After spending more hours on planes than some flight attendants, being exposed to more viruses than many nurses, and losing my sense of direction one too many times, I have almost perfected the craft of traveling. I blend in while visiting foreign cities, decipher street signs written in languages I don’t understand, and zoom through airports, rolling my eyes as if flying was an inconvenience rather than a privilege. So to learn from my mistakes, and also feel comfortable and safe in any corner of the world, here are five tips I swear by when going abroad.

1. Beauty Products are a Must.

The first tip I have for any traveler, and probably the most pertinent, is to always bring beauty supplies. When boarding a dreaded 12 hour flight, I make sure to have a change of clothes, especially underwear, to change into halfway through my journey. Also don’t forget face wipes, a toothbrush, and any other basic products which will make you feel slightly less radioactive and gross. Planes are so dirty: I’m sweaty, spill food and crumbs on my lap, and don’t like touching any surface without wiping it down. So, nothing is better than changing my T-shirt, washing my face, and casually spraying myself with perfume samples at the duty free shop.

2. Research, Research, Research.

Thanks to my mom, who planned family vacations down to the minute when I was growing up, I have learned the importance of researching before going on holiday. Not only do you need to plan activities, restaurants, and hotels, but I also highly recommend researching transportation. Whether it’s finding the cheapest taxi company, utilizing public transportation, or mapping walking routes, I always make sure I know where I’m going when on vacation so I can see the best sites, avoid being scammed, and explore the more local parts of cities.

3. Karen’s Get Their Way.

I have had my fair share of travel disasters, ranging from missed flights, stubborn ticket sales people, and language barriers, but through my stress, I have discovered sometimes pitching a fit goes a long way. When I was traveling alone from Germany to the US and missed my connecting flight to Chicago because of snow in Berlin, I cried to the airline agent until I was put on the next connecting flight and driven to a hotel for the night, free of charge. When I had an eight hour layover in London because of another missed flight, I complained to the flight desk and was given a meal voucher. Especially when the circumstances are out of your control, it is important to know your rights as a traveler and ask for what you want. The worst they can do is say no, and then you can write a steaming review if you’re still irritated.

4. The Secret to Public Bathrooms.

Another travel tip for people with small bladders like me, is to never pay to use a public restroom. Too often I’m exploring an ancient city on the verge of exploding and the nearest bathroom is a nasty outhouse reeking of pee which charges $1 for use; the mountain girl in me would rather squat in the bushes than pay for a UTI. So, keep your eyes peeled for museums, Starbucks, fast food restaurants, and busy restaurants with cleaner and cheaper toilets. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve walked into a McDonalds like I own the place while my family pretended to look at the menu, I could afford a personal port-a-potty.

5. Blending In.

Finally it is helpful to not stand out too much as a tourist. As a foreigner you might be overcharged, stereotyped, and miss out on the local experience just because of your accent. Stereotypically, tourists are affluent members of society, so if you sway away from the social and cultural standards while overseas, locals might take advantage of you. This doesn’t mean everyone you meet in foriegn countries is out to manipulate and deceive, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your voice low, wear conservative clothing in more religious areas, and not flash your Gucci purse in a local market.

Travel bloggers and instagrammers make traveling seem so easy, but many times fail to post the frustrating side of vacations: sweat and body odor, long commutes, upset stomachs, jetlag, and more. Hopefully these five tips will help your next trip be as stress-free as possible. Bon voyage!

Traveling somewhere with popular tourist attractions? Here’s how to make sure that your photos aren’t the same as everyone else’s.

When you travel to a new place for the first time, you’ll probably want to tick off all the touristy things. Iconic locations like the Eiffel Tower, Iceland’s waterfalls, and the Canals of Amsterdam deserve their elevated status, and they’re very much worth visiting.

That popularity, however, comes at a price. Many tourists find these spots overcrowded when they get there, and if you go onto any social media channel, you’ll notice many of the same photos published on multiple occasions.

You don’t have to resign yourself to taking identical pictures to everyone else; all you need is a little creativity. This article will identify simple ways to take unique photos of popular tourist destinations and attractions.

1. Wait for Different Times of the Day

Regardless of where you go, many touristy spots have their worst crowds when everybody’s awake. Besides not being an ideal time to visit, you might also need to endure harsh lighting conditions—which will make it trickier for you to get the types of photos you want.

If you want to take more unique pictures of iconic spots, you should take a little time to plan your photoshoots. Sunrise is an excellent time to go out for a spot of photography; the lighting is softer, and you’ll mostly meet locals at these sites.

