Although this activity is mainly for musicians, anyone can take a tour. Work out specific destinations for your itinerary and stick to the schedule. The idea is to remove the decision about where to go so that the journey is more important than the destination. This is the whole therapeutic core of touring.

I love to tour, not just because I love playing music, but because it simplifies life for a little while. Drive, eat, sleep, play a gig, eat, sleep, drive. That's about it. It really helps to put you in the present moment, enjoying the freedom of movement, yet being unburdened by the routine of home life.

You begin to discover a groove--it's the groove of being at home wherever you go, at the same time enjoying the diversity and unity of the culture you live in.

Touring also requires that you become more self-contained and reliant--you must, as any conscientious camper knows, pack out what you pack in. I can't leave my drumsticks in a motel room without serious repercussions, nor can I forget my cell phone without creating some inconvenience.

Touring also includes the idea of leaving the destinations better than when you arrived. Some trash in the parking lot at the motel? Pick it up. Grumpy hotel clerk? Tell a joke. A drumset was provided for one of our gigs, but the cymbal stands were missing pads and cymbal nuts (to secure the cymbals on the stands). I had several in my bag of stuff, so I donated them to the kit. The next day I picked up more for myself. It costs me under $10, but made the world more than $10 better.

Most of all, touring makes you appreciate where you've been, and when you do get back home, how great that is, too. You toured all over the world, and arrived home safely. It extends your reach, your confidence, and your appreciation for the world. Plan your tour today!

Everyone knows the benefits of walking for your health, but not so much for your mind and spirit.

Many ancient cultures used walking in their spiritual practices--everything from the aboriginal "walkabout" to the Hopi Indian "vision quest." The reason walking became a sacred practice is due to what it does to the parasympathetic nervous system. Walking automatically syncs up all the bodily functions as one dynamic motion. It stimulates brain chemicals that normalize the endocrine system, releases endorphins, and re-establishes blood flow to the neocortex for enhanced higher brain functions. Long walks will heighten the senses and can bring on deep spiritual experiences.

By adding regular counted breathing to your walking steps--counting to 6 on the inbreath and 6 on the outbreath, the rhythm created enhances cardiovascular functions, and stimulates all the energy centers of the body.

As a completely different practice than touring, where you allow the itinerary to do the steering while you enjoy the ride, try walking without any destination at all in mind. Just walk. Turn where you turn, and allow the process to unwind you. Observe changes in perceptions, and feel the connectedness to trees, bushes, animals, clouds, sounds and the air itself. Abide fully in the now as you move across the surface of our Mother Earth. Let thoughts come and go like the clouds--hold on to nothing, reach for nothing.

Feel that growing sense of freedom, looseness and contentment, as the body re-aligns itself to its magnetic world. Modern life has us so often nailed down to one spot. By moving in the most primordial way, with our feet and legs, it allows the body to experience itself as the autonomous living thing it is in harmony with all other living things.

After a while, notice how the environment starts to seem like it is sending messages to you, communicating to you about who you are, mirroring back to you the beauty of who you are, and the wisdom inherent in this very moment.

Here are three yogic breathing exercises I do as part of my morning wakeup routine:

1. 3-Part Breathing - Empty the lungs, then begin to breathe in to the stomach so it poofs out, then breath into the ribs so they expand, then breath into your upper chest so it sticks out. Hold for a count of 5. Then exhale from the top of the lungs, through the ribs, down to the stomach, pulling in the stomach muscles to completely empty the lungs. Do this 3-5 times. It is a very cleansing and revitalizing breath. Try one or two cycles of this throughout your day. It will oxygenate the brain, clear the lungs and improve digestion.

2. Breath of Fire - Inhale and exhale normally, then forcefully exhale and inhale through the nose very quickly. Put emphasis on the exhale, letting the inhale take care of itself. Do 30 breaths, then rest, and do 30 more. This breathe stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, normalizes the endocrine system, and increases energy.

3. Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadisudhi Pranayama) - Hold up your right hand. Hold your thumb over the bent forefinger and middle finger with the ring finger and little finger straightened. Inhale, hold, and place the thumb on the right nostril to close it. Exhale through the left nostril. Inhale through the left nostril. Hold. Close the left nostril with the ring finger, releasing the thumb from the right nostril. Breath out, breathe in, switch to the other side. Do 10-15 rounds. This type of breathing normalizes blood pressure, balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and resets the parasympathetic nervous system.

These practices are enhanced by a sacred attitude, and an awareness of the miracle of life--indeed, the miracle of breath. Most of the detoxification of metabolic wastes from the body happens with the breath, and in yoga asana practices it is essential above all else. Yoga poses without breathing have little value. So, celebrate the breath! Breathe!