Using Yoga to Manage Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Every now and then someone asks me: "What can I do for a quick-fix solution to my ADD challenges?" I wish I had the magic answer!

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for managing any challenge. Making positive, permanent changes takes time, energy and dedication.

However, there are a few things you can invest your time and energy in that will provide a greater rate of return, so to speak, when it comes to managing your Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) challenges. One such thing is yoga.

I've been encouraging clients to try yoga for a long, long time! When practiced regularly, yoga offers a number of health benefits. Yoga can:

* Increase your strength and flexibility

* Tone your muscles

* Decrease your blood pressure

* Help you sleep more soundly

And yoga can help you manage your ADD! Here's how:

Yoga provides an outlet for stress relief. Stress management equals ADD management.

Yoga increases your personal awareness and encourages you to form a solid mind-body connection. This helps tremendously when it comes to controlling impulsiveness. And it also makes it easier to break out of periods of negative hyperfocus.

Yoga promotes relaxation techniques that teach you how to become calm and centered. It's much easier and more effective to improve ADD management skills--like time management, organization, focus, and more--when you're operating in a calm and centered state. You have the presence of mind to make good decisions without getting stressed out and frustrated.

If you'd like to try using yoga to help manage your ADD, then here are a few helpful tips for getting started.

1. Remember that yoga is not meant to be stressful or taxing on the body. Good yoga instruction will push you a bit, but it shouldn't feel like boot camp!

2. Look for a yoga center near you and, if at all possible, avoid taking yoga classes at a gym. While there are exceptions, many gym yoga classes will be heavy on strength training and light on relaxation and breathing techniques. (Also worth noting: doing yoga on your Wii Fit is not the same thing as attending an actual yoga class!)

3. Don't be afraid to get started by taking "Gentle Yoga" classes until you feel comfortable. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about whether or not yoga is right for you.

The bottom line is that yoga can help ADDers feel calm, centered, and in control. And it offers lots of physical benefits, too!

You'll feel the benefits of yoga right away. And after a few classes, you just might find that yoga becomes a powerful tool in your ADD management toolbox!

Jennifer Koretsky is the Founder of the ADD Management Group, LLC, author of Odd One Out: The Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD, and Co-Founder of the Virtual AD/HD Conference. Jennifer and her team work with ADD adults who are overwhelmed with everyday life in order to help them simplify, focus, and succeed. To learn more, visit ADDmanagement.com ADDmanagement.com.