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Fenix

Can trying to much of meditation actually make you less sucssesful. like might I get better results just doing half hour of meditation everyday then trying to do 3 hours, you know?

shenpennangwa

Fenix wrote: »

Can trying to much of meditation actually make you less sucssesful. like might I get better results just doing half hour of meditation everyday then trying to do 3 hours, you know?

yes.
five minutes of quality practice is better than 30 minutes of misery.
the best thing to do is find a teacher.

FoibleFull

My teacher says the same thing that Shenpen says.

Think this way ... meditation is training the mind. If I spend 25 out of 30 minutes with my mind wandering, what am I training it to do? If I only spend 5 minutes meditating, but they are focused minutes ... that is good training.

Mani

I would say initially when just beginning, a shorter session is recommended. Many great teachers have said to stop at a point in which you will be much more likely to want to practice again. Sort of like "leave yourself wanting more." I think this is helpful, otherwise meditation can become like a chore for some.

Once one has more experience in practice though, especially in shamatha (calm abiding) practices, longer sessions can be beneficial if one want to go a little deeper and more subtle.

sukhita

Agree with what Shenpen, Foible and Mani are saying. The following quote is a reasonable guide when it comes to the duration of a single formal meditation session:

Ten minutes is probably enough initially and can be increased to fifteen or twenty after a few weeks. At the end of some weeks of regular sitting, thirty minutes would probably be more appropriate. Following on from that, forty-five or sixty minutes may be a possibility. Practised meditators tend not to sit for more than this lenght of time in any one sitting. You must judge for yourself what feels right.

The duration of the sitting is no mark of progress; it is the quality of each moment which is important. If the sitting becomes an endurance test, it has lost its value and you will be wasting your time, or worse, you will be putting yourself off meditation altogether. Better sit for a shorter period with enthusiasm and energy than to drag yourself through an hour of faking it.

caz

Mani wrote: »

I would say initially when just beginning, a shorter session is recommended. Many great teachers have said to stop at a point in which you will be much more likely to want to practice again. Sort of like "leave yourself wanting more." I think this is helpful, otherwise meditation can become like a chore for some.

Once one has more experience in practice though, especially in shamatha (calm abiding) practices, longer sessions can be beneficial if one want to go a little deeper and more subtle.

Yes i very much agree !

LesC

I started with 10, and stayed there for a long time, but now I'm up to 30, and it seems shorter than the initial 10 did. Hang in there...

jinzang

When sitting by yourself, you should limit the length of your practice to whatever you are comfortable with. That being said, the more you can practice, the better. And you shouldn't be looking for results from your practice.

Deshy

Since you have got some superb advice already I will add this small thing in

Make sure you keep your mind focused during the day to day life as well not only when you are meditating. For example, if you make your mind so chaotic and busy during the rest of the day it becomes kind of hard to still your mind during meditation. Because you spend about 12 hours of the day where your mind goes all over the place and then you sit down for 10 minutes expecting it to calm down.

Instead, practice the present moment consciousness as much as possible during the rest of the day. Keep your mind as calm and quiet as possible. Reduce the inner chatter and analyzing only when it's needed. When you sit in meditation with a calmer mind, it is easier to still it