This is an excellent article on how to keep yourself fit both physically and mentally when traveling. Due to the growth of Wellness Tourism industry, airlines, hotels, and cruises are incorporating wellness components to give more options to their health-minded passengers or clients.

I certainly enjoyed the part about exercises you can do in your room if you are limited in time and/or don’t have direct access to the gym while traveling!

Read the complete article here for useful travel tips from other experts. I’m certainly taking notes for the next time I hit the road!

HOW TO STAY IN SHAPE ON THE ROAD

No need to check out of healthy habits when you hit the road. Here, our wellness experts share their tips on how to keep a balance between healthful living and having fun. Plus, what hotels, airlines and cruises are doing to help you maintain optimum fitness throughout your journeys. By MONSICHA HOONSUWAN. Illustrated by AUTCHARA PANPHAI.

OUR HEALTHY HABITS OFTEN TAKE OFF
when we fly. Fortunately, the travel industry is conspiring to change that. We used to have to retire to wellness retreats, but the concept is becoming integral to all types of hotels and resorts, promising travel experiences that transform one’s mind, body and soul. Meanwhile, airlines and even cruises—those infamous kilo-raising culprits—are rolling out options for the healthy-minded. In fact, according to a recent study by the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness tourism industry accounted for US$563 billion in 2015, an increase of 14 percent from 2013, and it’s forecasted to reach US$680 billion in 2017. If your resolution this year is to be more health-conscious even on the road, this guide provides the map.

AIRLINES

Living a high-flying lifestyle comes with a cost: jet lag upsets your circadian rhythm, a biological clock that regulates your sleep cycle, causing a whole host of other issues including gastrointestinal problems, mood changes and difficulty concentrating—that’s why you can’t seem to function right after a transcontinental flight. Frequent flyers also age faster, have weaker immune systems and are more at risk for obesity (on-board bubbles and salt- and sugar-laden meals certainly don’t help). Clearly, it’s no longer enough for planes to be fast and fuel-efficient. Passenger wellness is paramount, and to the right are examples of what some airlines in our region are doing to help.

BETTER BEVERAGES
Low humidity on planes presents no severe health risks, but it’s a source of discomfort, and leaves you more prone to contracting germs and diseases. Starting in 2016, Qantas has partnered with Sydney-based Botanica to bring nutrient-dense, immune-system-boosting cold-pressed juice on select flights. Turkish Airlines is also ahead of the game with its herbal teas developed by Dr. Ender Saraç, a famous Turkish doctor.

WIDER SEATS
Just an inch increase in seat width can improve your sleep quality by 53 percent, according to a study by The London Sleep Centre. Airbus is a proponent of a minimum seat-width of 18 inches on long-haul flights, armed with data that it leads to deeper, longer uninterrupted sleep than the 17 inches prevalent in the industry. Luckily, airlines in Asia feature some of the widest seats: Asiana holds the crown with 21 inches on its A330s; Singapore Airlines, budget Scoot, , Cathay Pacific and ANA follow close behind at 18 to 19 inches.

30%
The decrease in your sweet and salty senses caused by a plane’s engine noise.

 

HOTELS

Our abs and souls appreciate that so many hotels are sprucing up their gyms and trying to improve our sleep. These are just three of our favorite ideas going above and beyond in their wellness innovations.

Mandrin Oriental
A remote island isn’t the only place to disconnect. Since September 2016, guests who book treatments at Mandarin Oriental spas worldwide are encouraged to give up their phones on arrival and spend time afterwards coloring or meditating. You’ll also have access to tips created by Mayo Clinic experts to help you establish a healthy relationship with technology and live a digitally balanced lifestyle. If you crave a more serious session, book an 80-minute Digital Detox Retreat: an aromatic bath and a massage focusing on relieving your head, eyes, neck, shoulders, hands and feet from the stress of daily, repetitive movements. mandarinoriental.com.