On the flip side, sunset is another great time to capture interesting photos—even if you might have larger crowds. You can use several apps to help you plan the best photography times; Unscripted, for example, has a feature that lets you see when blue hour and golden hour starts.

2. Look for Unique Angles

If you want to capture more original images in locations that tourists frequent, you don’t have to try too hard. Many people take their photos at the same angle, and usually, that’s at face height. Moreover, you’ll notice that many pictures are head-on.

When you think outside the box, you’ll notice that you’ve got countless options for unique angles. For example, you might find a couple of backstreets that offer interesting perspectives.

You can also consider hopping on a boat tour to experience the same attractions from more of an interesting—and less crowded—vantage point. Other ideas include:

• Crouching down
• Taking photos from a corner
• Looking for reflections in puddles and mirrors

3. Use a Telephoto Lens

Wide-angle lenses have several benefits and are the perfect companion if you want to improve your travel photography skills. But if you’re going to take more unique photos of touristy locations, you might want to switch things up a little.

Telephoto lenses are bulkier and less convenient to carry around. However, they let you get closer to your subject without having to move nearer in a physical sense. You can easily pick out unique details in the tourist attractions you’re visiting, such as textures on a building.

While telephoto lenses are often quite expensive, you can find cheaper alternatives. Buying second-hand photography gear is an excellent way to save money.

4. Try Black and White Photography

These days, most images you see will be in color. As such, one of the easiest ways to stand out is simply to do what others don’t—give black and white photography a try.

Black and white photography is a lot trickier than it seems. You still need to think strongly about lighting, and shadows will play a more important role than is often the case in color photos.

There are several styles of monochromatic photography you can try, including giving your pictures a bit of a color tint. Experiment and see what you can come up with.

5. Highlight Overtourism

Overtourism has significant consequences. It can lead to damage on well-trodden trails, which—in some cases—could take years to mend. Too many people in one place also strain resources, and in extreme cases, it can result in tensions between residents and visitors.

As a photographer, you’ve got a powerful gift for telling stories. If you can’t find any unique angles to take pictures of a location, you can consider raising awareness for the overtourism in that particular spot.

You can photograph crowds, plus the consequences of overtourism—such as overflowing trash cans. If you want to create a larger photo essay, consider visiting alternative locations on your trip and highlighting the beauty of those instead.

6. Consider Buying a Drone

When thinking about taking unique photos of frequently-visited places, you might want to consider purchasing a drone. Yes, they can be expensive—but experimenting with them is a lot of fun, and you’ll grab a perspective that few others get to.

If you choose to purchase a drone, check the laws for the area you’re going to. In some cases, you might need to obtain a special license—and you’ll probably have to adhere to specific laws for flying over airports and other locations.

Some destinations forbid drone usage. If that’s the case for where you’re going, or you simply don’t want to get one, consider booking a helicopter tour instead.

7. Wait for Different Weather Conditions

From a practical perspective, photographing when the weather is clear makes complete sense. But at the same time, pictures of this kind can get a little tedious to look at. The same is true if you go to a place where moody photos are popular, and you copy what everyone else does.

Wherever you go, think about waiting for conditions that aren’t normal for that location. If everyone else takes pictures when it’s sunny, try waiting for the rain if possible. Similarly, you can enjoy great success taking photos during the winter.

As this tip relies on nature doing its own thing, you might not get lucky. Nonetheless, it’s very much worth keeping in mind.

You Don’t Have to Take the Same Photos as Everyone Else

Seeing the same photos taken in the same spots over and over can feel uninspiring, and perhaps you fear that your travel photography will be no different. But, you can find plenty of unique perspectives if you’re willing to think outside the box and try new things.

Keeping these tips in mind, you will have a unique perspective when you visit, and you should try to capture it as well as you can.

Running is amazing and trains your body in a number of ways, yet it can also lead to some chronic issues or overuse injuries. Yoga is perfect for runners because it counterbalances your training, makes you run better and faster, supports your recovery, and makes you feel good.

What does running do to your body?

Muscles engaged by running

When you run, your quads, glutes, hamstrings, tensor fasciae latae (TFL), iliotibial (IT) band, calf muscles and foot flexors propel you forward and stabilize your body, while core muscles hold your posture. And while all these muscles work hard, they only move in a limited range of motion.

There’s one more hard-working yet hidden muscle – the psoas. It’s a strong muscle running from your lumbar spine, through your pelvis all the way to the upper part of your inner thigh bone. Every time you lift your knee, the psoas contracts and every time your leg swings back, the psoas lengthens. A tight psoas can cause all sorts of issues, such as back, hip or groin pain, and can even tilt your pelvis out of alignment.

