Children with ADHD struggle with self-regulation, excessive hyperactivity, distractions, exhaustion, impulse control and sensory overload. Interestingly, it has been scientifically proven that yoga poses and breathing and meditation exercises help kids with ADHD with all of these issues!
Yoga, breathing and meditation exercises help kids with ADHD:
- Regulate themselves
- Be calmer, more focused, balanced and organized
- Control their impulses
- Accept themselves the way they are
- Integrate in the community better
Presented here are detailed instruction on how you can use yoga, meditation and breathing exercises to help your kid regulate their nervous system.
How Yoga, Meditation and Breathing Exercises Help Kids With ADHD
Children with ADHD have problems functioning normally in their communities. They experience difficulty receiving and processing sensory information, which gets them to respond inappropriately at school, home and in the community. And this can often lead to higher levels of aggression and delinquency. It is very challenging for them when they start school because how can we expect them to learn if they can’t regulate themselves, and expect them to focus if they are hyperactive? They also need to feel a sense of safety around them to thrive.
Yoga, breathing and meditation regulate the child’s nervous system, which helps them feel comfortable in their body. They can engage in complex activities longer. Children with ADHD are in very high arousal. These practices regulate their autonomic nervous system so they are more present, centered and calmer. And then they prosper. Jyoti Manuel, a teacher trainer in therapeutic yoga for children with special needs said that, “Regular yoga practice helps the kids become calmer, happier, and more organized. They sleep, learn, and function better.”
Additionally, you can use these practices to teach them about deeper yoga philosophies behind them, so that they feel valued as a person. Yoga teaches them that it doesn’t matter how their brain functions, they are wonderful the way they are, and they should take care of themselves and others, and love and accept themselves no matter what.
How and When to Include Yoga, Meditation and Breathing Exercises With ADHD Kids
You can include yoga any time — before a test, homework or bedtime. The best way your child can benefit from these activities is if you integrate it in every part of their day. Nothing too demanding, a few minutes here and there. This will keep them more focused and regulated throughout the day.
Jyoti says that it’s much more useful to do it 5 mins every day than once a week for an hour. “You’ve got kids who live on red alert. They run out of coping chemicals really fast, so they are constantly on overdrive. And if you can keep their tank just a little bit filled up every day, they will function and manage themselves a lot better. So, add in at least 10 or 5 mins a day. You can change their state really fast.”
And studies agrees with this. One of such studies confirmed that just 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation and 10 minutes of physical activity increased wellbeing and cognitive functioning of children with ADHD. Another study done on 5-year-old children showed that 12 weeks of kindergarten yoga improved their visual attention, visual-motor precision and lowered inattention and hyperactivity. And what’s impressive about it is that children did yoga for only 30 minutes, 2 times a week.
How Realistic Is to Get Kids With ADHD to Practice Yoga, Breathing and Meditation?
Now, you might think that the idea of your child sitting still and meditating couldn’t be further from reality. The key here is to be imaginative and creative and work with your kids’ likes and passions. Be playful. You can adapt any of the mentioned exercises in any way you’d like to make them more fun, interesting and engaging for your child. You can weave in stories and include morals about gratitude, compassion, determination. Moreover, if your child sees you doing these simple yet effective practices, such as Yoga Nidra for stress, they will probably become curious and be tempted to try as well.
Kids with ADHD will benefit the most if you start the practice with a breathing activity, proceed to yoga poses and end with a meditation. Consider joining your child in the practice. It’s a great bonding activity and it teaches you drop any expectations you might have and simply be with your child.
Breathing Exercises
1. Breathing with a toy
Have your child lie down. Place a soft toy on their belly and tell them to watch what happens with the toy as they are breathing. They will begin to notice that, when they breathe in, the toy on the belly is rising up, and as they breathe out, it’s sinking down. Now ask them what would happen if they started taking in deeper breaths, filling the belly with more air and even bigger exhales, lowering the toy even more. Ask them to check how high and how low would the toy go. Have them stay with this exercise for a minute, or longer, if they can.
2. Hot chocolate breathing
Ask your child to hold up their hands as if holding a cup of hot chocolate. Ask them to imagine what this chocolate looks like, if it’s white or dark, if it has cream on it. Then ask them to breathe in through the nose pretending they are smelling the chocolate. And then ask them to breathe out through the mouth imagining they are blowing at the chocolate to cool it down. Have them repeat this for 5-10 breaths.
3. Flying bird breath
The child stands tall, with arms at their sides and feet hip-width apart. Tell them to imagine they are a beautiful, strong bird. Ask them how the bird looks like, what color it is. Next, tell them to pretend that they are about to fly. They inhale and raise their arms so that they are straight above their head, with the palms touching. Now tell them to exhale slowly as they bring their arms back down to their sides, with palms facing down. They repeat this a few times, with their movements smooth and steady. They can close their eyes as they do this, imagining the are a bird flying in the sky.
4. Invisible ball
The child places their hands in front of their body imagining they are holding an invisible ball. When they inhale, they spread their arms to the sides of their body, now pretending they are holding a big ball. As they exhale, they bring the hands back in front of the body, holding a small ball again. They count mentally from 1 to 4 as they do this: inhale, 1,2,3,4, a big ball. Exhale, 1,2,3,4, a small ball.
Yoga Poses
1. Mountain pose
The child stands up, with their arms by the sides, feet hip-width apart. They imagine they are a mountain, standing tall, feeling the top of their head growing up into the sky and feet touching the ground. They take 5 breaths in and our through the nose.