FOOD THERAPY  

Well Hotel Bangkok
The concept of food as medicine is taken literally at the hotel’s signature restaurant Eat Well Café, where Thai and Asian-fusion dishes are prepared with wholesome local ingredients. Don’t just pick an appetizer, main and dessert: go for one of eight set meals designed to ease common ailments afflicting urbanites including Computer Vision Syndrome, Office Syndrome, stress and anxiety, jet lag, and PMS. If, like most of us, you spend a lot of time looking at mobile and computer screens, the CVS set, with beef steak and goji berry soup, will supply you with plenty of vitamin A, Beta Carotene and vitamin C to reenergize your tired eyes. wellhotelbangkok.com.

STAYING ACTIVE  

Even Hotels
Finding ways to fit a sweat sesh into your packed schedule is about to get much easier with the first outside-of-America launches of Even Hotels in the Australia–New Zealand region. Exact dates are still in the works, but expect a dedicated cork-floored workout area in your room, complete with a stability ball, a yoga mat, strength bands and fitness videos. Head to the Athletic Studio to join one of their group classes or ask the staff for fitness advice. If you are traveling to the States, New York City and D.C. are among the places you can find these hotels—also well known for their in-room standing desks. ihg.com/evenhotels.

16,000
spas were added to the industry between 2013 and 2015.

CRUISES

Sandwiched between the endless expanse of the sea and the sky full of stars, you’d be forgiven for being glued to a deck lounger, or whiling away time at the banquet table, the starlit jacuzzi—anywhere but the boring old gym. Luckily, cruises these days are jazzing up their wellness offerings so we don’t pack those extra kilos back home.

MIND & BODY WELLNESS PROGRAM, SEABOURN
Beginning with the inaugural voyage, from Singapore to Bali, of  in January 2017, integrative medicine practitioner Andrew Weil will sail on a different Seabourn ship each year as the cruise line’s first Wellness Guide. He will lecture on various topics from meditation to healthy aging, anti-inflammatory foods to happiness. Smaller group chats and one-on-one sessions will also be available for those interested in deepening the mind-and-body connection. seabourn.com.

WELLNESS EXPEDITIN VOYAGES, SILVERSEA
Sometimes discovery starts from within. That’s why  partners with Technogym to offer a sailing sanctuary of expert-led yoga and fitness. As you traverse Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, exploring foreign cultures, wildlife and terrains, you’ll also be looking inward to find inner balance through personalized gym sessions, nutrition counseling and exercise classes from water aerobics to Pilates. silversea.com.

TRADITIONAL DANCE CLASSES, PAUL GAUGUIN
If you ever find yourself in need of a compelling reason to get a workout instead of reveling in the turquoise seas of the French Polynesia and the South Pacific, Paul Gauguin has the perfect one. This small-ship brand offers traditional Polynesian dance classes and sunrise Polynesian-inspired Zumba classes taught by Les Gauguines, the cruise line’s crew of local staff, entertainers and storytellers. So bust out your floral headdress and burn off those buffet calories. pgcruises.com; various voyages from seven to 17 nights, from US$3,995, including airfare.

691
million wellness trips were made around the globe in 2015.

FIT-TECH

Running out of wellness options? Get help from these start-up services.

GYM BUNNY
GuavaPass (prices vary by country) offers access to boutique fitness studios in 10 cities in Asia and the Middle East, from Taipei to Dubai. Meanwhile, KFit (prices vary by country) is all for feeling good, be it a facial, a massage or even muay Thai classes, in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila.

CLEAN EATER
Order healthy meals and cold-pressed juices from more than 45 independent vendors in Bangkok via Indie Dish. In Klang Valley, Malaysia, Dah Makan offers diverse daily menus—Baja fish tacos; Korean spicy-squid stir-fry—and free delivery of its gourmet lunch and dinner boxes. Nosh, in Hong Kong, prepares dishes that are light on calories (550 or fewer per meal) but heavy on flavors, like Moroccan-spiced chicken with couscous, and can be ordered through Foodpanda.

MASSAGE LOVER
Book a Swedish or Shiatsu massage on Zennya (P400 for 60 minutes), in Manila, and a licensed therapist will come knocking at your door within 30 minutes. Other massages and scrubs are in the works. Similarly, Diandao(treatments from RMB128) has certified massage professionals standing by in Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.

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Curated from How to Stay in Shape on the Road – Asia travel and leisure guides for hotels, food and drink, shopping, nightlife, and spas | Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia