The term “rumination” describes the state of being caught up in repetitive and obsessive thoughts, particularly when those repetitive thoughts have a negative quality, and lead to distress and emotional turmoil.
Unfortunately, rumination isn’t a rare experience by any stretch of the imagination, and there’s even reason to believe that the average person today may be significantly more prone to rumination than they were in the recent past.
With so many of us spending more time alone, and interacting with screens instead of other individuals, our own thoughts can get out of control, and it can be significantly harder to maintain a healthy and grounded sense of perspective.
Here are a few activities that you can engage in that can help you to stop the cycle of rumination, and to thrive significantly more, as a result.
Yoga
Yoga is one excellent example of a practice that promotes the state of mind known as “mindfulness.”
Ultimately, “mindfulness” refers to a condition of being focused, in a relaxed way, on the present moment and not being overly distracted or caught up in what’s going on in your own head.
While various yoga practices have an explicitly spiritual element that can provide mindfulness, even just the physical routines associated with yoga can help to ground your awareness more in the sensations in your body, and in the present moment, and can help you to escape from your own ruminations for a while.
Yoga is also an activity that can powerfully improve flexibility, and can help to alleviate various aches, pains, and imbalances that you may be experiencing.
All of these things can help you to be more present and engaged in the world around you as a result.
Outdoor pastimes of all sorts
By utilising the services of a company such as EcoGear FX to get yourself properly kitted out for recreational outdoor pastimes, and then venturing forth into the great outdoors, you can significantly reduce the hold that rumination has on you.
Time spent in nature – especially time spent moving around and being physically active in a natural setting – can be very powerful with regards to turning your focus outwards, and helping to make your own thoughts feel more empowering.
Whether you are fishing, hiking, or cataloguing flora and fauna, spending time in nature on a regular basis appears to contribute significantly to positivity and well-being.
Time spent interacting with others (while being present)
When you are by yourself, and are constantly absorbed in an intimate dialogue with yourself, it can be all too easy to slip into patterns of rumination that are ultimately negative and counter-productive.
By interacting with other people, face-to-face, however, the entire dynamic changes.
It can be very beneficial to get thoughts, perspectives, and reactions from outside of yourself, in order to help you to adjust your perspective and to realise that there’s more to the story than you may be putting together in your own thought process.