The word stress has entered impetuously into everyone's daily vocabulary. Also in yours. Do you always feel tired, fatigued, lacking in energy and ideas? Then you need a relaxing holiday or a wellness weekend of the kind you never forget. From a technical point of view, stress represents the organism's psychophysical response mechanisms to environmental or inner pressures which, in the absence of sufficient resources to cope with them, result in headaches, nervousness, insomnia, dissatisfaction and so on. In less congealed terms, in short, stress is nothing more than the malaise we feel when our lives do not follow a linear path, we have too high expectations and too few opportunities for quiet to regenerate us. And travel is one of the best cures if done properly.
Green bowl beach, Bali, Indonesia. ©Andy Troy/Shutterstock
Precious trips are those that act as true therapy, with success proportional to the degree of detachment it can produce: if the situations that generate tension are restored far from home, in fact, leaving will prove almost useless.
Thus, a 'nature and wellness' trip is made up of slow rhythms, gestures that bring one closer to the simplicity of existence, a search for inner peace and the impulses that hectic life often compresses, and then again, of beauty, lots and lots of beauty. So that the impulses to which our organism must respond are above all those of harmony, joie de vivre, light-heartedness.
In search of peace in South Korea, at the Haein-Sa Temple
One of the reasons why it is complicated to avoid stress is that it often unconsciously has its uses: building a life overflowing with commitments and occupations allows one to stay away from deeper ailments or anxieties. If you want to try to deal with them, imagine a trip to South Korea and a retreat in the Haein-sa complex.
Best known for the Tripitaka, an extraordinary collection of more than 80,000 wooden tablets depicting Buddhist scriptures, this temple on the slopes of Gaya-san is an ideal place to resonate with one's inner motions. There, in supreme stillness, amidst pagodas and statues, and without the aid of meetings or business calls, you will necessarily be forced to listen to your emotions. And, who knows, to realise that there is something you fear more than stress.
Manta Bay, also known as Kelingking Beach on the island of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia. ©Galjan/Shutterstock
Bali, when to go to rediscover yourself
The link between stress and the perception that daily events follow one another in an uncontrollable or unpredictable manner is clinically documented. So whether or not you are an intrepid traveller, let the magic word at least for once be all-inclusive.
A trip to Bali in this sense is ideal: fly to these shores and then head to one of the many resorts on the beaches of Nusa Dua. With your pretty, colourful bracelet on your wrist, the sun, palm trees, fruit cocktails to sip by the pool and a tennis lesson simply await you. So, say goodbye to all worries, say hello to the concept of mishaps and say goodbye to the hustle and bustle: pampered by animators and bartenders, the only inconvenience that may happen to you will be a sunburn from falling asleep on the beach.
When you book your stay you receive all kinds of services, including airport transfers from and to your chosen Bali hotel, so don't worry about that either.
The Cliffs of Moher at sunset, Ireland. ©Patryk Kosmider/Shutterstock
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Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, watching the world from above
However much life has weighed you down, here, believe us, it will be very difficult not to feel light. Who knows, perhaps the therapeutic power of these 8 km of cliffs in Ireland lies in the impetuous wind that, along with the leaden clouds, blows away your worries; or perhaps in the incessant crashing of the waves on the rock, which soothes the soul like a mantra pronounced ceaselessly by the sea; or perhaps in the perception of your own smallness, 200 metres above the turbulent waters. Or is it instead in the hypnotic screech of birds nesting in the walls, in the arcane beauty of the green pastures, in the titanic forms of O'Brien's Tower?
In all cases, the Cliffs of Moher give visitors a grandiose view of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as of the futility of their own frenzy. Overhanging both.
Sunset in the mountains, Mongolia. ©Anton Petrus/Getty Images
Travel in Mongolia, in the steppe of Lun
Imagine endless expanses of green, a silence broken only by the neighing of horses in the wild and a stillness close to ideality. Well, if you find that your nerves are already stretching, know that place really does exist, on the steppe near Lun, Mongolia.
There, you can be the guest of a nomad family in a gher (a typical circular yurt) worthy of Genghis Khan and forget about internet connection, traffic, telephone and your busy schedule; instead, you can enjoy long walks with your nose in the air to catch a glimpse of golden eagles, the wind in your hair, the intense perfume of the grass, music and stories of ancient sagas around a crackling bonfire. And so, at night, no more worries and cares will hang over you, only the immensity and peace of the starry sky.
Central Asia
Paseo del Prado, Havana, Cuba. ©Agota Kadar/Shutterstock
Havana, Cuba: getting lost amidst colours and music
If the passage of time gives you no respite, your days are obsessed with videoconferencing meetings and you feel perpetually on the edge of your seat, there is nothing better than dreaming of a trip to Cuba, to Havana.
The Cuban capital will offer you, besides the colourful Habana Vieja, the 18th-century San Cristóbal Cathedral and the solemn Plaza de la Revolución, the opportunity to learn how frenzy and dynamism can go hand in hand with informality and relaxation. In a city where public transport has no timetable, one has to pack up the hurry and yield to a serene fatalism.
And between mojitos to be consumed without looking at the time, lazy evening strolls along the Malecón, the Caribbean's most famous promenade, chatting and dancing until dawn, your days will follow such a serene rhythm that you will finally have to hang up your watch. This will be your revolución.