Travel Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Fourth of July Nostalgia For The Happy Inner Child

Recent Fourth of July 🇺🇸 photo memories in the Cinque Terre via boat ⛴️

When a new season starts, it’s common to feel nostalgia. Seeing spring cherry blossom trees, fall fiery leaves, summer pool floats, serene lakes, and fireflies do this for me. 💬

Those are the common memories I grew up with living in the DC suburbs where July 4th fireworks still fly in star spangle awe over the Nation’s Capitol 🎇

Summer is a time of swinging transition. You can dream of fun memories you can make. And in nostalgia, bring back fond memories that you’ve held onto.

These days we’re all globally connecting with people from around the world. That naturally makes us think more (and are more aware) of places around the globe that we’re not physically in, but imagine in their different time zones, and what their lives could be like. 🌏

For me, working with digital nomads who scoot around the globe 🛹 with a backpack as easily as stepping out the door makes me more grateful for the world I’m in, and to not take life for granted.

They can be on a 12-hour time difference but working in the same synched zone. This brings us together. 👭

Like me in your situations you can realize how you have more similarities than differences with other cultures. Maybe you’ve felt that way from your work or school experiences.

When I was younger, we were world’s apart with no way to connect. But no matter what decade you grew up in, you probably dreamed up adventures. 🚀

I dreamed of going to Alaska from travel photos I had seen in magazines and television. The outdoor Alaskan experience seemed so different than my surrounding reality. And while I never made it to that outdoor nature experience, I did get a taste of international travel just a few years later.

I think of that first European vacation trip as unforgettable because I was just a kid. I haven’t forgotten the Venice gondola ride experience with the musician playing an accordion with soothing romantic melodies, fine dining foods such as spumoni ice cream and a view of a picturesque Swiss lake! That was a great modern Ayurvedic balancing experience especially at such an impressionable age!

And with that nostalgia I can bring back at any time, that serves as a source of calm and good mood change.

And, so then when I went back decades later, it was no less adventurous to see some of the same places with adult eyes.

Some tastes have changed, but some haven’t. And that’s for all of us. We all have those general experiences to celebrate.

And, what does that tell us?

…We’re naturally changing daily and we’re innately the same in our mind and bodies from when we were born. That’s the core of Ayurveda in a nutshell.

And we can see that in our daily experiences and in travel trying new foods and experiencing new languages, countries, and cities.

One city that makes the happiest place in the world list time and time again, is Copenhagen. It’s a strolling city. It’s also a bicycle city. 🚲

And I grew up always riding a bicycle (so that strikes nostalgia)…

The charming architecture and cobblestone street design make the historic European city postcard and travel magazine photo worthy.

Picturesque Nyhavn area of Copenhagen 🇩🇰

When you’re in a calm area like Copenhagen with lots to see, you can think of other nostalgia memories that are in your wheelhouse.

For me, I think of peaceful ocean boardwalk cotton candy 🎡memories.

The peaceful memories mean less stress today, and more joy and happiness.

And if you’re missing that wanderlust feeling in new experiences, you can try this…

Turn on media to watch PBS adventures showing the tropical jungle or the Savannah desert life. Instantly your mind switches to a new gear (and you didn’t need to get any vaccines to experience 😅).

Or, watch the wildlife of Alaska that satisfy my inner child that never made it there. I don’t need to travel there to experience. And when I think of the stress effort it would take to fly there, I’m actually relieved.

And that feeling of relief reduces stress which is always welcomed.

The brain, btw doesn’t know the difference of whether we see a waterfall on our screen or live and in-person. It’s how we choose to interpret the experience.

So believe you do have an immediate say in your mind-body balance! 🧘🏻‍♀️

And that’s why experiencing those great movies, books, and stories you encounter that make you laugh, cry, appreciate, and wonder… are the perfect escapes. 💭

They don’t get the ooh…ahh from your friends, but the memories and nostalgia feelings are just as real, and whenever you recall them.

You may not take an Instagrammable photo… but who cares?

