Discovering Comfort in Motion Strategies for Healthy Travels

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Embarking on a trip can often stir a cocktail of excitement and anxiety, particularly when health concerns like blood clots loom in the back of your mind. But as I, Shannon Martin, prep for my jaunt to a thrilling women's conference in Dallas, I'm spilling the beans on my personal toolkit for wellness while wandering. It's all about turning obstacles into opportunities to nurture oneself, and I'm here to share my tricks of the trade—from choosing the best seat on a plane to combat anxiety to the hydration hacks and medication management that keep me in top shape.

Tune into this episode for a heartfelt and humorous exploration of self-care on the go, peppered with my genuine love affair with Skechers shoes. Discover why the right pair of compression socks can be a game-changer for those with restless legs and diabetes, and how a strategic selection of an aisle seat can make all the difference in managing in-flight comfort. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just stepping out of your comfort zone, you'll find some golden nuggets in my approach to tackling the challenges of maintaining health routines away from home. Join me on this adventure, and let's navigate the path to staying well together, no matter where life takes us.

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Episode Transcript

Shannon D Martin (00:01):
Hello, beautiful, I hope you had a
wonderful weekend and a greatstart to your week.
I am going to do somethingdifferent this time.
I know that we were talkingabout self-care, but I am going
on a trip today, so I'm going toa conference, a two-day
conference, and I just wanted tostill talk about self-care, but

(00:25):
self-care when you're traveling, especially when you're dealing
with health issues, like I am,with my anxiety and my blood
clot for sure.
So let's talk about it.
I'm your host, Shannon Martin,and welcome to today's episode
of This Thing Called Wellness.
So I'm traveling to Dallas,Texas, for a two-day conference,

(00:47):
and it is a women's conferencewhich I'm very excited to go to,
and I started not to go becauseI was really concerned about my
blood clot and if it was goingto hinder me from doing anything
and if I was going to have anyissues.
But I was cleared by thedoctors and that you know the
medication has been in me longenough to where I should not

(01:11):
have any concerns or anyproblems.
They said that is that thethinners are my best friend
right now.
It will keep everything at bay,so I should be fine Now.
The things that I do need to doare so if you have this problem
, or if you're even justtraveling and you have health
concerns, think about maybedoing this.

(01:32):
I don't know if it's going tohelp you or not, but I just
thought I would share One.
Of course, I have to take mymedication.
I have to take my Eliquis tomake sure that the clot is not
happening, and I'm also stayinghydrated because I'm taking
several medications as it is.
So after I enter the airport,pass TSA and all the great

(01:57):
things that comes with flying, Iget my big bottle of water to
take on the plane because I needto make sure that I'm drinking
while I'm on the plane.
My flight is only two hours, sothat's not too bad, but because
of my anxiety, I can't do themiddle seats anymore or the
window seat, especially if it'spacked.
So I always choose the aisleseat.

(02:20):
I just go ahead and just payextra.
What have you to make sure thatI'm in the aisle, so that I
don't have to worry about all ofthat?
And now that I have my bloodclot, I really need to be on the
aisle seat so that I can get upand walk like I'm supposed to.
So one I need to have the aisleseat so that I can get up and

(02:43):
walk to the bathroom.
I really never use the bathroomon the plane, but since now I
have this issue, I was told Ihave to get up and stretch.
So I'm going to do what theytell me to do I'm going to get
up and go to the bathroom, evenif I don't have to go, just go
and stretch myself out and comeback and just laugh about it on

(03:06):
my way back.
Two I make sure that I have mycompression socks Because I wear
them because of my restlesslegs and my diabetes.
And I make sure that the socksthat I have they're not
underneath my knee, because itcould tourniquet effect right
there.
So I make sure that they'reeither over my knee or they're a

(03:26):
little bit under it so thatthey're not forming that little
band-like effect.
And the ones I wear are between10 and 15 MGs.
The higher they are, the moretight they're going to be.
And I've tried the 20 MGs.
And let me tell you somethingyou will be tussling trying to

(03:48):
get the socks on.
You will either break a nail,break a hand or break something
trying to get those socks on.
I kid you not.
So I have the mid to lowcompression socks that are just
fine with me.
I probably can even go down alittle bit.
I just need a little squeeze tokeep it a little tight fit, a
little snug fit, and that's goodfor me.

(04:11):
Three I have my Skechers on.
I love Skechers.
They are just my favorite shoeto wear.
They're just comfortable, theyhave the memory foam and they're
just so cute.
Now I know they're kind of likemy kids, those old people shoes
.
I don't care what you say, Ilove my Skechers.
I'm wearing my Skechers, yes, Iam.
So I have the slip-on kind andthe tennis shoes, the sneakers.

