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ADD’s core symptoms include inattention, difficulty following directions, poor control over impulses, excessive motor activity in many but not all cases, and difficulty conforming to social norms. But low intelligence is not among these, despite the fact that ADD can hamper learning. On the contrary, a great majority of those diagnosed enjoy above-average intelligence.
The Yoga Connection
It’s important to realize, though, that while yoga may help those with ADD, it is not a miracle worker. It requires time and discipline--—concepts that can be difficult for those with ADD to master. In many cases, it takes a year or more for the effects of yoga to make any difference, while medication works in minutes.
But the benefits of medication wear off along with the prescription. The effects of yoga, —which include suppleness, poise, and better concentration—are much longer lasting: They develop gradually through a type of learning that transforms the entire person. There is no learning or transformation involved in taking a pill.
The asanas helped reduce her pain and yielded a surprising side effect: Her symptoms of ADD improved too. “I noticed that standing postures put me into the perfect mental state for listening and learning,” she says. So Askew began standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) at the back of the classroom. “It gave me something to do with my energy, besides fidgeting,” says Askew. “It helped me stay in the academic moment.”
yoga provides several benefits for those with ADD:
- SELF-AWARENESS. People with ADD lack it, notoriously underreporting their own symptoms. The ADD brain, struggling with an overload of sensory stimuli, lacks the mental space for introspection. By emphasizing physiological self-perception, yoga strengthens self-awareness, which can represent the first step in self-healing. “I used to feel hyper-aware of everything but myself,” says Askew. “But yoga helped me get comfortable within my own skin.”
- STRUCTURE. Many with ADD leave considerable creative potential unfulfilled because they can’t seem to organize their creative energies. Therefore, positive, life-enhancing routines that establish order can be a very important part of ADD management. Systematic patterns of movement help organize the brain. A highly systematized approach, like Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, for example, provides consistent, reliable patterning along with the progressive challenges that ADD people require to sustain long-term interest in an activity.
- COORDINATION & PHYSICAL FITNESS. Children with ADD frequently miss out on physical education—not because of physiological limitations but because their inability to “play by the rules” makes them anathema to coaches and unpopular with their peers. Consequently, ADD kids don’t develop the same level of physical coordination as other children. Therapists often recommend martial arts for their ADD patients because it offers a disciplined, athletic outlet without the pressures of a team sport.
Yoga, though, goes one step further, providing physical fitness without competition. The relative safety of yoga allowed Askew to explore her body and gain a sense of physical self-confidence, thus shedding the feeling of awkwardness she’d suffered most of her life. “Having my posture in alignment makes it easier to move in a fluid way, shifting attention without stress,” she says.
One Child’s Class
It takes a special yoga teacher to work with ADD kids. “The teacher must have access to a variety of specialized techniques for dealing with anger, distractibility, and impulsivity, as well as a solid foundation in yoga,” says Sonia Sumar, author of Yoga for the Special Child (Special Yoga Publications, 1998). Sumar trains and certifies yoga teachers, like Randolph, to work with developmentally challenged children. Randolph combines Sumar’s special education approach with 30 years of hatha yoga practice in her classes with Clayton.
She works patiently, often one-on-one for several months, before integrating a child with ADD into a group setting, which includes two or three kids at the most. “These kids can be very intense,” says Randolph. “A yoga teacher who works with children with ADD must develop patience, boundless energy, and a keen focus herself. These children need someone who can think faster and more creatively than they do; otherwise, they soon get bored.”
Every Thursday, Clayton steps into Randolph’s studio at The Yoga Center in Reno, Nevada. “Sometimes it’s a struggle to get him there,” says his mother, Nancy Petersen, “but in the end, he’s always glad he went.” Children with ADD struggle with transitions, so Randolph enlists a brief ritual, including candles and incense, to help Clayton shift into yoga mode. The structure of Clayton’s classes generally follows the same basic pattern every week, with a few alternating poses chosen for variety.
