HOW LONG SHOULD I MEDITATE FOR?
Like many questions, the answer will depend on you.
The best way I’ve found to approach meditation is to think of it as a skill, like running, weightlifting or drawing. You don’t want to jump into a marathon after a four months of sitting on the couch every evening binging Netflix.
Similarly, it’s probably not sustainable to jump right into a three hour meditation without practice.
Common advice people are given when it comes to dieting is that the best diet is the one you can sustain. You can try all of the fads and trends you want, but if you can’t stick to it, it’s not a good diet.
The same logic applies to meditation. The best length of meditation is the one you can sustain as a habit. It’s worth considering the following:
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How much time do I have during the day where I can fit in meditation?
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What time of day can I build meditation into a habit? (Morning, lunch, evening, bedtime etc)
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How long have I practised meditation?
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What is my attention span like at the moment?
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During meditation, how long can I stay focused?
All of these things can help guide you to an answer.
MEDITATION ROUTINE:
It’s important to build meditation into a routine. Like showering, you can’t do it once a month and expect to enjoy the benefits. A ten minute meditation every day as part of your routine is better than an hour on a Sunday.
Find out what length of meditation feels comfortable to you. If you feel like you can’t concentrate after eight minutes, that’s fine. Your meditation practice is more beneficial as short moments of awareness, self-reflection and compassion that it is as an hour of sitting uncomfortably waiting for your timer to tell you that you can stand up and walk around.
Eventually this time may increase to 15 minutes to 30, to 60. Even so, some people like 10 minutes, some people enjoy longer. How long you should meditate for is personal preference.