(04:34):
So I'm just going to wear mysneakers.
Make sure that they're not sotight, because I usually tie
them really tight and tuck mystring.
This time I'm not going to dothat.
I'm just going to make surethat they're tied nicely and not
so snug so that I can slip themoff, of course, of TSA, and
make sure that they're easy toput back on and they're not so

(04:55):
tight.
Three I'm already walking.
So that's going to be great forme just to walk the airport,
walk back and forth.
So that's going to be greatexercise for my legs.
But also, while I'm waiting forboarding.
I'm going to get up and stretchagain Just to make sure that
I'm having some type ofcirculation and pointing my toes

(05:17):
and making sure that I'm movingmy legs a little more, because
I didn't do that the last timeand I know that that was part of
the problem.
So this time probably too mylegs would tell me that this
time, because they're telling methat this time you need to move
your legs.
And three it wasn't three, it,it was four or five.

(05:39):
I upgraded my seats.
This time I did the comfortplus so that I can have a little
more room for my legs.
The last time I was reallytight.
I don't know if they're makingthe seats smaller, tighter,
compacting us.
I don't know if they're justpacking us in there.
I don't know what it is, butthat seat was so tight and snug
and even when you put your bagunderneath you can't put your

(06:01):
feet under there.
So I really was really tightand I felt tight.
So this time I said let me justupgrade a little bit and
hopefully this time the seat.
I have a little more extra roomso that I can stretch my legs
out and I can actually put itunder underneath the seat on top
of my little bag, and my bag isa little.

(06:23):
My carry-on bag is a littlesmaller.
This time I have my littlebackpack and it's not as packed
as it was last time, so I cankind of put my feet underneath
the seat and kind of move abouta little more.
And my outfit isn't, as I reallywear comfortable clothing, so
it's not like I'm wearing tightclothes anyway.

(06:45):
But this time I chose to wearmy flared yoga pants I know,
yoga pants at the airport, it iswhat it is and something that's
not so tight on my legs or myleggings, where they're not so
tight, and that way I can havemy compression socks and my
leggings so that they're notit's not so snug on me and I'm

(07:05):
just comfortable and Pretty muchthat's it.
I'm just making sure that I'mhydrated, compression socks,
taking my medication, getting upafter an hour and making sure
that I'm just being more mindfulof my legs this time, being

(07:26):
more mindful of am I moving?
Am I moving like every 30minutes or every ever so often,
just making sure that I'mstretching myself, because I
wasn't doing it the last time.
I was just sitting and tryingto move a little bit, but it was
just so tight.
So hopefully this time it's abigger seat, I'm still on the
aisle and I can just have agreat comfortable time this time

(07:52):
around.
So we will see what happens andI'm excited.
You know, like I said, I waskind of hesitant about going,
but now that the time is here, Iget to see my friend girl and
we're going to have a greatweekend and we're going to learn
some things and we're going toget caught up on each other's

(08:13):
lives and we're just going toreally enjoy this time and learn
about our business and growtogether and just enjoy
ourselves and I'm really lookingforward to that.
So I'm very blessed andthankful to be able to go to

(08:35):
that.
So I'm very blessed andthankful to be able to go and
I'm just realizing that, eventhough we have these setbacks
and all of this, I just stillhave to live my life as the best
I can and I just have to bendwith it and stretch with it, and
that's what I'm going to dothis time stretch with it.
And that's what I'm going to dothis time is bend and stretch

(08:56):
and just be mindful of my bodyas I, as best I can.
So I'm hoping that when youtravel, because this is what
March probably be.
April, summertime has come alongand we still have our health
concerns, but we just have to dothe best we can with what we
have and just be mindful of whatwe have to do, to just enjoy

(09:16):
ourselves while we're onvacation, while we're going on
business trips, while we're justdoing our daily life.
So I just want to share thatwith you and I'm hoping that you
have a wonderful day.
Thank you for listening.
As always, you can like, shareor leave a review on Apple

(09:36):
Podcasts.
You can connect with me on allsocial media platforms at
Shannon D Wellness.
And thank you for listening.
We'll be back next week, nextWednesday, with a new episode,
and remember to smile.
That's half the battle! Thankyou.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
Love you, girl.
Disclaimer I am not a licensedmental health professional.
The information provided hereis for general informational
purposes only and should not beconsidered a substitute for
professional mental healthadvice, diagnosis or treatment.

(10:16):
If you need help, pleaseconsult a qualified mental
health professional.