We’ve got plenty of places to choose to go on holiday right? Well I’ve chosen to go back to Nepal. You can’t beat a bit of trekking in Himalayas. I used to be a beach person, but after a few trips to the Himalayas, I don’t think beach holidays are on my list now.
I’ll be doing the Mardi Himal trek, a lesser-known route next door to the Annapurna basecamp. I’ve trekked up in that region before and the views are incredible, and the air is fresh as it comes.
The people who live in the mountains are so friendly, and it makes you realise that happiness really doesn’t require expensive shiny objects. Happiness for me is all about connections—to nature, to other people and to myself; trekking in the Himalayas brings all of those. It’s having an experience of simple living for a week—switching off the phone, going old school and taking photos with an actual camera!
Until we experience a digital detox, we don’t realise how bombarded our minds are in this culture of ours. Beeping, vibrating, alerts, notifications, news headlines, information, data. Enough! Wherever your holidays take you, I highly recommend at least a few days of switching off all communications—you really won’t know how good it feels until you try.
One backpack, with minimal possessions. Trekking hut-to-hut, following a well-trodden path. Simple life. And when you end the walking each day, it’s a few hours of chill time in the tea-huts, reading, writing, playing cards, doing some yoga and/or meditation, playing chess or just chatting with the other trekkers.
Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash
The trekking also gets you more tuned into your natural circadian rhythm as it’s up early for breakfast and on the path and generally finishing the daily trek by 2 or 3pm. There’s a lot of rest time in the afternoons, then an early bedtime. Without late night TV you’re naturally tired in the evenings, and, along with five or six hours of exercise in the mountains, you tend to sleep soundly.
And the food up there? Well there’s not many ready meals or pre-packaged, processed fake foods, so your classic Nepali dish is dal bhat, which is lentil soup with loads of fresh veg and rice. Simple, natural, hearty mountain tucker. If you order an omelette, the chickens are just outside (or they’ve come from the next village). The fruit and veg is all from the valley.
Himalayan trekking ticks all the boxes in a holiday for me. Trekking is one of my passions; it reconnects me to nature, myself and to others; gives my brain a break from technology; it puts clean air in the lungs and fresh food in the belly; it brings lots of low-impact exercise each day; it simplifies life; it improves my sleep; and it’s a de-stressor.
It’s not my first time to Nepal, but now that I’m a health coach, I realise that self-care is vital. It comes before anything or anyone else. If you take care of yourself first, you’re a better version of yourself to others. It’s not selfish—it’s selfless, and it’s essential. And time in the mountains will make me a better version of myself, thus a better health coach, thus being more effective with the people I help.
Proactively creating your health has a ripple effect in all areas of life. Give it a try.