Everything we know about in this world has been photographed and shared. So capturing your photograhic memory is what matters most. 🧠

The most photographed woman in the world you can capture in today’s memory 🧜‍♀️

Some other ways to get those instant happy nostalgia feelings:

You can share about your experience and what you thought in small talk or a book club. Being in community with those you have affinity for not only are feel-good moments, they also help extend our healthy lives.

Another way is to take a streaming voice map tour where you get to experience another place, city, country, or culture from the convenience of your digital device. Maybe you don’t get the full 3-D experience, but you do at least get a 2-D one for a fraction of the price and cost for traveling to another location.

A good goal is to make every day feel special in some way. This could be as simple as turning on those moody jams 🎶

And wherever you are and whatever you’re doing today (and on this SUPER special holiday day), commemorate with a moment of gratitude that you can recall next year in feel-good nostalgia.😊

Happy Fourth of July!! 🇺🇸 Be safe! 🧨

Seated Yoga Poses + 12 Summer Cooling Tips

Seated yoga poses are popular and good for your flexibility. And you can do some yoga to restore your daily chair and weekly car seated positions.

This week I’m sharing all about staying cool, with seated yoga poses and 12 cooling tips you can take with you on the road (including a healthy and easy rainbow meringue pie recipe 🌈).

Rainbow meringue pie recipe.

I’m highlighting the Spinal Twist below that goes waaay back with me… and practical car yoga poses we all can use when doing regular driving, or taking long drives and trips.

If you’re spending time driving, car yoga moves can really help ease the pain especially when the thermostat reaches a new boiling point.

Seated as the driver in the lumbar position in your car seat, your back and right side get stressed.

So when you can, you want to reverse the damage. That’s different than doing chair yoga or seated yoga poses in an office chair I talked about last time.

One way is: when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, you can put the front of your palm on the back of the passenger seat and press forward.

You’ll immediately feel a nice stretch up your primary arm nerve near your bicep muscles that may just be what the doctor ordered to restore any arm pain.

This is good to do at stoplights when your eyes are on the light or during driving rest breaks.

My clutch driving days are over, but if you drive a standard shift, this is a really gooood small exercise.

You can also send your right arm back to the back part of the car between the driver and passenger seat, where there should be plenty of air space to do car yoga tricks. Then bend down at your right wrist.

Ohhh... that can zap the radial nerve in just the right nerve pain releasing angle.

The first few seconds can hurt so good!…

Plus, save you from physical therapy for repeated motions that irritate your body parts that get the most wear-and-tear.

And since we put our right foot down regularly to hit the accelerator and brakes, our right leg gets overly used too.

So to straighten out the leg nerve pain, ideally, you would want to lay down.

But in your car you can’t, so you can play a little game of Twister here on yourself following these instructions when you take a car park rest break… and without getting any funny stares from the people in the cars nearby. 💚💛💙❤️

You may need to push your car seat back to do this more comfortably and have more leg room away from the steering wheel.

And that’s another game you can play: to not hit the yoga car horn. That’s probably more challenging than getting in this pose. 😊

Then, rest your right foot on top of your left thigh (with a sharp bend in your right knee). And lift your left leg and foot off the car floor slightly. That’s important, so you don’t use your left leg to ground you (and some call that cheating in a game 😉). And so you can get the right resistance.

Then, take your right hand and push upwards from underneath your right knee, up towards the car ceiling. You should feel a nice feeling stretch in your right butt cheek and lower right back side and down your right hamstring where you feel tension when you put the pedal to the metal.

It’s definitely worth the effort relieving right leg strain… and well, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

And that should restore-fix you until you pull over for your next car driving break.

…Which hopefully isn’t to fix a flat tire, that I can’t help you with. But I CAN help you restore your body vehicle! 🧘🏻‍♀️

And when you get back to flat land where your mat is, you can do this move laying down where both your legs are off the mat. And where you look like you’re kinda doing an abdominal crunch, that btw, wouldn’t hurt to do either since you’re already there. 😊

Your abdominals help support your back. We can give love to our gut in more than ways than one!

And after that move, don’t forget to do your supporting Bridge pose, Happy Baby …yes, you!

And then when you sit back up, you can cross your legs in your Seated position. 🧘🏻‍♀️

…When I was a kid, I remember we did a variation called sitting Indian style back when we were young and innocent 😉

And we’d been doing Spinal Twists since elementary school gym days to warm us up (before we knew there was a yoga name). We were sitting in seated yoga poses on a big and thick cushion mat either yellow, blue, or maroon red that I still remember being heavy vinyl material.

On those mats, we did tumble exercises like summer-saults, maybe named after the summer season that was meant to be fun and inventive. 🤸🏻

We also did our rotating torso seated spinal twists that I enjoyed, even though we didn’t need the stretch or mindfulness so much back then as we do now, older (!!).

And those twists complemented the real activities and past times.

On good summer days, my childhood was spent rafting on a lake or going to the swimming pool which are great ways to cool off. I didn’t see it as a camp staycation back then, but that’s what we did.

…And that’s the first time I remember being able to do yoga. And the inkling that I could do yoga years later was confirmed after the first few years I tried it as an adult when yoga started taking root in the Western world.

…Goes to show ya, you don’t need many yoga moves or seated yoga poses to give you that edge, in case yoga ain’t your thing. Just one pose can do. Liked the seated Spinal Twist did for me.

And if that’s not motivation enough… a practical adult application can be working on restoring your hunched forward rolled shoulders that most of us carry daily.

Another one of the great restoring seated yoga poses where you can work on this is:

Bend one knee and thread the same side arm through the hole between your knee and the mat or floor. Then reach and wrap that hand as far to the other side of your body as you can. It’s sort of a strange feeling if you’re not used to this pretzel-like seated position.

You could grab or rest your hand on your other inside thigh leg. Wherever your hand lands, make it purposeful where you know where each finger is. It’s like octopus tentacles grabbing onto a sturdy surface. 🐙

In yoga, when you make contact with other body parts, and you know where your arms and feet are at all times, that’s big progress!

One way to practice this is in Tree pose: you can move your opposite foot and rest it on various parts up and down your leg while skipping over your knee.

Then when you’ve settled on your temporary Tree, try different arm poses like straight up in the air or “Y” hands in the air like you’re doing the “YMCA.” Oh my, that’s an oldie.

Or keep at heart center in prayer hands. Now, you’re really expressing your yoga postures.

You get out of the structured metal confines of a car. But sometimes you don’t have that choice, as most of us spend decent amount of time in a car at some point.

And in the summer, that can be work keeping cool and staying hydrated.

Because when you’re in a car, you don’t want to drink a lot of beverages. That’ll slow you down having to make a rest stop.

For longer trips, I usually drink up a day or two before traveling to have some reserves to go off on.

Some good car hydrating alternatives are fruits like watermelon, peaches, and apples that have high juice water content.

Bring your lubricating cough drops too. Just be sure to keep those in your cooler so they don’t turn into a hot sticky summer mess.

And here are 12 cooling tips (I promised earlier) that are good for summer traveling (and driving away any imbalanced Pitta feelings):

1. Keep aloe vera near you. Aloe helps with burns and to instantly cool your skin. That’s like giving a spa water bath to your body when it’s thirsty for cool relief. Many moisturizers have aloe ingredients, but I like to go straight to the ingredient source.

2. Bring a water spray bottle that comes in handy. You can clip it to a bag in case you run out of car cupholders, and so you don’t have to go rummaging for it like a regular water bottle.

3. You can use cooling spices like cumin. My personal herb faves are cilantro and mint. Another one is cardamom that I like to add to cold coffee in the summer. The exception is if I get in an overdose spell of summer Vata… that can happen to any of us, just in case you’re wondering why you prefer warm drinks in the summer. 🤔

4. Take cool showers or end on a cool setting for 10-30 seconds. This is just a reminder. 🚿

5. Start your day with a smoothie, that has chilled ingredients like nut-based milk, bananas, coconut, and berries.

6. Eat foods that hang between a fruit and a veggie like beets, avocados, and medley color tomatoes.

7. Try cutting up summer tropical fruits like watermelon, mangos, guava, dragonfruit, passionfruit, and pineapples. Just thinking about them gives me sweet motivation.

