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