womantraveler

Against Type in Rural France

For all the senses that France excites, the most pleasurable for me arrives with the unexpected. Discovering vegetarian feasts that would challenge the haute cuisine practitioners, yoga practice and geodesic domes (which harvest greenhouses and solar energy), I experienced that pure expression nearly 30 years ago in France and know it continues to exist today.

If you want to take a group to a breathtakingly simple, comfortable and genuine country retreat, where a Zen-like spirit creates an atmosphere of peace, beauty and exploration, then consider Le Moulin de Vaux two hours west of Paris in Chateau-du-Loir between Le Mans and Tours. My friends have preserved this unique environment because they believe in the quality of the, frankly, alternative opportunity that today would still fit in California, from Big Sur to Marin County. What more beautiful and accepting a location for a serene, rustic and introspective getaway, with an emphasis on community? The French culture, despite the hoopla, appreciates and supports quality experiences in all forms. Here in the Loire Valley countryside, the passion is quieter -- but the goal is the same -- wine, food, art, and health. 

Yoga on the Run

The more I travel, the more I miss -- and need -- yoga. Struggling to manage a 50-pound suitcase plus golf clubs and a computer case for a week of East Coast travel resulted in a recent rude reminder that my yoga practice cannot slip on the road. Practically speaking, we have to be strong -- chivalry is practically dead, most bellmen have disappeared with cost-cutting in non-luxury hotels and most men just smirk and stare in "I told you so" scorn when you're using your total body force to wrangle bags onto a rental car shuttle. Waving large dollar bills to potential bag tenders often gets their attention, but in any case, yoga while traveling is essential among our fitness options. Stretching after prolonged sitting and walking, cramped in coach coast to coast, not to mention the physical and psychic energy that yoga provides, enhance the experience of an active womantraveler.

My best new tips:

• As long as I'm schlepping a computer, I include a yoga DVD for my hotel room. My favorite is Baptiste Power of Yoga and Meditation (see more about Sherry below).
• Kimpton Hotels aim to help womentravelers keep their lifestyles while on the road, which includes yoga props and other fitness gear in special rooms as well as a 24-hour yoga TV channel. Knowing that their patrons want to stay fit, other hotels are making fitness an essential part of their service.
• I keep yoga teachers in various cities, just like men keep women (and vice versa nowadays). When in LA, contact Pamela Blackstone, who brings a spiritual artistry and several techniques, including the energy-building Reiki massage. While in San Francisco, check out Sherri Baptiste Freeman, who teaches in various area locations and conducts workshops around the US. The daughter of two California yoga-health-fitness pioneers, she's constantly inventing new twists on the practice, such as her new book in the Dummies series, Yoga With Weights.

Staying Fit for Business Travel

Sticking to our workouts while traveling for business is not always easy, but hotels are increasingly more accommodating with in-room fitness options for our exercise while on the road. Westin, Marriott, Omni, Wyndham and Hilton chains are among those responding to the healthy expectations of business travelers. Through its "Women on Their Way" program, Wyndham is making a special pitch to women business travelers and provides a helpful website.

Not only are these chains expanding and updating their workout rooms, but they offer in-room delivery of fitness equipment often at no charge. In some cases, you can request a personal trainer in your room. Check out Omni's "Get Fit Room," an upgraded feature that comes with a treadmill. Just in case, I pack exercise bands for in-room weight-training and CDs to play on my laptop or portable disc player -- yoga for stretching and high-energy aerobic music.

Corporate wellness programs are also more prolific to educate business travelers about healthier lifestyles while on the road. Working out daily while traveling -- and being rigorous about eating habits -- makes all the difference in a successful business day!

Finally, Smoke Free Hotels

Westin Hotels have become the first hotel chain to go smoke free and have now converted all 77 properties in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, the New York Times reports. The upscale chain, a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, draws many business travelers and has great moderately priced accommodations.