8. Add refreshing whole fruits to your list like peaches, plums, and apples that are usually summer abundant. Handing them out to others in the car is always fun and well received. 🍑

9. Eat juicy fruits like kiwi, pears, and oranges that make great food garnishes too.

10. Bring cool veggies winning you plant-based points, like salads, beets, carrots, and celery that you can easily transport.

11. Like a cooling blanket, you can bring a cooling towel or T-shirt. A day or two before, roll up a towel and leave in the freezer or fridge, and then bring along with you.

12. Use an aluminum water bottle that keeps water and beverages cold longer.

Another cool item from the fridge I like to bring out, are high antioxidant-rich fruits like sweet-scented pineapple chunks. Not for eating this time, but I can take one that isn’t pre-occupied on a dessert plate 😋, and run one down my face for a ‘lil Vitamin C fruit facial love and hydration.

It’s a topical tropical 🍍😎🍍

Some of the anti-inflammatory foods in the food medicine cabinet can directly do wonders for your skin.

Afterall, you are what you eat!… and what’s in your home is a reflection of your healthy habits.

You can also get inspiration from this 200 anti-inflammatory grocery food list.

Have a cool week! 🍉

Enjoy this Rainbow Meringue Pie recipe: 🌈

Rainbow Grit Pie

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

cherries, tropical fruits (guava, pineapple), oranges, kiwi, bananas
coconut cream
grits

Instructions

Whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar and sugar until light and fluffy
Bake on low temperature (200°F) until firm.
Add to pie crust.
Decorate with chopped fruits into a rainbow pattern.
Pipe coconut cream with the star tip baking bag.

Sphinx Yoga Pose and Travel Poses You Need

Sphinx yoga pose is one that may remind you of traveling to foreign lands. And if you’ve been traveling in a car, plane, or train, your body needs a-lotta stretching. So doing travel yoga can save you! While traveling, you’re doing a lot of sitting.

travel yoga stretches

And, standing and stretching your leg muscles at every opportunity helps you to re-energize and gets your circulation flowing. Like purposeful breathing, we need reminders.

For starters, you can do a standing Mountain pose and take it to a Tree pose when given a standing opportunity.

Btw... did you ever see a photo of my favorite Tree? It seems to withstand the seasons and looks so billowy relaxed.

My Tree is not nearly as big.

So anyway, from metaphoric Tree pose, you can take your movements a step further with the travel yoga tips and suggestions below.

And then when you can get to a mat, work on yoga poses to release weight from your precious back that carries your shoulders and head that weigh more than a small free weight.

Last time, I mentioned Plow pose that you can do instead of storing special back and fitness equipment you don’t use often. You can use just use your body equipment and weight that you carry everywhere and that takes up no space. How convenient!

When you’re ready, you would just lay down on your mat, look up at the ceiling without moving your head or neck, and then gently throw your legs backward in the air. You can even do this on a towel in your hotel room on the floor, but I wouldn’t recommend the bed for this one as you want a hard bottom surface.

In this take-with-you travel yoga pose, you can use your arms to guide your pose. You may even be able to get your toes to touch the floor behind your head if you’ve practiced this enough.

This pose helps to restore and correct back posture. I did this when I was moving some boxes around and after getting in the pose, was feeling brand new a day later.

…You just gotta love that!

So here are some other travel poses worth taking with you 😉

Sphinx yoga vs. Cobra vs. Upward Facing Dog

Sphinx yoga pose is a good way to flex your back. With your front on the mat, you bend your elbows and stretch your arms extended forward. I think of regal lion statues you may have seen when you’re entering the city gates.

From there, you can do non-traditional variations with your arms/elbows, like when a dog stretches out… Or straight up arms like in Cat pose, or a cat when they’re afraid or trying to appear bigger than they are. …whatever feels good to you!