2. Tree pose
Still standing, they find a spot on the floor or the wall to look at. They then lift one leg and place the sole of that leg on the inner side of the opposite thigh, still looking at the spot. Then they lift their arms high and wide, imagining they are a tree. They take 5 breaths in and out through the nose. This exercise is great for focus.
3. The warrior
They spread their legs and turn the body to one side. Next, they bend the front leg and lift the arms so that the front arm is in front of them and the back arm is behind them. They look at the fingers of the front arm and stay for 5 breaths.
4. Downward facing dog and one legged dog
They bring their arms down to the floor and walk them away from their legs, so that they are making an inverted V with their body. They stretch their back, relax their head and stay here for 5 breaths. This pose helps get the excess energy out. Staying still in the downward facing dog, they lift one leg up as high as possible and bark. They change legs.
5. Frog
The child places the feet a bit further away from each other and squats. They place the arms inside of the legs. Then they jump up and down a few times. This is great for excess energy.
6. Cat Cow
They come down an all fours with their wrists under their shoulders and knees under the hips. On an inhale they lift their head and their buttocks up, stretching the spine. They make a ‘moo’ sound, pretending they are a cow. On an exhale, they tuck their tailbone in, bring the head down and round their spine. Now they are a cat, so they make a ‘meow’ sound. Repeat this a few times.
7. Cobra
They lie down on their belly, they place their arms under the shoulders and straighten their arms and back as much has they can, keeping the lower body on the floor. They pretend they are a cobra and make a hissing sound, holding their teeth together and saying ‘ssssssss’.
8. Child’s pose
The child places their knees on the floor, with the big toes touching. Next, they lie down, with their hands by the body. On an exhale, they make a sound of a sleeping baby. This pose is great for calming down the nervous system.
9. Rocking
They lie down, bend the knees and bring them close to chest. They hold the knees and start rocking back and forth. On an inhale they rock back, on an exhale they rock forward.
10. Finishing pose
The child lies down on the mat. They inhale and lift their arms above their head and stretch. Then they then exhale and curl in and hold on to their body, as if they are a small package. They stretch again an inhale, and curl and squeeze and exhale. Repeat a few times.
Meditation Exercises
1. The waterfall
- The child lies down on a mat, floor or the bed. Have them start by taking a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
- They imagine a pouring down over their head. They feel the freshness of water on their head, and hear the sounds of water. Also, they can visualize the colors of the water.
- As the water is pouring down on their head, they start feeling how their head and face are relaxing. Their eyes are relaxing, their jaw. They notice if their teeth are touching and, if they are, they let their mouth open a bit. As the waterfalls pour down over their head, their head relaxes into the ground.
- Now the waterfall is moving down towards their neck and shoulders and they feel their neck and shoulders relax into the floor. The waterfall moves even more down to their chest, arms, all the way to their fingertips. They notice how these body parts are now relaxing too.
- The waterfall is now moving down their legs, all the way to their toes. These body parts are becoming also relaxed.
- They start to wiggle their fingers and toes, wrists and ankles, and bring their attention to the room they are in. Then they roll over to one side, bending the knees and hugging them in. They take one more deep breath and slowly come back up to a sitting position. Once they are up they softly blink a few times and open their eyes.
2. Touching your fingers
The child sits or stands. They bring up their hands in front of them and start pressing each fingertip with the thumb of the respective hand. The thumbs touch the index fingers, the middle fingers, the ring fingers, and the pinky fingers. Then they “come back” – the thumbs touch the ring fingers, the middle fingers, the index fingers, and back again – the thumbs touch the index, the middle, ring fingers and pinkies. Once they feel comfortable, they close their eyes and keep doing this for a bit more. This practice helps calm the nervous system down and is great for motor skills.
3. Om meditation
They inhale through the nose and produce Om on the exhale. This sound creates vibrations in the body and activates the vagus nerve, which is in charge or our well-being. Alternatively, you can use another sound they like, just make sure they repeat it in a steady motion.
Other Activities That Calm Down the Nervous System of Children With ADHD
1. Self-massage. They squeeze each of their body parts. First, they start with one arm and compare that feeling with how the other one feels. Then they continue squeezing the rest of the body. This activity helps them connect with their bodies and be present in their bodies.
2. Burrito wrap. They lie down on a blanket or a mat and you roll them in, keeping the head free. Keep them like that for a bit and perhaps ask them to breathe while they are lying like that. This exercise helps with sensory integration and provides vestibular input.
3. Roll a ball. Take a Pilates ball and roll it over their body.
4. Pillow sandwich. They lie on their belly, and you cover them with pillows. Gently press the pillows against their body.
5. Skateboard. The child lies down with the skateboard under the belly. They move back and forth. This provide vestibular and proprioceptive input.
6. Tibetan bowls. Ideally, you’d let the child choose the bowl they like because different bowls produce different sounds. Picking the right sound for your child is key here. Tibetan bowls slow your child child and get them to be present.
There are other great breathwork, mindfulness and meditation based games and exercises we presented in this article. Take a look, perhaps it can help.
Conclusion: Yoga, Meditation and Breathing Exercises Are a Painless and Fun Way to Improve the Lives of Kids With ADHD
There you have it, quick and easy ways to make life easier, happier and more functionable both for you and your child. Try it out, play with it. Unlike medications, here there are no side effects. It can only do your family good.
Parents deserve to take some time off their crazy schedules too. Although ADHD is not classified as special needs, we do recommend you to head over to this article for parents and their self care. And another great practice for parents is mindful parenting – here are a few tips how to do it.
Tatjana Glogovac, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
Learn more about Tatjana by reading her bio below.
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