Practicing meditation can be a rewarding practice.
But to get the most out of practicing meditation, how often should you meditate?
The answer is different for everyone.
In this guide, we will help you figure out how often you should meditate on a routine basis.
• How Often Should I Meditate? • Common Misconceptions About How Often You Should Meditate • How Many Times a Day Should I Meditate? • How Often Should You Meditate to See Results? • 4 Tips to Help You Make Meditation a Routine Practice • Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi Incorporates Meditation Into All Our Classes and Practices
There is no hard and fast answer for how often one should meditate. The answer can vary from person to person.
The following information can help you decide how often you should be meditating to benefit from the practice.
• What meditation is — and isn’t • The purpose of meditation • What meditation looks like; and • How often you should be meditating
When you think of meditation, you likely conjure images of sitting cross-legged in complete stillness while humming, “om.” This is the picture that Western culture typically paints when it comes to meditation.
This is one way to meditate, but it’s not the only way of meditating. And it’s not an accurate representation of the practice as a whole.
Meditation is something that can be done anytime, anywhere. It can be a quick, 2-minute exercise or an hour-long practice. You can meditate standing up, lying down, or sitting still. You can even meditate during activities like yoga and tai chi.
There are no fundamental “rules” on what meditation should look like.
At its essence, meditation is an internal check-up to help you reconnect with your inner self.
Instead of asking yourself, “How often should I meditate?”, ask yourself, “How often should I be checking in with myself?”
A good rule of thumb is to meditate, or “check-in” with yourself, at least once a day.
Many people live busy lives and can push themselves beyond their mental and physical limits. Meditation allows for time to press “pause” and focus inward. This kind of self-reflection can help us make informed decisions based on how our bodies are feeling.
For example, you may be so used to pushing yourself to do more and more that you don’t realize how tired and fatigued you feel. Meditation can help bring these realizations to mind so you can ensure you are nourishing your mind and body and not running yourself into the ground.
Can you meditate too often?
Yes and no.
You can never “check in” with yourself or be mentally in tune “too much”. You should meditate whenever you feel the need.
However, you don’t want to force practicing meditation. Meditating five times a day will not give you superpowers or make you super enlightened. It can, however, lead to burnout.
Meditation should always be an intentional practice, not something you feel you need to cross off on a to-do list.
There is no “prescription” for meditation to see results.
For example, you can’t expect to see specific results from meditating two times per week or going to a meditation class every Saturday.
Meditation is most effective when it is treated like a routine practice.
Instead of focusing on how often you should meditate, focus on making meditation a habit.
Habit formation does not happen overnight. suggests that it takes approximately two months to form a habit.
If you struggle with trying to meditate on a routine basis at first, don’t worry. Meditation is a lifelong practice. Here are some tips to help you get into the routine of meditating regularly.
Before you can make meditation a habit, you need to learn how to meditate effectively.
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi instructors offer meditation classes to help you learn how to develop the sense of energy in your body and focus inward. We teach clear and powerful meditation techniques you can practice inside and outside of the class.
Through our classes, you can gain confidence in practicing meditation effectively on your own on a routine basis. Click here to learn more about our meditation classes.
There is no specific time during the day that you need to carve out for meditation. Generally, people benefit most from meditating before they start their day or at the end of their day.
However, you can meditate anytime you feel works best for you. You also don’t have to stick to meditating at the same time each day.
If you struggle with focusing, the morning may be a great time for you to practice meditation.
Meditating in the morning can help you center your mind and set your intention for the day. For example, if you’re someone that experiences a lot of stress on a daily basis, you can set an intention to remain calm and collected and practice a quick meditation or breathing exercise when you feel stress beginning to creep up on you.
People with may not struggle with focusing or meeting their goals during the day like others. Instead, they struggle with winding down at the end of the day.
This makes right before bedtime a perfect time to practice meditation so you can reflect on your day, relax, and get a restful night of sleep.
If you struggle with focusing, you are not alone. In a world full of constant distractions — phone notifications, sounds, busy schedules — it’s easy to find it difficult to focus from time to time.
For this reason, many people find meditation difficult at first, even frustrating. You may be trying your best to focus inward and suddenly begin thinking about what you’d like to have for dinner.
Understand that meditation doesn’t have to be “perfect.” Especially in the beginning, you may lose focus from time to time. Try your best to bring your attention inward when this happens.
The great news is over time, meditation actually helps with focus. have shown that routine meditation can help improve focus and attention skills.
As we mentioned before, there are many different ways to meditate.
Some people find it difficult to sit still while meditating and prefer to combine meditation with movements, such as yoga or tai chi.
In Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi classes, we use a practice called tapping during our meditation. This involves tapping certain parts of the body to:
1. Help you focus internally 2. Improve movement of (vital life force) within the body
Through trying different avenues of meditation, you may find that you have an affinity for one method over the other.
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi instructors are dedicated to helping teach others how to connect their mind and body as one.
If you’re interested in developing your ability to “check-in” with yourself and bringing your mind into a state of peace, our meditation classes may be a great fit for you.
We also incorporate meditation techniques into all our 1-hour classes, which include yoga, tai chi, and breathwork classes.
Not sure which type of class may benefit you the most?
Start with a 50-minute introductory session. During this private, one-on-one session, we will work with you to assess your current energy condition and provide guidance on how to best utilize our exercises and programs.