Downward dog is a yoga pose. Basically you have your hands and feet on the floor about a foot or so apart so your body kind of looks like an upside down V.
Now, downward dog may not necessarily be the pose for you, but yoga in general could be.
Yoga has a lot of beneficial benefits for anyone who practices it:
- It improves overall health
- It strengthens your muscles
- It strengthens your cartilage and joints
- Increases blood flow
- Strengthens your bones
- Regulates your adrenals (if you live with a lot of stress, particularly long term, your adrenals most likely need help)
I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
But if you’d like more, here is an article on 104 Evidence Based Benefits of Yoga: Why You Should Do Yoga.
In addition to all of these wonderful benefits, yoga has been proven to positively affect ADHD symptoms.
Even children with ADHD have shown remarkable improvement in behavior, anger control, and hyperactivity.
In terms of your ADHD, here is what a regular yoga practice can do for you:
- Help you pay attention
- Help you experience a calm state more often
- Improve your mental health (depression) by releasing important hormones and chemicals
- Helps you focus
- Improves your balance
- Helps you sleep deeper
- Increases your self esteem
- Gives you motivation to change bad habits (see #27 here)
I find yoga to be very soothing and good for my peace of mind as well as my body and my ADHD.
You can find yoga classes online, in your community, on DVD, and sometimes even on TV.
For someone who has never done it before, a real class is helpful to make sure you are doing the poses correctly.
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