ADD children do best in a well-organized environment, as their internal sense of structure lacks coherence. The Yoga Center has a sunny room with large windows and mirrored walls, but Clayton’s classes take place in Randolph’s basement studio, where the ivory-yellow paint and sienna carpet keep distractions to a minimum. Since the ADD brain functions too slowly while processing sensory information, concentration comes more easily when the stimulation level remains low.
To encourage body awareness, Randolph begins by asking Clayton how tight his body feels and how much warm-up he needs. Depending on the answer, Randolph begins with Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation) in either a 12- or 28-posture sequence. This cycle challenges Clayton’s ability to focus and helps increase his attention span. Learning a complex series like Sun Salutation “recruits a lot of nerve cells in the prefrontal cortex,” says Ratey. “The brain is like a muscle: When you strain it, you strengthen it.” But purely intellectual endeavors, like learning multiplication tables, don’t promote what Ratey jokingly calls “neurological Miracle-Gro” to the extent that complex movement patterns do.
Following Sun Salutation, Randolph leads Clayton through a succession of forward bends, lateral bends, triangle poses, and backbends. In addition to their psychological benefits, these yoga poses help children with ADD learn to coordinate their bodies in space, which is important since they tend to have higher injury rates than their peers. Similar to the work of a physical therapist, carefully performed asanas engage alignment, balance, and coordination to train a child’s sensory-motor system.
Balancing poses like Vrksasana (Tree Pose) are Clayton’s favorites, and he frequently practices them outside of class. Says Randolph, “Kids gravitate toward play that involves balance,” such as skateboards, pogo sticks, swings, merry-go-rounds, and tumbling, because it excites what physiologists call the vestibular system. The inner ear’s vestibular system allows you to judge your position in space and informs the brain to keep you upright.
Balancing poses like Vrksasana (Tree Pose) are Clayton’s favorites, and he frequently practices them outside of class. Says Randolph, “Kids gravitate toward play that involves balance,” such as skateboards, pogo sticks, swings, merry-go-rounds, and tumbling, because it excites what physiologists call the vestibular system. The inner ear’s vestibular system allows you to judge your position in space and informs the brain to keep you upright.
But beyond its role in physiological equilibrium, researchers are discovering that the vestibular system plays a vital role in behavioral and cognitive stability. “There’s
a fundamental kind of coordination that patterns behavior so it makes sense and flows together, which is believed to be deficient in those with ADD,” says Eugene Arnold, M.Ed., M.D., an ADHD specialist at Ohio State University and formerly with the National Institute of Mental Health.
a fundamental kind of coordination that patterns behavior so it makes sense and flows together, which is believed to be deficient in those with ADD,” says Eugene Arnold, M.Ed., M.D., an ADHD specialist at Ohio State University and formerly with the National Institute of Mental Health.
To this end, Randolph employs asanas like Tolasana (Scales Pose) and an exercise she’s dubbed Roll Asana, in which the student rocks back and forth on the floor like a teeter-totter. Each new position in yoga provides a different plane of stimulation for the neurological circuits of the vestibular system. Inverted positions, such as Sirsasana (Headstand) and Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand) are especially beneficial because they also calm the nervous system and help curb hyperactivity while training the attention system. Near the end of class, Randolph guides Clayton through a series of relaxation poses to calm his breath, quiet his mind, and prepare for meditation. Meditation lasts approximately one minute—which can seem like a lifetime for ADD children.
After four months of yoga, Clayton can finally complete a half-hour yoga session, flowing from one posture to the next with minimum interruption. Though Clayton’s significant progress in yoga has not yet translated into better concentration at school, it’s difficult to imagine that the focus he has developed in yoga would
be confined to the sticky mat. On at least one occasion, Clayton says he used techniques learned in meditation to train his attention during a mathematics exam. On another, his mother spotted him practicing Bakasana (Crane Pose) in the outfield during Little League—although, unfortunately, he wasn’t paying much attention to the game.
be confined to the sticky mat. On at least one occasion, Clayton says he used techniques learned in meditation to train his attention during a mathematics exam. On another, his mother spotted him practicing Bakasana (Crane Pose) in the outfield during Little League—although, unfortunately, he wasn’t paying much attention to the game.
