Deepak Chopra Shares Travel Wisdom, Importance of Quality Time on Vacation (EXCLUSIVE)

Deepak Chopra might be known as a New Age guru, but he's just like us when it comes to struggling to disconnect and really being present, especially when on vacation.

This is why Deepak teamed up with Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection for its "Time Here Is Worth More" campaign to make sure that everyone is getting enough quality time with the people they love.

Along with the campaign, Deepak, a member of Hyatt’s Wellbeing Collective Advisory Board, teamed up with the hotel to implement his DeepakChopra.ai, designed to help guests feel grounded and reflective during their stay.

At an exclusive event held at Secrets Playa Esmeralda in Miches, Dominican Republic, Deepak shared some more insight on how to be more present on vacation and the importance of travel beyond just getting that vital quality time.

According to the Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection Time Rich Report, 82 percent of Americans say they are not getting enough quality time with the people that matter most.

The report also found that Americans spend 17 hours a week on screens outside of school or work, and only 50% percent of Americans had a meaningful in-person conversation with a friend in the past week.

Simply put, there is a huge deficit in quality time, which can be alleviated through travel.

So, how do you make sure you make the most of your vacation or travel? According to Deepak, the first step is putting down your phone.

"Sometimes, I check my Instagram maybe twice a day. I don't check everything, only twice a day, otherwise you get up with the scrolling," he shared, before adding that even taking photos takes away from being present on vacation.

"When you capture a photo, you are taking a snapshot... it has no life in it, although it's good for memories, life is not just perceptual snapshots. This is a movie, and you're part of the movie, and the movie has smells and tastes and thoughts and feelings and textures and sounds... So take your photos for memory."

Another important element of travel is grounding yourself, something that Deepak's AI, one of the tools available at Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection, can help with.

"We have seasonal rhythms, we have lunar rhythms, and we have tidal rhythms, because 75 percent of our body is water, and we originally came from the ocean," Deepak shared at the event. "So the more you expose yourself to this kind of environment, and you're present for it, and you experience it at the level of the five senses."

Deepak suggests taking a half hour to sit quietly and breathe in the air or removing your shoes and walking around on the sand or grass to help synchronize your circadian rhythms with the cosmic rhythms.

"The reason we call this the universe — one song, universe — is we are part of the symphony of that one song, and our body dances to it, even though we can't hear the tune," Deepak added.

Deepak shared his final thoughts on travel and revealed that its importance transcends physical boundaries.

"If you get to know a different culture, you go to a different place, your mind expands," he said. "You're less likely to be racist or ethnocentric, because you see the richness of culture everywhere. So travel is not only good for your physical body, but also your mind."

And don't just take his word for it. Hyatt's Time Rich Report confirms it, finding that 77 percent of people say their happiest family memories are from traveling.

So, what are you waiting for?