Broadcasts.com - "66: Mindfulness Practices for ADHD with Dr. Christopher Willard" (Soaring Child: Thriving with ADHD)

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66: Mindfulness Practices for ADHD with Dr. Christopher Willard

Published: July 20, 2023, 3 a.m.

Mindfulness and meditation can be beneficial for children with ADHD, as well as for anyone in the family. But what\u2019s the best way to get started, and how can we make mindfulness practices enjoyable for children so they actually want to participate?\xa0

In this week\u2019s episode of the Soaring Child, Dr. Christopher Willard joins the show. He is a clinical psychologist, an author, and a consultant based in Massachusetts. He's spoken in 30 countries, and he has presented at two TEDx events. He is an author of 20 books, including Alphabreaths, Growing Up Mindful, and How We Grow Through What We Go Through. His thoughts on mental health have been featured in New York Times, The Washington Post, mindful.org, cnn.com, and many other places. He also teaches at Harvard Medical School.

Tune in to this episode to discover how mindfulness can benefit you and your child with ADHD.\xa0

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Key Takeaways:

[4:11] Why Dr. Willard first became interested in mindfulness and meditation\xa0

[7:40] How breath is a superpower\xa0

[11:37] Benefits of mindfulness that are not always talked about

[15:40] How to make mindfulness more fun for kids

[21:13] How often Dr. Willard exposed his own children to mindfulness\xa0

[26:13] What to do when visualization is more difficult for someone\xa0

[29:51] How adults can bring mindfulness into their daily lives \xa0

[32:31] A challenge to the listeners

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Memorable Moments:

\u201cIf we can regulate our breath, we can regulate our body\u2026If we\u2019re regulating our body, we\u2019re regulating our nervous system. Our brain is the biggest part of our nervous system. And then we\u2019re regulating our impulses, our attention, our emotions, all of these things that everybody struggles with, but kids with attention issues and executive function challenges really tend to struggle with.\u201d

\u201cJust by shifting the way that we breathe, we actually can shift our attention and shift gears and meet the moment for what\u2019s required of us."

\u201cIf your computer\u2019s not working, what do they say? Hit the reset button. It works 90% of the time. We humans have a reset button for our brain, and it\u2019s in the bottom of our lungs.\u201d

\u201cI know how to create stressed out, miserable students who are unfocused. You just surround them with stressed out, miserable distracted parents and teachers and adults\u2026 If we want our kids to be well regulated and present and focused and mindful we need to surround them with adults who are \xa0doing this."

\u201cMindfulness is contagious. Focus is contagious. Calm is contagious. Self-regulation is contagious.\u201d

\u201cFinding these ways to keep ourselves well-regulated\u2026that\u2019s actually more important than saying to your kid, \u2018Go do some breathes\u2019\u2026because then they\u2019re learning it through modeling, and they\u2019re learning it experientially.\u201d

\u201cThis is at least as important - \xa0if not more important - \xa0for parents and caregivers as it is for the kids themselves.\u201d

\u201cWhat matters with mindfulness is not that you know 20 different ways of meditating but that you know 1 or 2 that are going to work for you\u2026and a few of those that you can share with your kids.\u201d

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How to Connect with Christopher Willard

Website: https://www.drchristopherwillard.com/\xa0

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchriswillard/\xa0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchriswillard\xa0

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drchriswillard/\xa0

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drchriswillard\xa0

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Dana Kay Resources:

Website:\xa0https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/\xa0

Facebook:\xa0https://www.facebook.com/ADHDThriveInstitute/\xa0

Instagram:\xa0https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/\xa0