His yoga teacher accepts this gradual pace as a fact of life. “Quieting the mind is a long haul for any of us,” says Randolph. “It can be an epic journey for those with ADD, but they need it most.” Talking with Clayton about his yoga practice, one gets the sense that he’s found something important and personal at which he can excel—a refuge for his spirit and a tool for establishing harmony between his body and mind.
After several years of yoga, Askew knows it takes that kind of full-time commitment to manage the symptoms of ADD. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes yoga has helped Askew cope with her condition. It gives her confidence to know she can gain mental clarity on her own—without a pill. “Yoga,” says Askew, “involves learning how to manage attention and learning how to move fluidly from focusing on the details to the big picture.”
Managing ADHD symptoms with "Breathing"? ---Pranayama
Studies suggest that rhythmic, deep breathing can balance the autonomic nervous system, which helps individuals with ADHD become more attentive and relaxed.
1. Several studies show that rhythmic, paced breathing balances the autonomic nervous system
-- Controlling your breathing can help you become more attentive and more relaxed at the same time.
Many of Brown’s ADD patients have benefited from coherent breathing -- a term coined by author and yoga specialist Stephen Elliott because the technique synchronizes heart, lung, and brain rhythms.
2. Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) has two components: a stress response and a recharge response. Attention deficit adults and ADHD children have nervous systems that are out of whack: Most of the time the stress and recharge responses are under-active. But when an ADDer’s stress response kicks in, it goes into high gear, compared to those who don’t have the condition.
--For your brain to work better -- and for you to be less impulsive and hyperactive -- both components of the ANS need to work optimally and in the right balance. Coherent breathing can help accomplish these goals.
--The heart, lungs, and blood vessels work more efficiently, delivering more oxygen to the body’s tissues and the brain. Parts of the brain that deal with complex problems begin to function better. Typically, you see a big change in brain-wave patterns -- meaning more healthy alpha waves and fewer sleepy delta waves.(with metered breathing)
Deep Breathing
meditation and working-memory training can improve attention and focus across the board.
Neurofeedback
What it is:Neurofeedback is an alternative ADHD treatment that uses brain exercises to reduce impulsivity and increase attentiveness.
How it works:Neurofeedback is based on a simple principle: training the brain to emit brain-wave patterns associated with focus (as opposed to those waves associated with day dreaming. The result: Some ADHD symptoms — impulsivity, distractibility, and acting out — are less detectable.
Treatment:First, a practitioner takes a detailed history of the patient and then maps the patient's brain by having him wear an electrode-lined cap while performing a complex cognitive task, such as reading aloud. The brain activity is fed to a computer, which then maps the areas of the brain where there is too much or too little brain-wave activity — the sources, theoretically, of the patient's ADHD symptoms .
The patient then trains those areas of the brain that are under-aroused by controlling a computer or video game by producing short bursts of sustained brain-wave activity in the target areas. The games only run when the patient exercises that portion of the brain that is deficient in focus .
Cost:While sessions are brief (approximately 30 minutes) and painless, they are expensive. The average course of treatment can range from $2,000 to $5,000.
Working Memory Training
What it is:Training that aims to build up those areas of the brain that hold onto information long enough to accomplish a specific goal. For example, you hold a phone number in your mind as you dial it, or you hold the task at hand in your mind —organizing your room, say—as you work on it.
How it works:When you improve working memory, you improve fluid IQ—the ability to solve problems or adapt to situations as they occur.