And from there you can go into Cobra pose which is slightly similar to Sphinx yoga, but is more of a chest opener… that we say a lot in yoga. Hands sit back by your torso side and then you lift up from the mat. You can start in a Baby Cobra barely lifted off the floor. This is Great for back and arms!

Cobra and Sphinx yoga poses can take us back to another time in memory mindfulness.

And then take it into Upward Facing Dog that’s one step more active than the other two similar pose variations. You lift your body off the floor with active arms and feet.

In yoga, for these poses, we like to keep the tops of our feet on the mat (different than like a push-up where your toes curl off the floor).

So, using these 3 travel yoga poses, you can pinpoint and relieve different tension spots on your spine and arm muscles that need your attention on travel (especially where you’re less on guard with all your movements in new places).

Give ‘em all a try and some yoga love to your body if you have the time.

In between, Downward Dog is a good flow transition pose. But, another one you can get into is a neutral Table pose with your knees bent and resting on the mat along with your two faced-down palms on the mat.

You can make your Table “active,” by reaching your arm back, and grabbing one of your opposite ankles (and then alternating sides).

This gives you a nice stretch in your back. And you can do these after your Cat-Cows also.

…See how easy it is to create your own flow yoga sessions!?

There’s a pose you can strike to get to the smallest muscle tightness you feel, even if you can’t think of the yoga name.

And, actually your body doesn’t care if the pose has a known yoga name or not, as long as you’re hittin’ the right spot in the right way!

If you’re looking for other suggestions for your legs and back, you can go back to your Bow pose, Pigeon, Bridge, and Happy Baby poses that I recommended last time for cooks and bakers.

And if you really wanna keep doing flow travel yoga poses, Camel pose is an easy one, that’s another good back stretching pose. You’ll look like an “L” shape or be in 90-degrees.

Your knees and front legs are on the floor and your torso is 90 degrees from your legs. Your lower legs are behind you and your thighs are straight up.

If you have a sensitive back or spine (that’s not as flexible) and a long torso, a yoga block helps.

Or instead of reaching your hands back to your ankles, you can put your hands together in Prayer pose ( fingers touch to form an upside down “V”) behind your mid-back, or reach as far as you can down your back or legs without invoking any strain.

That’s what I do because I have a Vata long torso and even longer legs.

…I became aware of this in Dolphin pose in a class one day, when that was a tricky one for me. And that brings me to the question that so many people have…

People ask all the time: what if I can’t do certain yoga poses like I’ve seen others do (or mine doesn’t look like what I have seen others look like)?

First, you can do any pose you want to do, so be encouraged! You just need to find the pose position using your balance and flexibility that works for your body.

For example, the common Downward Dog pose for some people will be a higher, greater incline upside down “V,” and for others, it won’t be as sharp with a pointed top.

Everyone’s “V” looks different.

Yoga doesn’t have to be rigid, or about looking a certain way. You’re working to be more flexible!

It’s about appreciating your body and your individuality. You get to learn more abou your you-niqueness and what makes you, You!

…Just another point to love about yoga.

And, yoga is a journey that you can take with you everywhere!

Planning Your Unforgettable Next Vacation Using Ayurveda

Are you deciding on where you should go next for vacation or for summer vacation? …Or maybe thinking about taking time off and what you could do with it?

Vacation should be fun & enjoyable, but it’s also an investment in cost, time, and energy.

…So below I help spell out some Ayurvedic perspectives to consider for planning your next vacation.

Keep in mind there are many vacation time-off options, but not all of them will leave you the happiest. And before you start packing your bags, you may want to pause for a minute and consider your Ayurveda mind-body needs (that could be a bit different than your wants).

…And possibly telltale in what’s going on with you in your life today, so that you have the opportunity to discover more about yourself.

But first and foremost, of course, you want to plan an unforgettable vacation (and not just any ‘ol vacation with your precious time)!

So, the below tips are meant to help you figure out what will be your most enjoyable and memorable vacation wearing an Ayurveda hat… (and using me as a ‘lil guide). 👒

…Which btw, I’m someone who loves adventure and travel exploration, so I’m not one to deter anyone from exploring the world and what it has to offer.

