To start meditating, choose a time and place where you won’t be disturbed during your meditation session.

When you are starting out, you may decide to set aside 10 or 15 minutes for your meditation session. This is a long time when you are just starting to meditate and in our hectic daily lives it may well be that this is the maximum amount of time you feel you can devote to meditation. It’s okay. Whatever works for you is good; it is much better to spend a few minutes a day meditating than to put it off entirely. Over time, you may decide that you are getting enough benefit to increase the amount of time you spend in a meditative state, but that is your choice.

If you have time, your goal should be to have two 20-minute meditation sessions each day. Research has shown that spending this amount of time meditating leads to better health and can help reduce the stresses and strains of daily life.

Your checklist for starting meditation:

o Choose a meditation method (such as breathing or walking meditation)

o Choose a time of day when you are unlikely to be disturbed.

o Choose a place where you feel comfortable and can relax.

That is all!

The time of day should be one where you can get used to meditating at that time. Some people find that meditating first thing in the morning is a good time for them. Other people, myself included, meditate late at night before going to sleep. You may find that the best time for you is while the rest of the family is watching a show on television. There is no exact time that is best for everyone. Whatever works for you is good! Just make sure you practice regularly.

The actual place where you decide to meditate is again up to you. Some people reserve a room in their house as a meditation room, but if you’re just starting out, that’s probably too extreme. Instead, you can decide to meditate in your bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, or even in the garden. The exact place where you meditate does not matter too much, it is much more important that you start practicing meditation. If you find that the original place you thought of isn’t working for you, don’t be afraid to change it. The same goes for time and the method you think about. The ultimate benefit of meditation far outweighs the precise method of meditation you use to achieve the benefit.