Treatment:The patient logs on to the working-memory program, such as the software developed by Cogmed , which is downloaded on his home computer. He completes eight exercises that vary from shooting down floating asteroids to recalling numbers in the reverse order in which they are given. The program stays a step ahead of the patient's ability, making exercises increasingly harder. A trainer calls once a week to talk with the parents, troubleshoot, and encourage the patient.
Cost:The training runs five weeks, five days a week, an hour a day. It ranges in price from $1,500 to $2,000, and it is not covered by most medical insurance plans.
Considerations and Benefits of Working Memory Training
Things to keep in mind:
-- The training is rigorous, so few children under seven can stick with it. Children recently diagnosed with ADHD should have their medication adjusted before beginning training.
-- The program does not claim to replace medication. While many kids get good results on meds, drugs don't usually manage all ADHD symptoms . Improving working memory can address those problems.
-- The training is rigorous, so few children under seven can stick with it. Children recently diagnosed with ADHD should have their medication adjusted before beginning training.
-- The program does not claim to replace medication. While many kids get good results on meds, drugs don't usually manage all ADHD symptoms . Improving working memory can address those problems.
Benefits:
-- About 75 to 80 percent of kids show improvement in inattention and hyperactivity. Kids also become more alert to their surroundings. They are also more aware of social cues. Learn about the age-by-age working-memory 'milestones' here.
-- Parents often report that their kids become more "mature." They take charge of their hygiene and do chores without being nagged. They remember to bring books and materials to and from school.
-- Studies have found that at six-month and one-year follow-ups, about 80 percent of subjects maintained their working-memory gains or improved on them.
-- About 75 to 80 percent of kids show improvement in inattention and hyperactivity. Kids also become more alert to their surroundings. They are also more aware of social cues. Learn about the age-by-age working-memory 'milestones' here.
-- Parents often report that their kids become more "mature." They take charge of their hygiene and do chores without being nagged. They remember to bring books and materials to and from school.
-- Studies have found that at six-month and one-year follow-ups, about 80 percent of subjects maintained their working-memory gains or improved on them.
Meditation
What it is: Mindful awareness , or mindfulness involves paying close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations; in other words, developing a greater awareness of what’s going on with you from moment to moment. It can be used as a tool to foster wellness, especially psychological well-being. Similar techniques have been used to lower blood pressure and to manage chronic pain, anxiety, and depression .
How it works:Meditation improves your ability to control your attention . In other words, it teaches you to pay attention to paying attention. Mindful awareness can also make people more aware of their emotional state, so people with ADHD won't react impulsively as often.
Treatment:The basic practice is very simple: sit in a comfortable place and spend five minutes focusing on the sensation of breathing in and breathing out—pay attention to how it feels when your stomach rises and falls. If your mind wanders to something else—your job or some noise you just heard, label these thoughts as "thinking," and refocus your attention on your breath.
This practice should be done daily, and every couple of weeks patients should increase the length of time spent on the exercise—up to 20 or more if they feel they can.
Apply the same thinking throughout each day, focusing on your breath for a few minutes as you walk from place to place, or when you're stopped at a red light or sitting at the computer. The meditation sessions are important practice, but the key is to use mindfulness throughout your daily life, always being aware of where your attention is focused while you are engaged in routine activities. For example, you might notice while you drive that your attention wanders to an errand you must run later that day. Lots of people practice mindfulness while eating. Once you get used to checking in with yourself and your body, you can apply the technique anytime you start to feel overwhelmed .
Training centers can also help explain these basic concepts, and keep you on track.
Cost:$0 if you do it on your own, but training programs and books are available for purchase.
Benefits and Considerations of Meditation
Things to keep in mind:
-- It's the nature of the mind to be distracted . Mindful awareness isn’t about staying with the breath, but about returning to the breath. That's what enhances your ability to focus. And this emphasis on re-shifting your attention, of outwitting the mind's natural tendency to wander, is what makes experts think this technique could be especially helpful to ADHD children and adults.
