6 Ways To Beat Post-Vacation Blues

Vacations—the experiences we create and the people we share them with—are priceless. The days of ease, freedom and playfulness transform your mind and relationships.

We all want to bring our vacations home with us, but it seems as soon as we get in the door, the demands of home and work begin to affect us. Soon the glow of our vacation is nothing but a distant memory and some photos in a book. So how can you extend the feelings, relaxation and ease of mind you achieve on vacation into your day-to-day? An Easy Gift To Help You Hang On To Happy Memories

1. Pay attention to your feelings.
A wonderful byproduct of vacations is the deepened intimacy we feel with those we love. Time away together inspires feelings of connection, deeper sexual attraction, increased patience and more love. One way to keep these good feelings flowing is to begin a brief, but regular practice of acknowledging the good that flows between you; even if only for moments at a time. It can be something as insignificant as a "thank you" for hanging up a wet towel or something more meaningful like writing a note that says "I so appreciate when you really hear me." By putting forth effort to stay connected to your intimate feelings, you encourage the bond to remain long after you have returned home.

2. Make having fun a priority, not a luxury.
A good vacation also gives us the practical experience of having fun with the people we love everyday. Rediscovering the power of humor to heal our relationships can be as easy as a card game on a rainy afternoon or a romp in the waves. Vacations by definition offer multiple and varied access to fun.

As your vacation is winding down, take note of the ways that fun just spontaneously happens when you're traveling and make a short list of the ways you laugh together while you are away. This will help you to tangibly recreate similar events once you're back in your routine at home.

For instance, if you vacationed in France or Italy, where drinking wine at lunch is customary, when you return home, on occasional weekends, recreate the experience by having a glass with your midday meal. Every sip can provide a sensual reminder of the wonderful, relaxed time you had overseas. 5 Guys To Have A Crazy-Wild Fling With BEFORE You Get Married

3. Remember the essence of what a vacation really is.
When you go on vacation, you are, by definition, "vacating." But vacating what? Two things: your physical location and your usual state of mind. It's not really a vacation unless you do both.

This hints at how we can integrate vacation energy into our lives at home. You can do so by "vacating" the premises without actually packing your bags. To create a physical change of scenery you could:

* House-swap with a nearby couple or rent a hotel room at a local place and have a romantic night away.

* Create a sacred space inside your home where you can retreat to clear your head or have intimate time together. It's important to keep the space beautiful and tidy, with no clutter—remember that etymologically, “vacate” derives from the Latin “to be empty.” It's only a vacation when you leave your cares behind. If you anoint your sacred space with that intention, it'll be an on-site sanctuary, your special care-free zone, that's ready to receive you whenever you feel the urge.

4. Continue to try new things.
You can continually "vacate" your mental space by creating time and putting forth effort for new experiences. When you're on vacation, you are bombarded with unfamiliar impressions and information; all of which really get the synapses firing. Unfortunately, all too often when we return home, our old routines creep in and the newness disappears into a memory. This doesn't have to happen. You can import some of that foreign vacation experience into your daily lives: Take up a language class, cooking, yoga or other experiential class to teach both your mind and body something new.

5. Take a mini-vacation.
Finally, you can reconnect with your feelings, sensations and mindset from vacation by planning mini-vacations on a regular basis. These don't have to take up a lot of time or money, the effect can be created when you put forth the effort to recreate something powerful from a trip you loved. Watching a documentary about your favorite destination, eating food from your favorite part of the world, visiting an embassy, museum, restaurant or film that takes you back to a place you grew to love can help to reconnect you with the state of mind you were in when you returned. Similarly, revising photographs, reading journals or other memorabilia created from your trip can help as well.

6. Plan your next vacation!
Nothing helps beat the post-vacation blues like starting to look forward to and plan your next adventure, whether it's a local day trip or a two-week foreign excursion. European Vacation: Relationship Ender?