Tailored Yoga Therapy for Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults: A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial

Participants in this arm will participate in a six-week study. They will attend one hour-long group-based in-person session per week, as well as practising from home at least twice weekly following along an online video (which will be a practice of what was learnt in-person that week). Each group yoga session will start with some Pranayama (yogic breathwork) to engage participants' attention and to help them focus. The intervention will progress from purely activating yogic breathwork techniques, to some calming and grounding techniques to aid relaxation, bodily awareness and to reduce stress. Sessions will also involve some faster movements to align the body with typically faster mental activities as seen within individuals with ADHD. Some sessions may progress to include some mindful somatic movements and some longer held poses to enhance relaxation and tension release. Towards the end of the intervention there will be longer opportunities for mindful awareness through meditation.

Participants in this arm will similarly participate in a six-week study. They will attend one hour-long group-based in-person session per week, as well as practising from home at least twice weekly following along an online video (which will be a practice of what was learnt in-person that week). The functional movement control sessions will serve as an exercise class, with educational aspects. All sessions will follow a similar structure of light strength exercises, mobility exercises and end with some flexibility exercises. This control condition was selected to control for the physical aspects the yoga intervention, allowing us to isolate the possible benefits of yoga due to breathwork and mindfulness.