Dharana: Single-Point Focus Training

Dharana is concentration—the deliberate, sustained fixation of attention on a single point (a mantra, visual object, or breath). It is the sixth limb of yoga and the bridge between scattered reactivity and deep meditation. For ADHD minds, dharana is not about becoming neurotypical but about developing voluntary control over attention. The practice is deceptively simple: choose your object, return your focus to it when it wanders, and repeat. Unlike forced willpower, dharana works with the mind's natural capacity by making the object of focus genuinely engaging. Patanjali acknowledges that the mind will wander thousands of times; the practice is the returning, not the perfection. For someone with ADHD, starting with microsessions (two minutes) and gradually extending builds sustainable capacity without triggering resistance. Dharana also reveals something crucial: your attention isn't broken, it's just untrained. By regularly practicing this technique with varied objects and time lengths, you develop meta-awareness of how attention works, making it possible to intentionally direct focus to meaningful tasks while understanding when your brain's natural rhythms require breaks or novelty.