For the how to meditate with ADHD sufferer, sitting still is a punishment! You are told to “just focus on your breath” and your brain begins to daydream about whether or not penguins have knees.Your brain starts talking about whether penguins have knees when someone says “just focus on your breath. You feel bad about thinking at penguin anatomy. You then ask yourself, is experiencing negative feelings a thought that needs to be eliminated? Then you’re hungry.
Sound familiar?
The thing most meditation guides don’t say out loud is that traditional meditation was not designed for the ADHD brain. It requires a certain level of voluntary attention that not many people are able to muster. But it doesn’t imply that you cannot meditate either. It involves descending from attempting to place your brain in a box it could never fit in.
Changing your body’s position isn’t cheating!
Walking Meditation is real meditation. So, is yoga, so is tai chi, so is washing dishes with deliberate focus. If you need to burn a little before you can slow down, burn it. Go for a 10-minute walk first. Do 20 jumping jacks. The aim is not to cross one leg over the other on a cushion – it’s to have a calmer brain.
Fidget tools can be a great aid for people with ADHD during seated practice. A smooth stone that you can roll in your hands. A stress ball. When listening to a guided audio session, even doodling. What you do with your hands can actually dampen the louder noise in your head.
Shorter is smarter.
For every time you are present for five minutes, you are out of five minutes of guilt and distractions. Start absurdly small. Two minutes, I’m talking. Set a timer. Breathe. If your mind jumps to the next thing you’re going to want to do (and it will) just notice and return. The moment of discovery? Well, that’s what they do. You didn’t fail. You succeeded.
Most ADHD brains are more likely to be responsive to anchored attention than open awareness. The word breath is too ambiguous. Try counting instead. Inhale slowly for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, and then slowly exhale for 4 counts. Put your brain to work. It likes jobs. It only dislikes dull ones.
Also, guided meditations are more effective than silence. There’s too much room for your brain to party, when you’re silent. You can find applications such as Insight Timer or Headspace that have brief, structured sessions with a voice that is able to keep you coming back. Imagine the narrator is a kind shepherd dog that is guiding the way to bring your various thoughts together.