-- With a long history but little scientific data on its effects, more research is still needed to confirm these early findings.
-- It's the nature of the mind to be distracted . Mindful awareness isn’t about staying with the breath, but about returning to the breath. That's what enhances your ability to focus. And this emphasis on re-shifting your attention, of outwitting the mind's natural tendency to wander, is what makes experts think this technique could be especially helpful to ADHD children and adults.
-- With a long history but little scientific data on its effects, more research is still needed to confirm these early findings.
Benefits:
-- Some studies show promising results with significant improvements in both inattention and hyperactivity for ADD and ADHD adults.-- In cognitive tests, the participants got better atstaying focused , even when different things were competing for their attention. Many of them also felt less anxious and depressed by the end of study.
-- Some studies show promising results with significant improvements in both inattention and hyperactivity for ADD and ADHD adults.-- In cognitive tests, the participants got better atstaying focused , even when different things were competing for their attention. Many of them also felt less anxious and depressed by the end of study.
Attention Training in School and Beyond
If focus skills can be groomed, as research has begun to hint, the important next question is whether, and how, attention should be integrated into education. Will attention become a 21st-century 'discipline', a skill taught by parents, educators, even employers? Already some educators are showing interest in attention training, mostly through the practice of meditation.
But with the field of attention training still in its infancy, scientists don't know whether any current teaching brings long-lasting gains—or, for that matter, which practices work best. Nonetheless, with global use of ADHD medications tripling since the early 1990s, and evidence mounting that attention can be strengthened, researchers are permitting themselves cautious excitement at the prospect that attention training could work.
Portions of this article were adapted from an article that originally appeared in The Boston Globe .
Forget the Lotus Position: How to Meditate — ADHD Style
ADHD brains love adrenaline. For some, this means trying sky diving and roller derby. For others, it means seeking out stress and drama, which are even tougher on the body. Meditation can counteract these stresses; here's how to do it right.
If you have spent a lifetime with a pinball machine in your brain, it is hard to imagine yourself peacefully sitting in the lotus position.
— Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo, ADHD coaches
If you come to us as a coaching client, we will mention the "M" word to you.
Meditation, that is. Most ADDers we encounter seem to be allergic to the word. So were we, until we had calmed down, with the aid of medication and other self-care techniques . If you have spent a lifetime with a pinball machine in your brain, it is hard to imagine yourself peacefully sitting in the lotus position.
The big secret, which nobody seems to clue ADDers in on, is that you don't have to sit in the lotus position at all...you don't even have to sit down to meditate or (thank God!) stop moving. You don't need a mantra, a guru, or notes from your trek to India to do the meditation thing correctly.
It's not possible to fail at meditation. It is astonishing how many of our clients have told us that they tried meditation and found it frustrating . These clients thought that if there was a lot of activity going on in their brains, they were not doing it right. In fact, everybody has a lot of stuff going on in their brain most of the time. Buddhists refer to it as "monkey chatter."
We believe that meditation is critical for ADDers. We pick up some habits in compensating for ADD that serve us poorly in the long run. One of the worst is the habit of running on adrenaline. This is how it begins: Early on, we discover that excitement wakes up our sleepy brains. We then, without conscious thought or choice, arrange our lives in such a way as to keep some crisis happening on a regular basis. We scare ourselves (by waiting until the last minute to do something), we create excitement. We are hooked on drama and having lots of things to do — and we beat ourselves up over nothing. Why? Because it is stimulating.
Why We Must Slow Down
ADDers can become addicted to adrenaline. But waking up our sluggish frontal lobes with an injection of stress has consequences for the body. When we are stressed, adrenal hormones raise our heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. They also dampen the immune system. The adrenaline junkie is, in effect, paying for focus at high interest rates. Yes, you get a few hours of higher performance, but you pay for those hours in stress on your brain and body.
