RUMINATION isn't thinking something over, it's an obsessive rehashing of negative scenarios or thoughts. An anxious nervous system can make you more susceptible to rumination. In that anxious state, swirling in negative thoughts, it can be very difficult to meditate or quiet the negative thoughts.
If this is what you deal with daily, don't fret. You can heal your nervous system and experience a new way of being with some simple practices done every day.
KEY POINT: When you manipulate your Five Dials (see image above) you are retraining your brain and nervous system to behave differently and heal your neural networks. You are updating the operating system that is your brain.
Start with movement - if you're amped up, activated, anxious, and spinning mentally, it's impossible to sit still and attempt to quiet the body and mind through breath work or any quiet meditation technique. Go for a walk, run, or try one of our Rebel Human Way classes in our library. Add a mantra to your footsteps while walking/running like "I'm Loved," "On Track," "Here Now," "I'm Peace," or "Per-sist". This helps focus the mind and allows you tell it specifically what to focus on. DIALS TURNED: movement + mantra NEUROCHEMICALS RELEASED: serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine DOSE: every day (15-30 min) for a month
Next, try seated breath work. We have lots of videos in our library, titled in a way that helps you choose by identifying what outcome you'd like. But if you just want to start without a long lesson, watch this. This helps you lower your heart rate, turn on your parasympathetic nervous system (rest + repair), and give a clear, focused mind. DIALS TURNED: breath + eye focus NEUROCHEMICALS RELEASED: gaba, serotonin, acetylcholine DOSE: every day (15-30) for a month
Sound bath - At this point, two months in, you should be feeling very different. Now you can explore more advanced practices, manipulating your breath in more ways, and experiencing deeper levels of stillness in the mind. You should also be able to lay still and fully experience a sound bath, allowing it to take you to a deeper level of calm than you have experienced previously. Come to our in-person sound baths, or check out our recorded sound baths using headphones.
PROCRASTINATION isn't a terrible thing as long as it's not causing you suffering or keeping you from career success. Sometimes we need time away from a project to process, have freedom to get creative, or just rest. Listen to this week's podcast for real world examples.
QUICK TIP: Get your phone ready with a timer for five minutes. Then say outloud, "Five, four, three, two, one!" and start your timer. Work on that project you've been avoiding for just five minutes. (shhhh...the secret is that you'll keep working after the timer goes off. It's just getting you started and over that hump that is the hardest part.)