writer Hermann Hesse wrote inSiddhartha, “Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Christina Rutzi