Overview
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder that makes patients have impulsive and uncontrolled hyperactivity episodes. If you have ADHD and you are on medication that hasn’t eased the symptoms of ADHD, then you definitely should try out yoga.
Yoga is the best accompaniment to medication for treating ADHD as it is cheap and easy to practice. All you need is a serene place, comfortable clothing, and a yoga mat. Over the years, yoga practice has proven to be great at alleviating many health conditions and chronic illnesses, including combating the symptoms of ADHD.
Moreover, Yoga is a powerful and essential brain practice activity for ADHD patients. It helps to unite your breathing, body, and mind. Yoga Poses that involve body balance, breathing manipulations, and posture control can positively impact any ADHD patient.
Best Yoga Poses for ADHD
Yoga practices are about focusing, body stretching, breathing deeply, slowing down, and holding poses. The following are some of the best yoga activities to try out:
- Deep breathing exercise: Breathing manipulations in yoga enables you to take in extra oxygen, which is good for your brain.
- Roaring Lion Pose: The feeling of being a king will automatically boost your self-esteem and your confidence. Therefore, this is a must-do.
- Mountain Pose: It is a way challenging and requires undivided attention to master. Once mastered, it will significantly relieve the symptoms of ADHD.
- Forward fold Pose: Helps to release tension in your shoulders and head.
- Corpse Pose: Enables the relaxation of both your mind and the entire body.
Importance of Yoga to ADHD Patients
The benefits of yoga are many. Now, let us have look at the benefits that are specific to ADHD patients.
Yoga Reduces anxiety and depression in ADHD Patients
When you practice yoga, you can ably control and calm your mind and senses. It also relaxes your nervous system and stress hormones in your mind. Additionally, breathing manipulation exercises help you intake extra oxygen, thus creating a sense of calm in your brain.
Ultimately, a peaceful mindset helps you to remain focused and have undivided attention. Therefore, having regular yoga exercises reduces your stress levels.
Yoga Boosts Immune System
Some yoga postures can help you balance, support, and strengthen your immune system, as stress is one of the leading causes of weakening your immune system. Yoga plays a vital role in reducing the stress hormones in your body, hence boosting your immune system.
Growth of Relationships
ADHD can cause a strain on your established and new relationships. Some symptoms that can adversely affect relationships are excessive talking and acting without thinking. Thankfully, this can be remedied by yoga, as one of its tenets is to be mindful.
Yoga will help you to be sensitive about your thoughts and environment. Mindfulness enables you to pay attention to other people’s emotions, which will boost your interpersonal skills.
Yoga Strengthens Self-Esteem
When you engage in yoga exercises, you feel a sense of empowerment, which lowers the chances of participating in impulsive activities. As it is challenging to master some yoga postures, you will feel empowered and have a sense of pride in your achievement when you practice hard to achieve these poses.
The idea of knowing that you are capable of doing all the poses for your own physical and emotional growth helps to enhance your self-confidence.
Increased levels of concentration
Being unable to focus on given tasks is one of the symptoms of ADHD. Yoga poses require special focus to get the postures right.
Therefore, yoga helps you to strengthen your concentration levels by focusing on posture and balance. Concentrating on your breathing manipulations and complicated yoga poses clears your mind and increase your focus on essential things.
Yoga Controls Hyperactivity in ADHD Patients
Being hyperactive is the primary symptom of ADHD. Yoga teaches you to be keen on your body and focus on your breathing. Focusing on the inner you makes you only think about the present moment and activities. Physical activities strengthen the brain’s serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels, determining your level of attention and focus.
Takeaway
Medication is the recommended treatment for ADHD. However, accompanying it with Yoga can speed up your treatment. Yoga primarily deals with your brain, which is adversely affected by ADHD.
Learning new skills and gaining confidence through challenging poses is the way to go for your ADHD treatment. Its slow and deliberate nature makes it easy and a good exercise for treating the symptoms of ADHD.