But I also know when it’s better to just chill near home…. so I’ll give you the different takes below.

But before I do that, I wanted to show you my fruity celebration of the summer solstice week that just passed in the U.S. I made a healthy grit-based morning pie with high Vit-C papaya, pineapple, and kiwi fruits. The final rainbow version is above.

Okay, so back to your vacation planning…

You want to be sure to stay cool, especially with the changing extreme climates everywhere. You find places and countries that are hotter, feeling droughts, and/or more humid these days that can drive our bodies haywire.

If you’re a natural Vata, you’re sensitive to changes. Think of yourself like the wind with gusts changing around you.

(There’s a chart in my last blog post in case you missed it, and want to know if you’re mostly Vata, Pitta, or Kapha?).

…And keep in mind, thermometer temperature doesn’t always account for humidity, so it can easily feel 10-degrees hotter outside. And your thermostat can automatically turn on when the temperature reading on your phone or internet check-in appears lower. That can keep you wonderin’ about the real temps around you.💭

Traveling Vata vs. Kapha Body

On two extreme poles, Vata and Kapha bodies have different tolerances for weather, travel activities, food/beverage changes; and traveling can exacerbate or calm.

And certain foods, such as tropical juicy fruits like the ones above (kiwi, papaya, and pineapple) will help Vata stay hydrated.

For Vata, take liquid pouches and an at-hand water bottle; and for Kapha bodies, you may want to go for more dry fruit options like berries, papaya, or apricots that make for good trail mixes to take on your vacation.

As for activities, sometimes you want to explore, and other times, you wanna chill and relax by a pool, beach, or be by nature. This can be influenced by your body type and what will best restore you.

You can leave an old mood behind that gets enhanced by your vacation (or can add some havoc to your mind-body while away).

..And what you wanna avoid on vacation, is arriving at your destination and then feeling really off and not enjoying your time that can happen if you in a season that needs mood reset.

And if you run into vacation hassles on top of that, that can compound your unenjoyable vacation experience, leave remorse, and thinking there’s nothing much to write home about.

So here are some tips on how to pick the best and right vacation for you (and not just the one others envy!)…

First, if you’re holding onto salty moods (irritated by people, news, situations, etc.) that have been with you almost every day every hour for an entire season, then you’re better off to stay-put with a staycation.

Going to check-in counters could add to stress levels plus the unpredictability of travel delays and hassles. Your mind can be on overdrive and it’s better to inner calm first before you enter situations that can create more stress.

If you’re in a busy go-go-go season where your body has been working on overdrive or lacking sleep, visiting an easy to get to beach or mountain lake, can be just what the doctor ordered. It’s the next best thing to rest your body while enjoying relaxation.

Even though flying to tropical locales may sound nice, after you factor in time zone, layover, and connectivity changes, you could enjoy your closer-to-home spots over a tropical place on island time that you can’t fully get into.

If your busy times are filled with high stress and burnout that work and life situations can bring… stay away from crowds like Florida spring break beaches, or even the busy beaches I grew up on along the east coast in the Delmarva area. You’re better off going south or further north to quieter Carolina or Maine beaches.

If you’re tired or depressed, an adventure filled with activities could be a better choice for you. Like an eco-tour or hiking in tropical terrains.

If you’re feeling stuck… and here I mean trying to decide not only what type of vacation to take, but what to do with your life (or if you’ve hit a main roadblock), then there are two route options that are better for the different situations.

The first is, if your mind is free from dealing with problems at home, then a travel adventure could be the way to go. If your vacation getaway is motivated by the idea to escape reality or problems, that could backfire for you (as you’re stuck with your mind wherever you go).

Delaying addressing situations on vacation, can lead you to feel like you need another vacation when you get back.

Travel can exacerbate what hasn’t been put at ease in your mind.

…So how to tell beforehand? You can use the book test. Can you focus mindfully on reading a book or a chapter in a book and know what you just read?

If you sit with mind unrest, then journaling and taking yoga classes outside of the home could be better activities. If that doesn’t create the space, then maybe additional longer time off or even a sabbatical (with months or a year off) could be what you need.

Doing what you could at home in your free-time doesn’t sound exciting for vacation, but that could be what your mind-body could be telling you that you need.

To Vacation Travel or Not? ✈️

When you’re traveling, you have less consistency in your day. Routines are off and that sends your body and mind off. So too much travel excitement can actually exhaust you more than give you happy energy.

With exhaustion and stress feelings, you’re better off staying in your own country and exploring your town or nearby town excursions within 2 hours that let your mind relax and wander for a few hours at a time.

Like going to a museum and learning something new or discovering a farmer’s market. This is also a good idea if you’re looking for new ideas and want to feel more alive!

The second one is learning more about yourself and not just about your town and what it has to offer. Like in a mini-sabbatical, you’re discovering what you really want to do with your life.

If you’re exploring the town, you’re not really exploring yourself.

And if you’re watching live sporting events, that can be relaxing… but you’re focused on the game and not introspection. It just depends on what you’re looking to get out of your time off.

Activity vs. Introspection

Focusing on an activity is competing for time and introspection in many ways. If you journal, you can often tell by how much journaling activity is about yourself vs. not journaling or taking notes about activity ideas in a new skill or topic.

And the last point on this is:

Prioritizing meditative introspection helps for a better future life. You see what you want and don’t want to do next; while doing activities focuses on today for a better day.

Both have their time and place. If you’re in a social environment or with others, then you won’t be journaling or meditative. And you’re not likely to want to do both at the same time.

Vata, Pitta, and Kapha Vacation Suggestions

So, to sum up, if you have imbalances in Vata, Pitta, or Kapha, here are the suggestions:

Vata – take a staycation and day trips within 2 hours driving or flying distance.

Explore your town and/or go to yoga classes.

Pitta – take a vacation by the beach, lake, or nature.

Find time each day to do your favorite physical activity.

Kapha – take an adventuresome vacation (away or close to home depending on above moods). Add some challenging physical activity.

You could get up early for a nature challenge before the sunrises, tour another country and culture, or hike in a micro-wilderness adventure.

…While Life is one BIG adventure that keeps moving.

Hopefully, this has helped you with additional wise vacation planning considerations, to better recharge this season and into the next. 🏖

Buche de Noel Sponge Cake + Happy Places

Buche de noel sponge cake gets better when you pair with happy places. It’s a Christmas cake that’s celebrated around the world.

The recipe I use is modified from a sponge cake in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

And it’s cake that can be made anytime. It’s a happy new year 365-day cake to celebrate happy moments (and visit your daily inner happy place).

At home, baking is my jam and how I swiss roll decorated with sprinkles, plus vanilla-chai and chocolate-flavored for both tastes. I see the cocoa and Greek yogurt ingredients as both healthy and happy 🧡

This Buche de Noel sponge cake rolls me into the mood to share my happy places on the planet besides home (and some are ranked happiest places and cities, so I know I’m not the only one 😊).

For Americans, “the happiest place on earth” to visit is Disney World: a place where you can find the dressed-up celebrity mouse and his wife waltzing about their world adding to people’s fantasy land dreams.

Overseas, I like to “doll up” in a grown up city like Copenhagen… it’s ranked as the happiest city in the world for its cobblestone-street charm and cool vibes on the water. I’m grateful I checked it off my list in 2018.

Every day is a photo postcard there:

Copenhagen is a happy places that looks like a postcard!

It’s pretty magical and the culture embraces balance as a way of life. It’s in their calm and cool energy, taking time to slow down and not rush around.

This Little Mermaid is the most photographed woman (or fish) in the world

Then if you head north to Bergen, Norway, you’re in happy central territory for trolls.

You know, the colorful ones like Poppy with her glitter-power and friends from the movie, Trolls.

It’s a different place where you may not be sure whether to laugh or give a puzzled look as you venture around.

The whole idea of trolls is wondrous and can make you curious about what exists out there? If nothing else, it’s fun to look at the indigenous troll trinkets like characters in Disney but with 4 fingers and toes.

