How much time should I give to formal meditation?
 
Here we shall cover two issues. One is the length of meditation and other is the best time to meditate. Time management or choosing proper time is a vital issue for meditators. Meditation for health benefits can be done any time of the day, according to the individual need and desire. There is no limit. It can be done be once, twice or thrice a day. Sometimes once on every other day or thrice in a week is more than enough. Anything from 10 min to one hour per day is very effective.

But if one intends to progress spiritually beyond just the health benefits one has to give serious dedication and time to it. But always remember that the importance of meditation is to make you relaxed. You may increase the time span of practicing meditation per session slowly, gradually and consistently.

Meditation at the early morning

Spiritual masters worldwide say that early morning 3.30 am to 5.30 am is the best time in the 24 hrs session for meditation. This is because during this time there is very high positive energy in the atmosphere and tremendous peace prevails in the nature. Meditating during this time can multiply the benefits of it many times. Of course to get up this early it requires lot of dedication and effort.

Starting your long, monotonous and exhausting day with meditation will give you a fresh mind and new energy to fight against your daily battle with greater enthusiasm. Having a shower before you meditate can help you from getting sleep during meditation. This early morning meditation will help you to keep yourself fresh till the day long. And this will make you stable and determined. After completing meditation you can go for more sleep or just lie down and take some more rest.

Meditation at evening

Evening is the transition time of day and night and it is excellent time for meditation. Meditating as soon as one enters the house can considerably reduce the fights that can happen in a house. This is because we remain most stressful and tensed after a busy day and usually all this tension keeps looking for a way out and the target are usually our family members. Hence meditating as soon as one finishes off the day and enters the house is an excellent habit. Again it all depends upon individual preferences, timings, situation. After a busy day of work, this is the time when we can relax. So getting relaxed doing meditation is the best suited option.

If evening meditation is not possible make sure that you reserve a quick meditation session just before you go to bed. After taking a heavy dinner immediately sleeping may harm your digestive system. The food need some time to digest. So this can be a good time for you when meditation will help you to sort out your problems. You can recall your day and analyze your works. And also can plan your works for the next day. This will help you to work consciously and will increase your level of work. After a nice session of meditation sleeping will be more relaxing.

Meditation at the middle of the night

Some people have a problem with sleeping. When we wake up at the middle of the night we feel a great silence there. We should utilize the great silence. Silence is important for effective meditation. You can start meditate right on the bed you sleep or any place away from the bed, such a place where you feel holy. After meditation you can again go to your bed and can complete your sleep. You will surely wake up in a fresh mood in the morning.