This blog series is my offering to you, a chance to see how Ayurveda is weaved into my life & how you can apply these principles to your own life.

MOVING INWARDS

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Would anywhere ever top my Rajasthan experience?

The train trip had been brewing for sometime. I can’t put my finger on why, just something we had talked about for a while, it just hadn’t happened yet.

Travel by its very definition creates increased vata (increased movement, ungrounded, unpredictable and often airy) so my first call is always to have a supply of sesame oil. Abhyanga (self massage) is a key part of my daily routine at home and very easy to take with me. In fact oils feature heavily in my travel kit. Next up is coconut oil, my go to, all round oil. Cleanser and moisturiser – I always have a small tin in my handbag at home and on holiday. Kumkumardi oil is my evening ritual that also travels very well. Benefits of this delightful little oil usually made with sesame oil, saffron, sandalwood and licorice include improving texture, brightening and reducing ages spots.

With Love

Claire

I am not a girly girl and have only in more recent years started any kind of evening skincare routine ( I know…shocking!).

And last on the fat/oil front is a pot of ghee. Yes I travel with ghee because quite frankly you never know when you might need it!

So there it is, four types of lubrication to counter the dryness that aggravated Vata can cause. Any way I can find to reduce Vata is worth its packing space. Since fully embracing this way of living I don’t that I have gone anywhere with substantial bottle of sesame oil and a combination of the above.

My personal highlight was staying in the mountains. Pontresina blew me away. The sheer scale of what nature offers is simply incredible. To see what a small part we play in the wider world is humbling. And at the same time to feel part of it and to be so close up to some of the most magnificent scenery was breathtaking. A word I have used repeatedly to describe the experience was serene. Each day that I spent there released something in me. I am not able to explain in words what it felt like but those exhales kept coming. To surrender to nature in all her glory. Seeing what stood before me, knowing it had been for longer than I can compute and that it would remain there long after me. Truly majestic!

September travel and the varied environments meant predicting the weather would be tricky, On one hand the Swiss Alps could potentially be cold and exposed and on the other Lake Como could be balmy. But who knows what the weather can bring.

Here is my non ‘oil’ essentials:

Scarf – rarely seen without one outside of full summer season a scarf is a permanent fixture inside and outside of the house. While travelling it serves as a wrap or a cushion and just general all round draft excluder. It can dress up an outfit too if so needed.

Headband – the stretchy fabric based type. It covers my ears if too windy, holds my hair back when too hot (and covers it when there has been too much oil going on!!).

Full length 100% cotton PJ’s – even though we booked lovely accommodation I like to be top to two in natural fibres while I sleep, also help with temperature regulating. And anyway they are just lovely to sleep in!

Headphones – guaranteed peace should I encounter a noisy environment that becomes Vata provoking.

Travel mug – I can leave the hotel or Airbnb every morning with hot water.

Tongue scrapper – essential oral care

Herbs and spices – easiest nutritional support on the go. CCF seeds to make tea are a must.

With my yearning for India 2.0 it became a tough call for our big holiday of 2026 . I remember a piece of my heart sinking when we agreed on the European train trip but I knew it would also be spectacular. The Bernina Express was the centre of this trip, the idea of climbing and then descending the Swiss Alps was a rather exciting prospect!

So how was this going to fare in staying aligned with how I live? There would be plenty to navigate. As a serial holiday planner, my Ayurvedic leanings add another layer of complexity to travelling. But this would be a particularly interesting one. A complete mixture of everything. Train and plane travel. A Mix of hotel and self catering Airbnb accommodation. A mix of environments (city, mountains, lakes) and climates.

Don’t worry, I haven’t turned this into a travel blog but I would like to leave you with one sentence per stop.

Paris was only a pass through for lunch. It was busy and noisy and overstimulating.

Strasbourg is one of the prettiest places with possibly the most stunning cathedral I have seen.

Zurich was poncy and expensive but very clean.

Chur is Switerzerland’s oldest town, quaint and enjoyable for a quick stop.

Pontresina left me speechless, stunning, serene and competing with Rajasthan as my number one destination.

Lake Como is everything you expect, beautifully Italian, picturesque and a good spot for silk scarf shopping it seems.

Milan airport for our journey home was a thud back to reality with the worst passport control (you have been warned!)

I only expected to walk the official path but it called me further. It felt like it was sucking me in somehow. I love a bit of a walk in nature but that is normally reserved for well-trodden and well made paths, for the first time an inner voice told me to keep going. The bridge at the end of the official path becoming smaller in the distance. It was exciting and I didn’t want to stop – aside to catch my breath and to laugh. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I will become a pro hiker or climber but I definitely wanted more and my return trip to India had a competitor. For now 2027 is undecided and I am certainly not ready for the Himalayas….I have however learnt that I can do new things and not sticking to the plan offers up some of the best opportunities in life. Interestingly this didn’t feel like a physical barrier being broken but a releasing of a mental blockage. I am sure this is why I can’t explain the serenity that I felt up in the mountains.

The other parts of the holiday worked out perfectly, my travel kit held up well. We cooked some fresh pasta and vegetables in Italy as we had a kitchen (and a balcony overlooking the lake – yes watching the sunset from the balcony was a delight!) but I did succumb to pizza and ice-cream. My digestion held up well overall, my herbs and CCF tea. Warm water instead of cold drinks always helps. And with a lot of travel my Vata didn’t become too elevated either. So Ayurveda doesn’t mean giving up on your dreams because they can cause imbalance. Ayurveda gives you the tools to manage that balance wherever you are, it teaches you about choices, choices you make in each moment. I didn’t keep score if I had a coffee in a beautiful location but I did remain aligned to what I know matters to me personally.

I have been left in a more reflective mood since returning home. I truly believe that I found space in those mountains that I needed. Not in that cliché way. I love Alan Watts as you will likely know. His quote about the only zen you find at the top of a mountain is the zen you carry up. I absolutely know that is true. But I do think you have to stop for long enough occasionally to witness that space within you. To allow your inner voice to be heard without distraction. In a busy world that can be hard. So my lesson isn’t that I need to climb a mountain but that I have to stop long enough, to be still long enough and just be. So that is the lesson I carry forward, not in my Longchamp bag, but within me. That some times I simply need to stop.

Exploring the unknown is an adventure in itself and I felt in awe of the pro-hikers and mountain climbers. At Morteratsch Glacier I had carried my belongings in my La Pliage Longchamp bag (it is lightweight and accompanies me on many travels for that reason alone). Over the years we have always been the under equipped family – beach visits with the girls with nothing but a blanket and the bag that came with the food we had just bought on route! I would watch with part envy and part relief as families arrived with trolleys, unloading wind-breakers and pop up tents. My walking adventures are not much better – proper walking shoes, a pac-a-mac and water (preferably warm), scarf and of course a small tin of coconut oil! We laughed way too much as I scrambled up and over rocks with my bag that my husband has named a small rock at the Glacier ‘Longchamp rock’ in my honour as he is convinced that I am the first person to have taken such a bag there!

Which leads me to where I am heading.

Autumn has been and is still showing its beautiful harvest. I look back on 2026 so far and I have changed a little. Not a big sweeping change but a noticeable shift. Clarity can come in waves and recently the wave has had a consistent message. That the space I felt in those mountains is needed in abundance now. But now I need it at home too, in a familiar place while I enter Winter. I am answering my call to go inwards. To go a little deeper not quite knowing what will emerge in Spring. Hibernation awaits.

So how did my planning and Ayurvedic travel kit pan out? We were exceptionally lucky with the weather. Jumpers remained in the suitcase while most other things got well used. As always life’s experiences and travels have lessons to offer.

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