Westin announced the change in December in response to an overwhelming demand from guests. Research among customers showed that 92% preferred smoke-free hotels, including public spaces. Only 6% requested smoking rooms and only 3% actually smoked in them, Westin reports. the poll also found that 80% prefer when restaurants and other indoor places are free of smoke.

This is good news from those suffering from second-hand smoke -- in the floors above and below and among the cheaters who declare they're smoke free and then leave you with a room that has so much room deodorizer sprayed around to mask the smoke that we gag.

The conversion wasn't simple. The makers of the "Heavenly Bed," which started the hotel bed wars and legitimately so, had to replace all soft goods, such as drapes and bedding, and specially treat hard surfaces (walls and carpets) to eliminate smoke residue. Thanks to Westin, we can now safely breathe.

Eat Breakfast and Stay Slimmer

In a major nutrition survey reported in the Journal for the American Dietetic Association, women who ate breakfast were 30 percent less likely to be overweight. The results indicate that the longtime adage advocating starting the day with a good breakfast not only gives us energy for the day but also has long-term benefits.

For womentravelers with tight schedules and access to a lot of quick but bad-for-you breakfast foods, this can be a challenge. The quality of the breakfast definitely matters -- thes breakfasts in the survey were cereal-focused, loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Women who ate other breakfast foods loaded with fats and cholesterol (pastries, meats and cheesy eggs, for example) were similar to their peers who skipped breakfast and grew their waistlines. Tip -- carry along dry cereal in a zippered plastic bag for breakfasts on airlines, in airports, at conventions, and before meetings.

Yoga For WomanTraveling

As a business womantraveler, I've added yoga to my travel workout menu. While women friendly hotels are more focused on fitness options for business travelers, I find that sitting in meetings for often days at a time, schlepping through airports, sleeping in beds and on pillows that don't always fit my body style, and spending hours on airplanes add up to aches and stiffness that aren't diminished by hotel gyms. It really takes both -- dedicated use of hotel fitness centers as well as stretching -- to feel good, sleep better, and maintain high energy. I've found a reliable online resource for simple travel yoga practice. With a laptop, I can view yoga poses on the Web, as well as listen to meditation music on a CD and play exercise videos, including pilates, in my room. It's an easy and winning combination of technology and healthy living that makes mind and body feel great.

Travel Snobs: How to Dazzle Us

OK, we get it, you are vacationing by car in the most fabulous place in the world -- not because you brought home a pair of earrings by a local artist but because your bumper sticker and your handbag telegraph in advance that you are a snob. Rather than tacky and fun T-shirts to remember your vacation, the hot trend is coded zip codes and area codes to brag to other all-knowing insiders (reminiscent of the "My Son is an Honor Student at..." bumper sticker craze).

In fact, a scientist who has observed the phenomenon compares preening to or from the Hamptons as similar to the behavior of baboons, the New York Times reports. So, go ahead, do that in-your-face advertising -- because we don't want to be around you anyway. You've helped us plan, and we will be sure to enjoy our getaway somewhere else.

Cycling: Use Heart Monitors Wisely

Cyclists and other exercisers who drape themselves in health monitoring equipment shouldn't be obsessive about the data. While these abundant technology tools may be useful, they can be motivating for the very committed and possibly distracting or demoralizing for others. We're not all Lance Armstrongs competing in the Tour de France. Think about why you exercise and what's best for your mental as well as physical state, researchers advise.

Lance Wins 7 Strong

Congratulations to cyclist Lance Armstrong for his 7th Tour de France victory. Riding into retirement, he sets a tour victory record. But perhaps his greatest victory is over cancer prior to his first Tour victory in 1999. Live strong and long, Lance!

Lance Cycles for Tour Victory Sunday

American Lance Armstrong began the final week of the Tour de France today with a solid lead on the way to his 7th and final victory on Sunday. Meanwhile, a whole crop of Lance Tour de France blogs and fan clubs have grown around him and the race. Learn more how to support his Livestrong charity for cancer patients. Watch here for daily tour coverage all week.