While all the above muscles get an intense workout during a run, your chest, upper back, shoulders and arms don’t have to work very hard. Their movement is also helped by the dynamics of the running motion.

Running motion and impacts

Running involves repetitive motion, and repetitive landing impacts that your bones, joints, muscles and tendons have to cushion. As a result, some muscles and tendons get tighter and if you don’t stretch properly, the tightness can eventually limit your range of motion. That, in turn, can shorten your stride which might have a knock-on effect on your running technique.

Some muscles are hard to access through conventional stretching so you need to be smart about it. At the same time, the less-worked muscles need strengthening and conditioning so your body is balanced and on top form, making you run faster. But to be honest, it’s not just about running well and fast, it’s also about preventing injuries.

Yoga, along with correct running technique and a reasonable training plan, can help prevent a number of common runner issues, such as runner’s knee, IT band syndrome, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, hamstring injuries, and others.

How can yoga help runners?

Around 80% of running injuries happen because of repetitive stress – overuse and bad running technique. However, improving your running technique is not the only thing that matters in injury prevention. It’s also about how you complement your running and if you let your body recover properly between runs.

Yoga is an excellent running companion because it counterbalances your running training – it offers a sophisticated stretching, strengthening and grounding system. All those muscles that running tends to overwork can regain their length with yoga. At the same time, all the somewhat neglected muscles get stronger – overall, yoga gives you greater mobility, removes tight muscle limitations, and allows for better recovery.

Yoga helps to bring more blood into all your muscles and joints – lubricating and nourishing them. That is one of the reasons why it helps you recover faster. Another reason is that it reduces your stress hormone levels and that in turn makes recovery more efficient. Lastly, it helps the body break down lactic acid post-training.

In practice, it means yoga can help open up your hips and hamstrings, lengthen your stride, help you maintain good posture, prevent back and joint pain, injuries, and helps your body heal. It also trains you to be mindful – present in the moment and more focused. Science shows that mindfulness training improves your performance and movement precision.

9 must-do yoga poses for runners

These poses are useful for all runners, regardless of whether you are a sprinter or a long-distance runner. It’s not an exhaustive list but if you do these poses regularly, you’ll certainly feel the benefits.

1. Forward fold

Why? It’s an easy pose that effectively stretches your hamstrings and lower back.

Pay attention to: Feet parallel, knees bent, inner thighs ‘rotating inwards’

How to do it:

• Stand upright, feet hip-width apart
• Lift your arms up with an inbreath
• With an outbreath, fold forward from the hips, keeping your back straight and a bend in the knees, and let gravity pull your body down
• When you reach your limit, grab opposite elbows with your hands and let your body hang down
• To achieve the correct stance, move your inner thigh muscles backwards – it makes your thighs rotate a little and creates more room in your hips for the deep bend
• Stay there for ten deep breaths, then slowly come back up

2. Crescent lunge

Why? It stretches your hip flexors and when you lift your arms up, also your psoas.

Pay attention to: Front knee stacked over the ankle, hips pushing forward.

How to do it: 

• Stand at the front of your mat, feet hip-width and hands on the hips
• Take a big step back with your right foot, landing on your right toes – keep your pelvis facing forward
• Left knee is bent, and directly above the ankle – you may need to adjust your stance
• Breathe in, lifting your arms up above your head, palms facing each other
• Breathe out, keep your arms up, and settle in the pose – most of us can go slightly lower
• Stay in the pose for ten deep breaths, then return to standing, and repeat on the other side
• Option to go deeper: When you’re done with the above, lower your back (right) knee down onto the mat, rest your left wrist on your left knee, and lift the right foot off the mat towards your buttocks. As you’re doing that, reach backward and catch the right foot with your right hand. Shift your pelvis towards the front of the mat, and pull your right foot towards your backside so you feel a pleasant stretch in your quads.

3. Warrior II

Why? It stretches the inner thigh muscles on both legs, conditions the front quads, strengthens the shoulders and core.

Pay attention to: Front knee stacked over the ankle, body upright – not leaning forward or backwards, arms at shoulder height

How to do it:

• Stand upright at the front of your mat, facing forward
• Keeping the left foot in place and bending the knee, take a big step back with your right leg. When you land, turn your right toes to the right, foot parallel with the short edge of the mat
• Bend your left knee, so it’s directly above the ankle, and keep your right leg straight, feet planted firmly into the mat, front and back heel aligned
• On an inbreath, raise your arms in line with your shoulders, parallel to the ground, focus on your front (left) fingertips and breathe – stay there for ten deep breaths, then repeat on the other side

4. Downward dog

Why? It stretches the hamstrings, calves, side body, and shoulders. If you pedal your feet while you’re in the pose, it also stretches the tiny feet muscles, which can help prevent plantar fasciitis. And when you let your head hang freely, it provides a welcome relief to the neck.

