Good day fellow traveler! In today’s post, I will be sharing some writing samples in the Holistic Health Travel Writing category. These are from my magazine article writing days, where my expertise in natural health made me an ideal choice for any healthy travel articles.
In the time since these articles were published, the travel industry has continued to niche down into cool spaces like eco-travel, medical tourism, organic farm vacations and more. As travel and health intertwine organically and demand for niche wellness trips rises, hospitality companies are presented with an opportunity to capitalize.
Great content can help you get there. I, the Natural Health Writer, can help you with all of your holistic health travel content writing needs. As well as your environmental writing and medical tourism content needs.
And, since I am a ramblin’ man, no matter what you have in mind, I will enjoy every minute of the holistic health travel writer assignment. Let’s get to it!
Alternative Health Travel Writing Sample: Natural Remedies
Natural Remedies for Travel’s Travails
For us humans, flying is unnatural. Perhaps that’s why so many regard the “travel” aspects of exploring the globe—everything from departing for the airport to arriving at a final destination—with a combination of stress, anxiety and intercontinental dread.
Just as travel troubles our psyches, it flogs our bodies with jetlag, cabin-acquired communicable ailments, and in some cases, the frightening condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Thankfully, there are natural remedies for these travel maladies that can help voyagers arrive in good health.
High Anxiety
The perpetual buzz found at any airport bar affirms that libations are a popular way for anxious travelers to mellow out. Unfortunately, the exaggerated post-flight hangovers that follow make for an unpleasant start to trips for business or pleasure.
Homeopathy presents anxious travelers with an energy-based alternative to in-flight cocktails. Administering natural substances in ultra low doses (usually in the form of small sugar “pellets”), homeopathy stimulates the body’s healing energies and restores inner balance. Homeopathic remedies are extremely precise, targeting fear triggers to allay travelers’ specific concerns.
“Homeopathy gets into nuances” says Dr. Lauri Grossman, a New York City-based Homeopath and Dean at the American Medical College of Homeopathy. “People who are certain their plane is going to crash will benefit from [the homeopathic remedy] Aconite. Those with more specific fears, such as heights or claustrophobia, will benefit from the remedy Argentum Nitricum. Borax is excellent for people who startle easily; who might be frightened by the sound of wheels lowering, the feeling of the plane descending, or turbulence. If you get a remedy that matches your symptoms more closely, you’ll get a much swifter and much more thorough response,” explains Grossman.
Grossman advises travelers to try “30C” potency homeopathic remedies, dissolving three pellets under the tongue before a flight. Homeopathic remedies addressing travel anxiety should produce significant relaxation results in 10 to 15 minutes, and can be repeated every 15 minutes if needed. As an added bonus, homeopathic remedies work synergistically with soothing herbal supplements like valerian and passionflower—offering even more layers of relaxing comfort that won’t leave travelers zonked out upon landing.
On the Move
Dubbed with the misnomer “Economy Class Syndrome” for its association with cramped air travel seating, DVT can just as easily strike in luxury travel classes; the real risk is sitting for extended periods of time. DVT involves formation of a deep-vein blood clot in the thigh or lower legs, which can impede circulation or break off and travel in the bloodstream, placing the heart, lungs and brain in danger.
A study published in The Lancet in 2001 revealed that approximately 1,000,000 cases of air-travel related DVT occur each year, and that 100,000 of those cases are fatal. But don’t let the DVT threat add more anxiety to flying—as it turns out, even travelers in the most confined quarters can perform simple exercises that can significantly reduce DVT risk.
“While sitting in their seat, travelers can do to heel raises; lifting their heels off the floor and holding for five to 10 seconds then lowering down, for ten repetitions,” says Marylin Moffat, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, CSCS and author of Age Defying Fitness (Peachtree). “Perform the same exercise, lifting the toes off the ground. Next, circle the ankles 15 times clockwise, then 15 times counterclockwise. Try playing games, like tracing the letters of the alphabet in the air with the right foot and then with the left foot . . . anything that keeps the lower leg muscles moving as much as possible is going to be very helpful in preventing DVT.”
Moffat also suggests standing up, rising up on the toes, marching in place, and walking up and down aisles when they’re clear. Tight shoes and clothing that constricts circulation elevate DVT risk and should be avoided. Finally, drinking a lot of water is another good air travel tip, because it counters dehydration and compels passengers to get up and move—if only to go to the bathroom.
Self-Care Safety Net
For more all-encompassing travel maladies, such as dehydration, communicable colds and the misery of jetlag, common sense self-care and smart supplementation can help. Start your journey healthfully; that means getting enough rest, drinking plenty of water, and eating nutritious foods while avoiding alcohol and caffeine. These steps can both help mitigate jetlag and bolster the immune system against travel assaults like stress and low-oxygen cabins with poor air circulation.
Melatonin supplementation can help conquer jetlag by “re-setting” the body’s internal clock, which is notoriously skewed by east-west air travel. Lastly, natural supplements of vitamin C, zinc, Echinacea, probiotics and olive leaf, when taken before a flight, add further reinforcements to the immune system, helping to ward off those pesky travel bugs.
