Embracing Your Sexual Health and Total Wellness as You Travel

I know it can be a rather taboo topic to talk about our sexual health, especially for those of us who have grown up in the states, a place with sometimes aggressively Puritan roots that can quickly make us feel shamed for talking about anything of the sort. But experiencing total wellness means being healthy in every aspect of our lives, from our mental health to our physical health to our sexual health and beyond.

For the longest time in my life, I would identify with being a prude. I was regularly finding that I was uncomfortable understanding that it was fully normal to have sexual needs, as I grew up in an environment that heavily discouraged talking about sexual wellness in any form. In fact, I remember learning about having a period in school, and I was the one who chose to pull my mother aside to tell her what I had learned. She was, of course, put off guard and didn’t know how to respond. That was really the last time we talked about that together. I think I was nine years old.

Of course, I am far, far off from nine years old now. As I get older and continue to grow into the wonderful woman I truly I want to be, I find that I become more and more comfortable with myself each and every day. And specifically, in the last few months, I realized the full importance of trust and how it contributes to our total wellness. If we don’t trust ourselves, how will we ever become the people we truly want to be? By trusting myself and my choices, I’ve realized how powerfully that affects my mental health. By trusting my partner fully and completely, I’ve found the key to unlocking the very core of my sexual health. I am not a prude. I am happy to try new things and to love myself and with that, explore my sexuality. It just needs to be done with the right person, and of course, with care. And becoming more open to explore my sexuality has made the world of a difference in my overall total wellness.

At home, this has made for a very happy comfortable life with my loving partner. Who knew that trust would be the key to unlocking the hidden wealth of comfortable exploration I was hiding away all this time? But what about when we travel? How can we still find this trust and comfort, this willingness to explore when we are apart from one another (or perhaps together in a new exciting place)?

How We Can Embrace Our Sexual Health While Traveling

• Pack the Right Pieces – As we begin to pack for our travels, we might become shy about packing items that we could use to pleasure ourselves while we’re away from home, such as our favorite sex toys. However, there are many discrete options that you can easily and carefully put in your bags. Just remember, if it uses a lithium-ion battery, be sure to pack it in your carry-on bag. By bringing tools we regularly use at home in our sexual exploration, we are also bringing a bit of our own familiar comfort with us while we travel. It might be easier to explore ourselves or our partners sexually while we travel if we have some familiar sex toys on hand. And if we’re traveling solo, the need for comfort and familiarity becomes even stronger as we feel alone in a foreign place.
  
• Stay Connected- For those of us traveling with our partners, it’s easy to stay connected with them if they are also on our trip with us. By packing our favorite pieces to help us enjoy each other, that’s the only real additional step we should need to stay sexually gratified while on the road. With a partner you love and trust, that should be the full equation to feeling safe and connected from anywhere. But when we are traveling solo, it can be much harder to find the comfort in exploring your sexual health while you are away. But thankfully, we live in a world of connectivity. If you trust your partner fully and completely, think about being intimate with them in new ways, such as over FaceTime or through sexy messages. By connecting with them and including them in your journey in a sexual way, you may open up the doors to a new exciting time in your relationship, one that you didn’t know could exist. While many people may be too shy to try this, I’ve found that no matter how shy you are, when you’re with ‘the one’, the person you trust more than anything, somehow this suddenly becomes an easy option to be connected with your love while you’re on the road, a way to give you optimal sexual health and total wellness while you’re adventuring.
  
• Make Yourself at Home- While you’re traveling, whether it’s solo or with your partner, it can be hard to feel optimal mental, emotional, or sexual health if you’re uncomfortable in your temporary space. So, I think it’s imperative to find a hotel you are extremely comfortable with. I think splurging on a good hotel room is a no-brainer when you’re on a trip. When I travel for expedition work, the first thing I do is book an amazingly glamorous hotel before and after the expedition, so I know my time around getting dirty and working hard is spent being pampered in a comfortable place. The more comfortable we are, the easier it is to experience all facets of our health and wellness. You can also bring a few key pieces or items with you that you can sprinkle around the room to make it feel like home. Being comfortable is key to allowing yourself the ability to feel full wellness.

Sexual health is a regularly ignored part of our overall well-being, as it gets constantly overlooked by those focusing on our physical health, emotional well-being, and mental health. But when all these elements are balanced, including our sexual health, only then can we truly find what it means to experience total wellness. And when it comes to traveling, especially for those of us who regularly solo travel, it’s important to have all facets of your health in tip-top shape before setting off on your latest adventures. We tend to ignore our sexual health while we’re on the road, but in times of uncertainty in unfamiliar places, it can be even more important that we focus on our sexual health to keep all of our wellness balanced and in check. So, be sure to pack your favorite pieces and stay comfortable and connected to your partner as you find yourself on the road next.