{"id":399,"date":"2025-07-30T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/?p=399"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:09:43","slug":"mindful-nomad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindfully-with-jo.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/30\/mindful-nomad\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Nomad."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I am a nomad. By choice. Life doesn\u2019t pressure me to move places, I do it because it makes me feel my best. When journeying, I experience wholeness. When stagnant, anxiety and lack of motivation creep in on me. To preempt the potential questions, no I don\u2019t escape from anything\/anyone and I don\u2019t look for \u201cmyself\u201d in new places. To quote Jon Kabat-Zinn, \u201cwherever I go, there I am\u201d. Just that. And I love it.<\/p>\n

Although living a nomadic life is organic to me, it has got some disadvantages. One of them is balancing being a nomad and living mindfully at the same time. Is it even possible to merge (almost constant) brain stimulation and an awareness of NOW? It sounds on the contrary! In my experience, it sure can be challenging but with some advice, possible. While you don\u2019t need to share my way of life, there are some tips that may be at hand during the upcoming holiday and traveling season.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The easy part – switch off autopilot.
The biggest surprise to me was that changing places can support, to some extent, my mindful life. When in a new place, we are becoming more aware of our surroundings as everything is unfamiliar. Therefore, switching off autopilot and being in the present is a given. Mindful eating, listening etc suddenly is much easier and more instinctive to us than when surrounded by a well-known environment.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rest.
However, while the above is a massive benefit, there is also a disadvantage in this situation as we become overstimulated much quicker. Accordingly a good practice is – this might sound obvious but it is not always simple – learning to recognise early signs of fatigue so you can take a break. It is worth remembering that what is an obvious distraction or drainer in a familiar environment, might be harder to notice when the amount of stimulation is bigger and getting tired is happening much quicker. As it can be difficult to identify potential overstimulation at the beginning, it might be helpful to create a list of what drains you (e.g. meeting new people, hot weather) so it becomes obvious over time and you can make adjustments.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Journal.
To make a note of what I observe, I journal. A lot of research\/studies show the positive aspects of daily writing.\u00a0 A free-flowing thoughts journal, travel journal, bullet journal – whichever you choose is not important, as long as it is daily, clears your mind from what you don\u2019t need and captures what you want to keep (daily sustainers\/drainers pattern, feelings of body and mind, impressions, solutions, eureka moments). And to me the queen of all journals is the gratitude one.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gratitude.
Every evening I note events\/experiences I\u2019m grateful for – no matter how small. I feel the benefits of this practice doubly – immediately and in the longer run. First off all, it helps me to capture precious little moments, for example tasting a delicious new fruit. Therefore, they are not lost in my busy life. Those moments are also reminders of why I\u2019m still fullfilled by my nomadic life and hence, the decision to continue living this way is made consciously on a regular basis. In the longer run, it helps when in doubt or when having a challenging day (of course I experience them, too). By turning my attention onto a positive experience from the recent past and soaking in it (for even as short as a period of time as 30 seconds), I balance the brain\u2019s negativity bias. In mindfulness we call it \u201ctaking in the good technique\u201d.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Routine.
Writing a gratitude journal is part of my daily routine along with practising yoga, drinking my morning coffee in silence, and reading before sleep. No matter where I am, my morning\/evening routine stays the same. It lets my brain have a break from experiencing \u201cnew\u201d all the time or from making additional decisions. In a world of exciting yet unfamiliar, it is comforting to come back regularly to what is well known and soothing.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Grounding.
Sometimes my routine is simply not enough, and I need another \u201cbrain break\u201d in a day. In that case I usually stop what I\u2019m doing (if possible) and ground myself for about 5-10 minutes. Meditation or walking barefoot are my \u201cgo to\u201d practices but any activity which anchor you in the present moment and gives you a break from overwhelming or a distracting wave of events, thoughts, and feelings, would be relevant.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Finally, yet importantly – letting be, letting go and moving on.
Often the reason behind those overwhelming waves is my misunderstanding or lack of knowledge around the new culture I live in. I can\u2019t change it and rightly I shouldn\u2019t. It is there to be, creating a colourful map of diversity between people. My inner job is to let the frustration (or even negativity) go and simply to move on. Well, not so simply as letting go is against the most basic human drive – self- protection. But if it doesn\u2019t serve us, what to do? To practice letting go or losing grip as I prefer to call it, I start with the body. This is where we hold frustration\/anger and consequently, this is where the work needs to start. So, physical movement like dynamic shaking or slow stretching is one way. Meditation is another. However, the most important is to work on \u201cseeing the whole picture\u201d. Not just the \u201cannoying\u201d behaviour but the person, with their story and reasons behind it. Not judging but also not justifying. Instead, with compassion, opening up to what there is. In mindfulness we call it \u201c10,000 things exercise\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nomadic life, a mindful life?<\/p>\n

It definitely has the potential to be that way but, as always, being aware of yourself, those around you and the environment is the key to experience life fully. I hope you will find my pointers helpful, therefore being \u201con the road\u201d and staying in different places will leave you with joy and precious memories.<\/p>\n

Mindfully,
Jo x<\/p>\n

If you are interested in a deeper knowledge about the tools and practices mentioned above or you just want to learn about mindfulness, why not joining me for my MBSR course during which they will be fully explained and practised in a small intimate group.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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