Meditating with ADHD

I’ll skip the foray into why and how meditation is beneficial and assume you’re aware if you clicked on a post with this title. This one if for people who lack focus and think creating a practice is impossible, because getting started doesn’t even seem feasible. Maybe you’ve tried and failed, and are now wary of the idea or have given up altogether. Often, the issue is that people think they have to sit still and absolutely clear their mind, focusing only on their breath. While this works for many, ADHD can easily cause your mind to stray beyond your lungs or to hyperfocus on how you’re breathing, which then leads to conscious questions about the respiratory system and its functions, in general. Wait. Did I just forget to breathe, while thinking about breathing?

There are ways around this and through the process, but you might have to shelve the aforementioned method for some time, as you try other approaches and build up your focus. I’ll share methods that have helped me and those who have asked me for help on the matter:

1. BODY SCAN

You’ve no doubt heard about this before but it’s not only a way to focus but is great for checking in with yourself and also measuring your progress. It’s also a really good way to initiate children to meditation and to make them aware fo their own bodies, which is especially important, given how much time they spend on screens, focused on completelty external experiences. This is also an excellent way to relax into sleep, if you’re dealing with insomnia.

How to do it: Lying down works best because it’s easier to stay focused when your legs are together but you can absolutely do this seated and, if you’re using this technique in order to calm down from a panic attack or general anxiety, you might not be where you actually can lie down. What you’re going to do is simply close your eyes and focus on one body part at a time, for as many breaths as you need to, starting with your toes. Just direct all of your attention to your toes, breathe in slowly, through your nose, and exhale just as slowly, through your mouth. You’ll know when it’s time to move up because your toes will feel markedly different from the rest of your body. They’ll be relaxed and feel lighter. How you move up and at what speed is up to you and can vary from one session to the next. Sometimes you’ll need to breathe three times and then only feel ready to focus on the soles of your feet, rather than the whole of them, for example. Your soles, your heels, the tops of your feet, and then your ankles, and so on.

Don’t be surprised if you fall asleep, at first. As mentioned above, this is actually a fantastic way to attain slumber, if you’ve been having trouble with that. After a while, you’ll notice that you can generally move up on breath a time, and that you’ll make it higher and higher up, until your entire body feels light and airy. You can then end your session by slowly opening your eyes and getting on with your day or you can use the state you’re in as a entryway into a deeper meditation, once you’re ready. You’ll find that, once you actually complete a body scan, focusing simpy on your breath is infinitely easier than jumping right to that.

2. GUIDED

Whether you do this with a meditaton group, in person, or live on zoom, or you download one of hundreds of meditation podcasts, or consult youtube, there are so many options for you out there.

How to do it: Simply focus on the sound of the guide’s voice, and follow their instructions.

What’s especially fun with guided meditation is that they often have a purpose, such as letting go of your past, churning up creative energy, visualizing or even figuring out what you want, etc.

3. WALKING

In this case, you’re focusing on your stride and the motion of your body, as it creates it. You can actually go outside for a walk, or you can walk in a circle in your home.

How to do it: The key is to bring your mind back to the rythym of your steps and the motion of your feet, and even your legs, any time your mind begins to wander. Just keep moving and bringing that focus back.

4. EYES OPEN

When I first started meditation, there was no way I could clear my mind without visual stimulus.

How to do it: I would stare at a doorknob or the flame of a candle or any fixed point that felt good and took deep breathes, without letting my gaze wander.

5. WITH YOUR VOICE

Not everyone is into mantras and so I won’t elaborate on those just yet but I will say that if you want to use meditation to work on your chakras, you can look up the bij mantras and the zones they correspond to.

How to do it: Aside from looking up one of the aforementioned mantra sounds, you can simply choose a note you want to hum. A word or phrase works too but, ultimately, you’ll want it to fit it into one exhale. Sit in a comfortable position, take a deep breath and, on the exhale, sound out your note or mantra. Do this repeatedly.

I understand that this can feel silly at first and that, even if you’re sitting alone, embarrassment can set in. From the moment you accomplish that first vocal exhale, you’ll notice a difference though, and hopefully want to continue. It becomes incredibly grounding as you go along, and you can feel your energy rise and flow.

6. WITH TACTILE FOCUS

This one carries your focus to something you can touch or, ideallly, hold.

How to do it: Sit in a comfortable position and hold a stone or other object that isn’t complicated or distracting. Hold it in the palm of your hand or in both hands and, as with the previous example, take a deep breath and, on the exhale, sharpen your focus so that you are honing in on the exact places your skin is making contact with the object.

Attempting any of these will increase your focus so that you can ease deeper into a meditative state and do that for longer and longer periods of time. The journey isn’t necessarily linear so, if you don’t succeed right away, and/or you don’t notice your time increasing , don’t get frustrated. Be proud of yourself, because the fact that you’re trying this at all, let alone with any determination, means that you’re listening to what your mind and body want and that you’re taking steps to evolve!