ADHD and Mindfulness Meditation with Ying Deng
In this episode of the podcast, I’m talking about ADHD and Mindfulness Meditation with my guest Ying Deng. Ying is the founder of ADHD Asian Girl, a platform that provides support and resources for people with ADHD, especially Asian women. She is a certified Transformation Life Coach with additional training in positive psychology, and she’s currently in Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP).
Episode Details:
There is some research that shows mindfulness to be an effective practice for helping people with ADHD direct their focus, regulate their emotions, and more. But, understandably, the act of meditation presents inherent difficulties for ADHD, and some of the standard mindfulness techniques may not be completely accessible without adaptation.
In this interview, Ying Deng shares about her journey with mindfulness and ADHD, and how she got diagnosed as an adult, after realizing that she was bored with her dream job because it had become too calm and predictable. She highlights how often the symptoms are overlooked in high-achieving women, and how one’s cultural background can influence the way their ADHD shows up.
We also talk in detail about different mindfulness and meditation practices, and how to adapt them for ADHD. You’ll hear about Ying’s approach to the Body Scan, Breath Awareness meditations, the technique of Noting, and more.
ADHD and Mindfulness Meditation Tips We Discuss:
- Embrace variety and constant learning by experimenting with different meditation techniques – the world of mindfulness is vast!
- Meditation practices with more structure, like RAIN or repeating Loving Kindness phrases, can help with focus.
- Know that you can practice meditation in different postures – sitting, standing, lying down, and in walking meditation.
- Incorporate more sensory engagement by practicing outdoors, including background music, or by using mala beads (sense of touch).
- Try a breathing exercise or mindful movement practice beforehand to help you transition into your meditation.
- Consider meditating in a group with others (either in person or online) as a form of “body doubling,” to help you stay present and engaged with the practice.
Ying also explained how she developed a consistent practice despite the fact that sticking to the same schedule every day doesn’t work for her. And, she described the benefits of mindfulness in her daily life, including the ability to return to the present moment, and responding to situations with less self-judgment.
If you’re listening because you have ADHD and you’re interested in learning to meditate, I think you’ll get some really helpful ideas from this conversation!
And, I hope that this episode will also be helpful for mindfulness teachers who would like to make their teachings more accessible for neurodivergent students. Speaking as a teacher myself, I found some of the suggestions weren’t what I expected (and they do break somewhat from tradition), but they make sense now with a greater understanding of ADHD.
Guest Bio:
Ying Deng is a passionate advocate for ADHD awareness and empowerment, with extensive experience in coaching and mindfulness. She is the founder of ADHD Asian Girl, a platform that provides support and resources for people with ADHD, especially Asian women. Through her work, she strives to increase representation and awareness of the unique experiences of Asian women with ADHD as well as make meditation more accessible for ADHD people.
Ying is a certified Transformation Life Coach with additional training in positive psychology. She is currently in Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program.
Resources and Links from this episode:
- Ying’s website, with further resources on ADHD and Mindfulness Meditation
- A systematic review and meta analysis of the research that points to Mindfulness as an intervention for ADHD adults and youth
- More background on meditation for ADHD in this Vox article “Why more psychiatrists think mindfulness can help treat ADHD”
- The “Shaking and Dancing” practice that Ying recommended
- A RAIN meditation with Tara Brach that Ying recommended
You can also follow Ying on Twitter, or subscribe to her YouTube channel and learn more!
And, if you enjoyed this conversation, you might also like Episode 70 – Everyday Mindfulness: Small Moments That Add Up.
Put your mindfulness into action!
If you are interested in sharing movement-based mindfulness practices with others, take a look at the Mindful Movement Teacher Training! The next round of this online training program begins in October.