Wellness awareness should be step #1 on every travel itinerary. After all, the objective is not to merely arrive alive, but to arrive healthy, alert and eager to enjoy the mind-broadening exploration that makes weathering travel’s travails well worth the aggravation.
Holistic Travel Writing Sample: Eco-Tourism
Travel Goes Green
From 30,000 feet, nature’s sublime beauty shines. As cities reduce to motes dotting a vast expanse of wilderness, humankind’s place on this earth is brought into perspective. The epiphany this majestic aerial view brings holds special significance for even the most casual environmentalist. But as puffy clouds and shimmering seas pass below, there is a sobering reality to confront: by the very nature of travel, we destroy the earth as we explore it. In fact, a cross-country flight burns 100 gallons of fuel per passenger, and global air travel pumps half-a-billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.
The environmental affronts don’t stop when your plane lands. Consider rental car exhaust fumes; chemical concoctions keeping resorts’ pools crystal-clear and bathrooms sterile; hotels consuming enormous amounts of water during daily linen washing alone; and waste of all sorts left behind after every vacation. For environmentally-conscious tourists, traveling can be challenging. But like tender green shoots poking out from rich soil, eco-friendly hotels and resorts are sprouting across the country, introducing vacationers to a new travel philosophy: We need not destroy the earth as we explore it . . . because we can make a choice where we spend our tourism dollars.
Desert Genesis
An oasis blooms amidst Death Valley’s arid desolation – and this desert paradise is green in more ways than one. Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort (now called The Oasis at Death Valley), part of the Xanterra “sustainable tourism” network of parks and resorts, is spearheading the enlightened tourism revolution, pursuing environmentalism with dedicated, stringent sophistication.
Utilizing a complex “environmental performance metrics” system dubbed Ecometrix, Furnace Creek Inn – along with all Xanterra-managed resorts – painstakingly tracks, compiles, and analyzes environmental impact data from virtually every aspect of resort operation. Elements like conventional energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable products purchasing and sales are accounted for – all with the intent of realizing Xanterra’s credo: “You can’t conserve what you can’t measure.”
Of course, Furnace Creek Inn’s amenities are consistent with its eco-friendly mission. Wind power and solar power provide a portion of the resort’s electricity. Its water system is completely spring fed; powered by gravity from two water tanks above the Inn property. The spring-fed swimming pool is chemical free, with a pleasingly consistent 85 degree temperature. Cuisine is sustainable, using products from sources that are grown, harvested, processed, packaged and distributed with the least amount of environmental impact. The Inn’s gift shops even feature work from local artisans, as Xanterra’s green practices extend to environmental education and social responsibility.
Bring it on Home
In contrast to Xanterra’s massive, multifaceted environmental investments are the basic, yet groundbreaking, beginnings of eco-tourism on Long Island’s east end. In East Hampton, Bowen’s by the Bays resort’s three-acre grounds have been transformed over ten years from sandy lifeless soil to lush gardens, using organic, eco-friendly duck manure, local seaweed, and mulched leaves. Bowen’s washes all linens on site and opts to dry them the old-fashioned way: on the line. The Southampton Inn, meanwhile, has just made a significant investment in green technology to replace the water heating system throughout the hotel.
Arriving in the Hamptons this summer to encourage local eco-warriors like Bowen’s and the Southampton Inn will be Project GreenHouse, an environmental lifestyle program conceived to raise awareness of sustainable lifestyle options and promote local establishments engaging in environmentally sound practices. The group will set up shop in an eco-outfitted Bridgehampton house where, throughout the month of July, influential guests will attend parties, lectures, and education events centered around sound environmental practices.
Project GreenHouse coordinates travel of invited guests through a group called TerraPass, which erases attendees’ “carbon footprint” of travel and lodging through investments in wind farms, “cow power” projects (which generate power through methane gas extraction), and small landfill gas projects – achieving the homeostatic balance that is the goal of other “carbon offsetting” environmental efforts. Project GreenHouse further supports eco-friendly tourism by arranging for guests to travel in new Lexus hybrid cars.
“When people escape the city and come out to the Hamptons, it’s a really good opportunity to understand what your travel footprint is,” comments Corrin Arasa, Founder of Project GreenHouse and the Southampton-based marketing firm Events East. “People’s lifestyles and mindsets change when they visit the Hamptons . . . it’s the perfect place to assess daily travel needs; to see if you can walk, ride a bicycle, take a hybrid car, or use the train.”
On that train ride from New York City to Long Island’s east end, urban pollution gradually gives way to pristine pastoral landscapes – highlighting the need for immediate eco-awareness to maintain the natural beauty Hamptons locals hold dear.
“When I tell people the next Project GreenHouse stop is the Hamptons, they say, ‘The Hamptons? That’s not a’ green’ place!’” comments Arasa. “I reply, ‘It’s not green yet.’It’s about time things like this come to the Hamptons.”
Conclusion
Health and travel can intersect in many positive ways. As a natural health copywriter of 20+ years experience, I feel fortunate to have written some great content in the realm of holistic health travel and medical tourism. But I want to do more!
If you or your brand require any assistance creating awesome SEO content, health content, travel writing or other services that I offer, please do contact me today (pjsdougherty@gmail.com) so we can get started together. Vaya con dios!