Concentration Practices and ADD, ADHD

Better concentration skills that will naturally lead to meditative states. People often proudly report, I did my meditation today! Like many of us, they have heard about how beneficial it is to  meditate. And it absolutely is and I highly recommend it! But there is a lot of confusion about what it is and how to “do” it. And it’s possible that even after this blog you will still not be quite sure if you’re “doing it right” or even want to “do” it at all or if you even believe all the hype. I think part of the reason for the confusion is that mediation really isn’t something you do. Any more than you do sleep. You wouldn't tell me you had done your sleep practice right? We can’t make ourselves fall asleep can we? The best we can do is make the environment conducive to sleep and hope that we will easily drift off into never never land but that isn’t always the case. One thing I know for sure is that if I’m attending to my meditation practice that my sleep is restful, easy and I need less of it. IDK how many times someone has told me there aren’t enough hours in the day for all they need or want to get done. So less sleep might be a way to create more time even though time is rolling out the same for all of us. It certainly is to me. I don't want to sleep a third of my life away. So I have been consciously trying to get less sleep and honestly I'm still all over the place with it but I’ll get there. My goal is 5-6 hours. I like being up early. I know there is a lot of support out there for me to make this choice so I’m present to its unfolding.

There is a school of yoga called Raja yoga. It is the science of mediation based on self mastery. The primary text is called the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. In this text the 8 limbs of yoga are given. They are like rungs on a ladder. The first two limbs are called yama and niyama and are restraints and observances. The third is asana or posture. The posture being referred to here is your meditation pose which is the pose the rest of your practice is preparing you for. In fact Patanjali tells us that asana is a comfortable steady pose. That means you should be able to breathe in it. Fourth is pranayama which focuses on breathing and understanding the life force energy. Fifth is pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses. Sixth is concentration. Seventh is meditation. And Eighth is a super conscious state. So you see, long ago, the first person to codify yoga gave us the steps to self mastery using meditation. In his system, you first had to learn to concentrate before moving on to the next stage of meditation. Maybe it would be helpful for there to be concentration classes to prepare us for meditation, right? Our go go go society and lifestyle with our phones, laptops, social media and overall overstimulated approach to life certainly isn’t teaching us concentration skills. In fact more than 10% of our children have been labeled by schools as having an attention deficit disorder of some kind. We are talking children as young as 2 years old! That makes me crazy! Can we not just allow kids to be kids and give them some time that they are free to explore and actually allowed to think for themselves? I fought this battle with my oldest son for years. Finally I caved in because he wanted to try the medications. How do you think it affects these kids to hear the grown ups talking about how they are having problems paying attention literally for years? Do you think that idea will follow them the rest of their lives? I do because I see that it has. I’m not saying he didn’t need to learn to concentrate and direct his mind. I'm sure he did and still does on some level but there’s no way I believe medication is the answer. I know this is a novel idea but maybe we can teach kids how to concentrate and let them practice doing it as part of their school day. Imagine that! Instead of sending kids off to get pills, we sent them off to meditation practice where they could practice concentrating. Within about 2 weeks of my son starting the meds he came to me one day and said, mom, I can't be myself on those pills. And that was it for me. And I refused to revisit it. Isn’t it possible that a child is not engaged in the lesson because it isn’t stimulating or presented in a way that inspires him? I’m not blaming teachers. For the most part they are told what they have to teach and I’m sure that wears thin and behavior problems I know are a big deal. But labeling these kids, some of which just think differently which we need on the planet if you ask me, as ADD or ADHD gives them the idea that they have a problem and the grown ups think the answer is a pill. And probably worse than the medication is the fact that they may not get off those meds for a very long time. After all they have been told they have problems paying attention and need this pill. So instead of learning the skill of paying attention, they are medicated. This is a really big problem. For years we have heard how marijuana is a gateway drug and leads to other drugs and I’m sure it does to some degree but no more than our medical profession that has created a generation of young people addicted to various psychiatric drugs that you can’t just stop taking without gnarly side effects and this is the biggie, that there is no protocol to get you off of. Sounds to me like they don’t care if you’re on those drugs the rest of your life. And remember you have been programmed to think that you need these drugs to be “normal” and so much of the time people are still dealing with whatever you started taking them for in the first place. I guess you can tell I have strong feelings about this. I have helped a number of clients get off meds they had been on for many years. And it’s rarely just one. So our medical system has created more addicts than you want to even think about. But there is hope. If people are willing to do their part to organize and take control of their own minds. Mind is your tool that you get to use to create a pleasant life for yourself. It doesn’t operate independent of you.  And to support that process Yoga has a number of simple practices that will help  improve concentration. This is the first step to prepare you for meditation.

One thing that is helpful is practicing balancing poses using a focal point. Tree pose or vrikshanasana is a good one. You find a focal point out in front of you near the floor is usually easiest and you keep your eyes focused on that point. Then prop the right foot inside the left leg above or below the knee. Hands can be on the hips or arms can go up. Now you just hold it and breathe. Exit the same way you went in, step by step. Then do the other side. This will build concentration. THere are connections in the brain responsible for balance that dry out if they aren’t used so regularly practicing balance is highly recommended. 

Another practice is one called trataka. In this practice, a candle flame is often used but you will need a dark, draft free room for that practice. Otherwise you use an image of something pleasant. Place it at eye level about 2 feet in front of you and focus your gaze on the image. Maintain your gaze without blinking or blurring your vision as long as possible. Close your eyes only when they begin to strain and water and you can no longer sustain the gaze. Any tears have a cleansing effect on the eyes. Then find the ater image of the flame or image in your mind's eye resting your awareness on the eyebrow center. HOld it in the center of your gaze until it disappears. In addition to improving concentration this practice is said to eradicate all eye disease, fatigue and sloth and closing the doorway to such problems. It also improves memory so a lot is going on in this simple practice. Yoga provides many tools and practices to prepare you for life. Our children are not being taught how to use their minds. This can be corrected. But will it be?