Meditation and ADHD
Now, I know what you may be thinking seeing this: "Corvid, I can't meditate! My body won't let me!"-- I can tell you now, confidently, that you're meditating wrong if you think meditation about the emptiness of your mind and doing nothing. When you feel your muscles are weak, what do you do? Exercise them. Your brain is no different then the rest of your body-- You need to 'stretch' or exercise it to make it stronger. Though I'm not talking about doing word puzzles or even listening to music, which are proven to improve brain function. We're here to talk about meditation and how you can start to work meditation into your daily life. Disclaimer: I myself have ADHD and these tips and tricks have worked wonders for me. If they don't for you, try a different approach.
Start off slow. Set a goal of three to five minutes a day. It'll seem like a lot at first but gradually it will get easier. If your thoughts wander or you can't sit still, don't worry-- This is completely normal. The goal is to merely observe your mind and how it functions and bring yourself back to focus when you notice it wander.
With that being said, please give yourself grace and leniency. Throughout your session, you may want to fidget or stretch, scratch that itch or count the black specks in the grout of your tiled kitchen floor. It happens. Instead of abandoning or saying that you failed, be kind to yourself and just continue. Scratch the itch and return to calm; stretch and maybe find a more comfortable position. Even if you feel you 'failed' the session, keep up with it and keep trying.
Find what you deem as a comfortable place to meditate. You could sit in your favorite chair, you could lie down with your favorite blanket, etc. You should loosen the tension in your muscles and make sure they're relaxed. If you cannot comfortably sit still, try a repetitive, 'autopilot' task like going for a walk. My favorite (and easiest) thing to do is focus on my breathing and the breaths I take. Some people listen to music. In time, you'll figure out what you find comfortable.
Being in a comfortable space also means pay attention to what you're wearing. It may be harder to let your mind relax if the waistband of your pants is digging into your skin or your sweater is itchy. The same thing goes for earrings that pull down on your ears too much or shoes that feel tight. Wear what you find comfortable and lessen the distractions.
When you notice your mind wandering from you in the moment, simply acknowledge the thought and return your attention to your task (walking, breathing, etc). Accept that minds are meant to think and give yourself permission to have a wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself for having thoughts or focus your attention on them.
Quiet is relative. Not everyone has a peaceful environment so the goal is to lessen the distractions as much as possible. Turn off your phone, close your bedroom door, put pets in another room, whatever you can and need to do.
When your session is complete, don't just jerk yourself back to reality. Give yourself and your body the time it needs to come back to the present. Doesn't matter if you meditated for one minute or one hour, take your time-- If your eyes were closed, slowly open them; if you were on a walk, take an extra couple of minutes to get home; etc.
Find a body double-- If they're willing to meditate with you, that's amazing. If not, have them hold you accountable for the task and make sure you do it. Set up a regular, daily time to do so and use one of the many meditation apps out there nowadays.
The take away that I hope you get from this is that you don't have to clear your mind or be blank or not move an inch. Allow yourself to do whatever you feel you need to do and then return back to the mindfulness that is meditation. Be kind to yourself and don't 'should' yourself; I never said this would be easy, I just said it was possible.
