ADHD and Yoga
ADHD and Yoga
by Bronwyn Poultney - Wellington Yoga Teacher
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Anatomy – The Bodily Structure of ADHD Person
The parts of the body associated with ADHD is the prefontal cortical area and the basal ganglia of the brain.
It has been shown that the prefontal cortical area develops slower in ADHD children and the prefontal cortex tends to be smaller in those children.
ADHD studies show that there are low levels of the neurotransmitters sending messages between the prefontal cortical area and the basal ganglia (the dopamine and the noradrenaline receptors) [1].
The cerebellum, hippocampus, and amygdala are also thought to be smaller in volume in kids and adults with ADHD. These areas effect different types memory:
The cerebellum - processing memory;
Hippocampus – processing and sequencing memory;
Amygdala – fright and fight memories.
The basal ganglia is the central part of the brain that collects information from different parts of the brain and co-ordinates that information to regulate movement, decision making skills and emotions.
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Physiology of ADHD
How does the ADHD brain function?
The part of the brain that regulates thought, feelings, memories and actions to other parts of the brain is reduced because there is a breakdown in communication between different parts of the brain.
That breakdown of communication of neurotransmitters between the frontal cortex and the bastial ganglia result in some of the following symptoms:
continually starting new tasks before finishing old ones
poor organisational skills
carelessness and lack of attention to detail
inability to focus or prioritise
continually losing or misplacing things
forgetfulness
restlessness and edginess
difficulty keeping quiet, and speaking out of turn
blurting out responses and often interrupting others
mood swings, irritability and a quick temper
inability to deal with stress
extreme impatience
taking risks in activities, often with little or no regard for personal safety or the safety of others –
for example, driving dangerously [2].
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How Does This Apply to Yoga?
Getting to the door of the yoga room for someone with ADHD maybe the hardest thing that that person has to do to go to a yoga session.
They may have had to moderate their temper and stress for transportation, had to make many decisions about how and when to get there, may have gone the wrong way even if they have been there before, and they probably would have forgotten something.
They will have had to dampen down natural reactions to situations to fit in with the ‘normal’ world. Their brain and body will be tired and there will be nervousness and restlessness to them.
Asking an ADHD person to come into class and go into a stationary pose can be confronting.
A pose to calm the nervous system may be even more confronting as the nervousness of an ADHD person isn’t because of an overstimulated nervous system, but an under stimulated nervous system.
If you look at the effects of Ritalin, the medication commonly used for ADHD, it blocks the re-absorption of the neurotransmitters into the brain’s neurons and increases the action messages of the neurotransmitters, stimulating the nervous system [3].
One of the most important things I learnt being a primary school teacher teaching writing, for boys in particular, was getting them to do gross motor skills (run around the field), getting them to do smaller skills (bouncing a tennis ball in time to music), small skills still (brain gym), then fine motor skills (sitting down to write something).
I find the same system can be used in teaching ADHD students.
Surya Namaskar 1 and 2 can offer a way to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you feel relaxed [4]
but in a manner that an ADHD person is moving from one asana to another without having to force themselves to be still.
Beginning a practice with linked asana (not necessarily Surya Namaskar 1 and 2, but linked asana held for one or two breaths) practices a gross motor skill and they then can move to a practice of more fine motor skills; holding asana for longer periods of time. Over time and through repetition, an ADHD person will be able to sustain a greater concentration of thought to the process.
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In “Light On Yoga”, Mr Iyengar gives a list of curative asanas for the brain, his list for treating loss of memory incorporates most of these asanas:
Sirasasana and cycle (184 to 218)
Sarvangasanana and cycle (234 to 271)
Adho Mukha Savanasana (75)
Paschimottanasana (160);
Uttanasana (48);
Urdhva Dhanurasana (486);
Dwipada Viparita Dandasana (516);
Ekapada Viparita Dandasana I and II (521 and 523);
Sitali Pranayamas (601);
Savasana (592).
Many of these are inversions, and while a beginner practitioner will not be able to do the full pose, they will be able to go into a supported pose.
“Regular practice of Sirsanana makes healthy pure blood flow through the brain cells. This
rejunenates them so that thinking power increases and thoughts become clearer. The (sirasana)
asana is a tonic for people whose brains tire quickly” [5].
These poses have some sort of soothing effect on the nerves, and can help with many of the symptoms of ADHD, calming irritation, shortness of temper, helping with concentration as the head remains firm and the supply of blood to the brain can be regulated [6].
For someone with ADHD, and you could also include a number of other neurodivergent presentations, making decisions is hard.
When coming to an Iyengar yoga class and been given the pose, told how to go into the pose, how to be in the pose, and how to get out of the pose allows the decision part of the brain to rest.
Repetition is fabulous, thoughts can quieten – probably for the first time in that day. This happens to most people in yoga, but for ADHD people that decision making mind is on full alert as most every day decisions are made from scratch because the memory part of the brain has not been fully developed.
As a yoga teacher we should be aware that giving someone with ADHD a choice of asana in class can disrupt that quietness of the brain.
For instance, if you are giving a range of choices for sirsasana, give criteria for the various stages of the asana as this takes the decision out of the equation.
Many people with ADHD are seen as risk takers in yoga, but sometimes they are just following instructions without that decision making part of their brain functioning.
My youngest son has ADHD. He is in year 13 and over the last 18 months we have been doing yoga together.
Writing this report has helped me with what I teach him and how he studies.
If I can get him to do a series of poses before he sits down to study, he will do twice as much work than sitting down without those gross motor skills.
If I am being his writer we tend to work in the yoga room. Without instruction, while I am setting up a computer and some sort of desk he will do salutes.
When he is dictating to me he tends to get out the sling and put himself in a supported inverted asana.
It surprised me at first, but after doing this paper, I can see why he would do this; clearer thoughts and a calmer mind.
References
1. American Academy of child and adolescent psychiatry: ADHD and the brain No. 121; February
2017
2. NHS web page, Health A to Z – Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
3. Healthline. Effects of Ritalin on the Body. Allen Carter, Pham D. July 2019
4. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice Volume 50, February 2023, 101691 Effect of Surya
Namaskara (Sun Salutation) on mental health, self-control and mindfulness of adolescent school
children.
5. Light On Yoga, Effects of Sirsasana, pg 151
6. Light on Yoga, Effects of Sarvangasana, pg 171