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more shorter meditation sessions or less for longer?

TheJourneyTheJourney
edited October 2010 in Buddhism Basics
Which do you think is better? Personally, coming from someone who really doesn't know, I would think that more shorter meditation sessions would be better. You get a lot of the benefits from sitting meditation pretty quickly, and I think the more times you do it, regardless of time, the better.

Comments

  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Hmm, I suppose you have a point. But sitting for long periods of time gives you longer to focus I've found. Of course I'm still having trouble quieting my mind when I meditate, so that factors in to how long I sit.
  • username_5username_5
    edited October 2010
    TheJourney wrote: »
    Which do you think is better? Personally, coming from someone who really doesn't know, I would think that more shorter meditation sessions would be better. You get a lot of the benefits from sitting meditation pretty quickly, and I think the more times you do it, regardless of time, the better.

    I don't know that there is really any wrong way.

    Advantages of longer periods of meditation that I can think of would be more time meditating and less time settling in, dealing with a figity mind and the potential to experience deeper levels of concentration resulting in more insight.

    In terms of the studies that have shown tangible benefits such as reduction in blood pressure, discernible elevation of mood in persons diagnosed with depression etc. the usual cut off I see is a daily practice lasting a minimum of 20 minutes.

    Still, any breath taken mindfully is a breath well taken.
  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    edited October 2010
    I make sure I do it for at least 15 minutes, and then it just depends after that.
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Sit for as long as you are both capable and willing to do so. Tailor it to suit you. There is no right or wrong amount of time to meditate. If you are meditating properly then even 1 minute is good. If you are meditating with the wrong attitude then even an hour will do no good.
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited October 2010
    It's hard to answer the question without bringing up good/bad and should/shouldn't. It's counter-productive to aim. If you aim you're waiting for when the perfect amount of time is up rather than being in the now. However, when you get to a stage where you can be in the now without your mind wondering for 15 minutes, it would be beneficial to sit a little longer next time. You would probably notice that the longer you sit the more you have to deal with impatience, pain and the wondering mind... overcoming these for 15 minutes is easy... overcoming them for 45 minutes is much harder. So yeah, sitting longer is better for training, but if you can't sit for 20 minutes, there's no point going for 45. Chances are you mind would wonder for half the time. Being in the now for 15 minutes is more beneficial than exploring the past and contemplating the future for 45 minutes.
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2010
    ShiftPlusOne wrote: »
    You would probably notice that the longer you sit the more you have to deal with impatience, pain and the wondering mind... overcoming these for 15 minutes is easy... overcoming them for 45 minutes is much harder.

    In my experience the opposite often occurs. At the start of the sitting is when my mind is the most restless and then it gradually calms down.

    Physical pain can be a strange thing. Sometimes it is there at the beginning and then it disappears, sometimes it builds up. Sometimes its simply not there.

    I have noticed though that there is definitely a mind-body connection when it comes to how discomfort in the body either builds up or dissipates. If I am in a restless mood then the body will get tense and pains will increase. If I am in a calm mood this relaxes the body which means I can often sit for long periods with little or no pain.
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    edited October 2010
    GuyC, I would've thought that time at the start is just preparation. It takes a couple of minutes to relax the body and get into the right state of mind. After that it's easy for 15-20 minutes then the mind starts going to lala-land. Might be just me then. But yeah, it defiantly takes some time to calm the mind to begin with.
  • GuyCGuyC Veteran
    edited October 2010
    ShiftPlusOne wrote: »
    After that it's easy for 15-20 minutes then the mind starts going to lala-land. Might be just me then.

    No it happens to me too.

    It is hard to speak about the process of meditation in general terms because each sitting is unique. There are certain tendencies and habits where the mind keeps getting caught, but even these change. I think the wisest approach is to treat each session, or ideally each moment, as if it is the first time you have meditated. If we drop our expectations about what the sitting is going to be like then we increase our chances of being aware (aka beginners mind).
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