Travel with all 5 Senses

We spend so much of our lives taking information in through our eyes. From sightseeing and taking pictures, to interpreting a menu in a foreign language, or looking at our phones to navigate the city streets or map a hiking route, it’s easy to let our eyes do most of the sensory work for us. Travel is a wonderful opportunity to practice using all five of our senses. Through sense awareness, we’re able to deeply learn a place and connect in a way that encourages us to be in the present moment.

 Here are my pointers on how to travel fully through smell, sound, taste, touch and sight. 

Try a new food and eat it slowly:

Meals invite the use of multiple senses. Smell the different ingredients of a dish and how they combine before taking your first bite. Notice the different colors and  textures. I once ate a salad in Italy made from 25 different alpine flowers and herbs. It was such a work of beauty and love that I struggled to eat it. You might have heard that you can taste the flowers and grasses in fresh Swiss yogurt. It’s true!!

Touch with awareness:

Noticing what we feel is a quick way to learn about our new environment. Is it humid or dry? Does the sun warm your skin? Do you feel mist from a low hanging cloud? Nothing beats the feeling of taking your shoes off after a long day on the trail. Enjoy a bath or a dip in the ocean to calm your nerves and encourage deeper relaxation. Savor the warm weight of a down comforter as you crawl into bed at night. Or kick off the sheet and give your skin some space if it’s hot where you are.

Take a deep breath:

When you’re outside, whether sitting on a beach or hiking up a trail, pause to notice what you can smell, the scent of sea spray or plants around you. Maybe catching the sweet scent of a nearby flower or the warmth of the sun as it dries the earth. Notice the quality of the air and the freshness that nature provides.

Close your eyes and listen:
The quickest way to tune in is by closing your eyes to listen. Hear the wind swaying the grasses. If you’re traveling internationally, listen to the unfamiliar languages around you with open curiosity. When you pass someone, say hello. The language you use doesn’t matter as much as your mutual enjoyment of your time in nature.

Notice what’s right in front of you:

It’s easy to spend your time staring out at the greater expanses. Pause every so often to take in the intricate details of something close to you. If you meet an animal on the trail, be it a bug, bird or bigger, observe how it moves from a safe distance. At the supermarket, linger in the aisles as you learn about different local foods and admire the vibrant produce. Each time you feel inspired to take a picture, pause, notice where you are and what you’re currently doing before bringing the camera to your eye.

Travel invites us to shake off the dull groove of the day-to-day. To experience what is new and unfamiliar to us. It makes us pay closer attention so we don’t miss a travel connection or a turn in the trail. In a way it wakes us up, rejuvenates us, and allows us to return home with a fresh perspective, a potential shift in priorities.