Pay attention to: Shoulders pressing down and towards your knees, legs parallel, tailbone up.

How to do it:

• Start on all fours, and lift your pelvis up, creating a triangle shape, your tailbone being the highest point – walk your feet further away if needs be, and make sure they are hip-width or wider apart
• Your legs don’t have to be straight, keep them a little bent, but they should be parallel to each other, heels pressing down
• Press into your hands, as if you wanted to push the ground away from you, elbow pits are facing each other, head hanging down
• Actively push the tailbone upwards – bend your knees a little more to achieve this, pressing equally into your hands and feet
• Remain there for at least five deep breaths

5. Pyramid pose

Why? It stretches your hamstrings, calves and lower back, while allowing your neck to release.

Pay attention to: Microbend in front knee, straight-ish back, back foot at 45° angle

How:

• Stand upright, feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips
• Take a step back with your right foot – not too big, about the length of your leg
• Turn your right toes out at about 45° angle, your weight is evenly distributed between your feet
• Breathe in, make sure your pelvis is facing forward, and breathe out slowly bending forward with your back straight
• Keep a microbend in your front knee, and think ‘ribs to thigh’, rather than ‘head to knee’
• When you reach your deepest fold, put your fingertips on the floor, tenting them out to support your back not rounding
• Stay there for five to ten deep breaths, then repeat on the other side

6. Plank pose

Why? It strengthens your core which can help to improve your running technique, and it engages your shoulder and upper back muscles that don’t get much attention otherwise.

Pay attention to: Shoulders over the wrists, back in line with the shoulders or higher – never lower.

How to do it:

• Start on all fours, hands under your shoulders, fingers spread wide
• Step back, so you’re in a push-up position
• Press your hands into the floor, as if you wanted to push the floor away and towards your feet, lifting from your shoulders, not sinking between your shoulder blades
• Draw your belly button towards your spine and check that your lower back is straight
• Make sure your heels are above your toes
• Stay there for at least twenty breaths – over time, add more

7. Pigeon pose

Why? It’s an excellent hip opener, and helps to release the IT band.

Pay attention to: Your body being in a straight line – not falling sideways, and your back leg should be directly behind you in line with the body.

How to do it:

• Start in low lunge, left foot forward – shuffle your left foot across to the right, so it’s between your right knee and arm
• Lower the left knee out to the left, slide backwards with your right knee, and ‘sit’ into the position but keep your hips level, careful not to collapse to either side
• Your body is upright, supported by your hands in front of you, right leg is outstretched directly behind you
• Slowly lower onto your forearms – this may be enough
• If you want to go deeper, stretch out your arms on the floor in front of you and lower your upper body down over your left shin and knee
• Stay there for ten deep breaths, then repeat on the other side

8. Crow pose

Why? It engages and strengthens your arms, shoulder, back, and core muscles, improves balance and focus.

Pay attention to: Find a spot on the floor ahead of you to focus on to help you find balance.

How to do it:

• Crouch on the mat and put your hands down, shoulder-width apart, fingers spread wide
• Lift your bottom up and walk with your feet close to the outer edges of your hands
• Put your knees on top of each triceps, as if they were ledges, and lift the toes of one foot off the ground while leaning into your hands (some people prefer to put their knees on the outer edges of their arms, which works too)
• Find a spot on the floor ahead of you and focus on it – it will help you find balance
• Then, slowly and with control lift the other foot off the ground
• It’s normal to wobble and land back on your feet – play with your balance
• When you manage to lift both feet off the ground, stay there as long as you can – don’t forget to breathe!

9. Puppy pose

Why? It stretches the shoulders and side body that tend to get tighter with running

Pay attention to: Hips over the knees

How to do it:

• Starting on all fours, keep your hips above your knees, and walk your fingers forward
• Lower your chest towards the floor, rest your forehead on the mat and walk your fingers a little bit forward
• Keep your fingers tented (only fingertips on the mat, not palms), and your hips up
• Stay there for five to ten deep breaths, then return to the starting position

When is the best time for runners to practice yoga?

In general, it’s best to do yoga after your run – a shorter practice right after your training, or a longer one the next day. Practicing yoga before you run has its benefits but all the muscles that get tightened by running are best served if you do yoga afterwards.