Cute or not-so-cute is for you to decide

…Bergen is just a hop, skip, and a jump from little Norwegian towns surrounded by lush foliage and waterfalls. Occasionally you can see a cute roof, and wonder who lives in those dwellings like a Nordic scene from the EuroVision movie.

…And what do they eat? I’m into biodiverse eating, but in Norway, they have fresh fruits and similar protein categories that are also in our healthier Western diets. You may have heard of the Nordic Diet, one of the flavors in anti-inflammatory diets out there today.

One main difference is they use canola oil over a southern Mediterranean diet that uses EVOO (and is not a “diet”). Unlike fad or buzzy trending diets, these are based on the daily foods (what they eat) in an entire region in the world.

Like most cities, they have organic markets and local farmer’s markets with the freshest seasonal goods.

Here I saw some fresh berries:

And plenty o’ wild salmon (where many restaurants source their catches) where you can make your own healthy fish and chips.

And moving away from the rural and into the City of Light life like in Emily in Paris, you can be in a new awe.

In my happy place just under the Eiffel Towel.

It’s a walking city.

If you’re a fan of “Emily in Paris,” then you know this is where Emily’s friend sings with her “garage band” in Season 2

Paris is a happy place to visit as there’s so much to see walking around and when you just wanna chill, you can stroll in the parks.

Another happy place to visit is the U.K. where there’s so much to see and do. And I’m enamored since The Great British Bake Off show full of baking tent fun and laughs.

Who knew there were flowers in the winter like these ones in Shakespeare’s Garden on the other side of the pond of…

Washington, D.C. which is where I lived and worked most my life.

You may know Washington, D.C. for the power-hungry, political society. But that’s only a part of the area.

You can relax and take a leisurely kayak or canoe on the Potomac River or take a scenic drive along to see the monument skyline.

There’s plenty of American history to discover as it’s the place where Presidents temporarily live during office. And was permanent home to the first President, George Washington. Plus so much more interesting history on the downtown mall.

Then when you’ve seen enough of the historical buildings, you can fly south (like birds that still migrate) to a slower pace.

One happy getaway is…

Clearwater, Florida.

Hope and Winter from The Dolphin Tale movie lived there. Dolphins are happy mammals, so that should tell you something 🐬

On vacay, you don’t feel the hustle and bustle from the city with slow driving cars, less stress on the streets, and fewer tourists. It has a tropical vibe like a pina colada smoothie you can sip on watching the Florida palm trees swaying and beautiful sunsets.

The Gulf is known for fresh fish catches like fresh grouper, so a fishmonger can bring it to you cooked fresh from the boat.

So those are the happy places I can drop a pin on📍(plus one when I’m making the Buche de Noel sponge swiss cake 😋).

Buche de Noel Sponge Cake

Modified recipe from the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book"

Equipment

Silpat and baking pan
tea towel

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup monk fruit sugar
jam and yogurt of choice (for filling)

Instructions

Separate eggs. Tip: It's easier to separate eggs when they are cold from the fridge. Then let them warm up to room temperature.
Beat egg yolks in a regular size bowl and add juice and baking powder.
Separately beat egg whites in a larger mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. The small amount of sugar will help bring the texture together.
After step 3, gently pour egg yolks into egg white bowl. Gently fold in egg whites to combine yolks. Don't mix or overmix as that will deflate the egg white air which is the reason why the egg white was separated from the eggyolk in the first place. This will give a higher rising sponge cake.
Spread on a Silpat lined baking pan about 3/4" thick or the size of your yule log you would like. Bake on 325°F for about 45 minutes or longer (mostly depending on actual thickness). Pull out of oven before sides start to brown.
While warm-hot out of the oven, pull out cake and roll up into a tea towel like a sleeping bag to get the "swirl." You want to make sure to do this while it's warm or it will break when cool.
Let cool and when cool, cut off ends. Add a layer of jam or yogurt that you want inside.
Pour melted chocolate over the cake and after cooled, drag a fork around the glaze for a yule-log effect.