Oh to be master of the ADHD mind. Our minds are our tools for living. The exact brain we are born with is the exact tool for living that we have to use. When we have ADHD our minds can seem like our greatest enemy instead of our tools for living. Once we understand it and begin to harness it we become gifted creators who get results.

 

 

Understanding our individual mental process helps us understand how to use our mind as a tool. Just as understanding physics could help a person drive a nail better with a hammer.

 

 

Meditation as a holistic practice is very helpful for helping understand our mental processes. 

 

 

Meditation allows us to slow way down, make observations, and begin to ask questions like: what is happening right before I behave impulsively or what is happening before I fail to take action toward following through on a promise?

 

 

Even a half second of space between a thought and an impulsive behavior can be a complete brain changer.

 

Meditation is free. Meditation is easy. Meditation is always available. 

 

 

Some scientists believe that people with ADHD could receive a huge benefit from meditation's effect on our brains: 

 

 

Executive Function

 

Some research suggests that meditation can improve executive function. Executive function is a person's best friend if they are up to making plans and achieving great things in life.

 

 

"Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to compare the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of eight Tibetan Buddhist meditators. As they performed complex cognitive tasks, it was found that the meditators had significantly higher rCBF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) than the controls. The PFC is a brain region that is largely responsible for executive functions such as decision-making and problem-solving ability"(6)

 

 

Hyperactivity

 

Why would we think that someone with a hyperactivity disorder can sit still and meditate right? Who said you have to sit still?

 

 

"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 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."

 

 

Check out 16 meditation instructions for people with ADHD on additudemag.com