What is optimum time length for meditation session?

[Boo Bass]

Hello everyone

ive been doing 20 minutes sessions evdry day for over a year but still find myself clock watching. Is doing 2 x 10 minutes equaly valid? Why is 20 minutes recommended by experts? Thnks

[Spider666]

Hello everyone

ive been doing 20 minutes sessions evdry day for over a year but still find myself clock watching. Is doing 2 x 10 minutes equaly valid? Why is 20 minutes recommended by experts? Thnks

I don't believe there's any straight forward, right or wrong answer to your question. It's all about YOU - how far you've come in your journey into the self. A beginner can meditate for 2 minutes and it's a huge effort, still beneficial. Some people meditate for hours without any problem. It's a skill that needs to be trained. It's also a subjective practice - what benefits YOU is what you should go for. Common advice is to start small, in order to get better (meaning getting more out of it). Starting with too long sessions will just turn you off to the whole practice. Good luck! :)

[fixmybrokenmind]

I agree with spider 100%.

I started roughly 2 years ago and meditating for 10 minutes was hard so instead I told myself I would meditate for 5 but I wouldn't set a clock. As time went on I was able to meditate for longer without noticing and now I can meditate for 30 minutes no problem.

Start small enough to not get discouraged, and don't be afraid to split your sessions. If your daily goal is 20 minutes, two sessions of 10 will be just as beneficial!

[Boo Bass]

Hi spider and fbm

Thanks for your good advice and encouragement. Will do.

BB

[The Intolerable Kid]

I agree with the above comments, I try and ignore time when meditating. It doesn't matter if it's seven breaths or an hour, as long as you derive a benefit from it.

[gypsylee]

Hey BB,

I just want to add that meditation doesn't have to be sitting in the lotus position chanting ommm :) Even guided meditations of the "traditional" sort don't really gel with me.. I usually end up falling half asleep and then the voice comes on and freaks me out lol. Diaphragmatic breathing I'm better at and can do for quite a long time, but my favourite "meditation" is listening to stuff like Tool and playing games on the computer that keep my mind occupied. I'm sure some people would say that's not real meditation but it's better than drinking cask wine and watching infomercials until I pass out, like I used to do!

[Teafrenzy]

My guided meditation sessions use a hypnosis app. So it' really a combination of meditation and hypnosis. I figure that even if my mind wanders while meditating I can get some benefit from the subliminal calming messages.