It is possible for ADDers to have a peaceful, still mind . We have been in that pleasant place called peaceful, and we like spending as much of our time there as we can. We promise that you can go there, too. Here is your road map and tools for the journey.
Breathe In, Breathe Out
1) Repeat to yourself a thousand times(or as often as necessary): "Meditation is a practice. I intend to enjoy and learn from the experience. There are no wrong ways to do it, and I will refrain from grading myself."
2) Get comfortable.Many meditation books and teachers warn you to avoid getting too comfortable, because you might fall asleep. Our thought is that if you fall asleep, you probably need to sleep. If you got relaxed enough to fall asleep...terrific! If you are concerned that you will sleep the day away and miss work, set an alarm.
3) Find your own comfort zone.Getting comfortable for you might involve standing on your head or lying in your bed — you are the best judge of what works for you. No meditator needs the additional distraction of physical discomfort.
4) Take slow, even breaths .Don't worry if you begin in out-of-breath mode. As you relax, your breathing will slow naturally.
5) If you are in full, high-speed adrenaline mode,you won't be able to stop on a dime, change gears, and get into meditation mode. When you have calmed your system through meditation and a meditative approach to life, going to a deep state of relaxation will not be such a major transition. In the meantime, take time to settle down before you meditate. A hot bath might do the trick, or listening to soothing music. Set a timer for a wind-down ritual. Put your planner and your "to do" list away; get into comfortable clothing.
6) Use sensory cues to move from one mental state to another.You might wear a special hat, sit in a special chair, or play certain kinds of music to make your transition to meditation.
7) Choose a focus for yourself,something to listen to or watch while you meditate. Some people pay attention to their breathing, while others repeat a word or phrase in their minds. You can make it up. One of our favorites is "let go." You can also use a visual focus, such as a candle flame.
With ADD, some of us are more visually distractible, others are more distracted by sounds. Find out what works best for you.
8) You can also use music as your focus.Steven Halpern's music is especially good for meditation. We recommend that any music you choose be instrumental — it is too easy for you to get caught up in lyrics.
9) Don't "should" yourself.Some ADDers do fine sitting or lying down, but many of us get unbearably restless when we are required to be still for any length of time. Don't "should" all over yourself if you have a higher need for activity than someone else. Instead, work with it.
10) Moving meditation is as good as the sitting variety.It is a better choice for the active ADDer. You don't need the additional distraction of an antsy body when your goal is to calm the mind. We recommend that the activity you choose for meditation be something simple and repetitive, like walking.
11) It's time to meditate.The thoughts in your head may still be clamoring for your attention. What do you do? When you notice your attention drifting toward that thought salad, gently disengage your attention and bring your mind back to your focus. At first, and especially on those bad brain days, you will repeat this process a lot.
12) Stick with it.Meditation will get easier as you go along. The key to success is to take it in small bites. Meditate for five minutes a few times a day. As you become more comfortable doing it, you will want to increase the length of your sessions because they have become so enjoyable. And soon you will begin to see meditation's benefits.
13) When you have gotten into the meditation groove,you can attain a state of deep relaxation more quickly. Sometimes a few deep breaths will do the trick. When the workplace or a social situation is getting you into a tizzy, you can retire to an empty conference room or the men's or women's room and "take five" to get centered.
14) Remind yourself why you are meditating.It is not to clear your mind, but to step back from the noise , to put your attention on your chosen focus. 15) You may need to medicate before you meditate.The right dose of stimulant medicine can turn the brain noise down to acceptable levels.
16) Make it a routine.Yes, but don't ADDers have trouble sticking with a routine? There are ways around it. Get an ADD coach to keep you on track. A good coach will help you achieve your goals without blaming you if you fall short.
Accountability is not about guilt or failure. It is about not letting the goal drop, working to accomplish it, and celebrating little victories as well as big ones. If you forget to practice meditation for days, or even weeks, you can get back on the horse at a better time. That's what we did.
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