Dharana: Concentration and Executive Function

Dharana—concentration, the fixing of attention on a single point—is Patanjali's sixth limb and the direct antidote to ADHD's attentional scatter. Where ADHD creates fragmented focus jumping between competing stimuli, dharana builds the neural capacity to sustain attention deliberately. Patanjali teaches dharana not as suppressing other thoughts but as choosing and returning to a focal point repeatedly. For ADHD, this is transformative: focus becomes a learnable skill rather than an absent capacity. Practical dharana for ADHD includes single-point meditation, visual anchors for tasks, or time-locked focus intervals. The practice acknowledges that concentration for ADHD minds requires intentional structure and repetition; attention will scatter, and the practice is gentle return. Dharana training strengthens prefrontal cortex activation, improving executive function, impulse control, and task initiation. Over time, dharana practice creates new attentional patterns, making focus less effortful and more sustainable.