General Guidelines
These guidelines apply to all of the meditations offered on this website. They will also be useful for anyone who is finding their own way to meditate and wants an easy, natural meditation style.
Posture
How long to meditate
When to meditate
How often to meditate
Thoughts in meditation
Noise
Falling asleep in meditation
Strong emotions
Ending meditation
Posture
Different postures affect how the energy flows through the body and how alert the mind is in meditation. For most meditations, we suggest sitting upright with the spine erect while still being comfortable. It is not necessary to get into a precise or difficult posture to meditate! If you are uncomfortable or straining to be in a certain position, you will not be able to relax completely. Some meditations, such as our Walking Meditation, are done while active. Obviously, if you are doing a meditation for falling asleep, it would be best to lie down.
How Long to Meditate
Usually 15-30 minutes is a good meditation time, although if you are new to meditation, you may want to start with 5 or 10 and build up. If you meditate regularly, it can be helpful to meditate about the same number of minutes each time. (An exception is our Meditation-in-Action which is done for longer periods of time while engaged in activity.)
When to meditate
When you meditate will partly depend on what kind of meditation you are doing and the purpose of the meditation. Although you can meditate at any time, the ideal times are usually in the morning as a start to your day, or in the late afternoon in order to unwind from the activity of the day and be refreshed for the evening.
If you do a meditation which energizes you, it’s better not to do it before bedtime. Some meditations, however, are specifically designed for falling asleep and many people find listening to many of our guided meditations helps them relax into sleep.
Meditations which are deeply relaxing are best done on an empty stomach or at least a couple of hours after a meal.
How often to meditate
The ideal frequency of meditation may vary from person to person depending on many different factors. Generally speaking, once or twice a day is ideal. A regular routine of meditation is invaluable. The benefit derived from meditation starts to carry over into our activity more when we meditate regularly. Many find twice a day to be ideal, but certainly even once a day can make a big difference.
It is possible to meditate too much. Everything in life is about balance and proportion. Usually 15-20 minutes twice a day is sufficient and more could be counter-productive. (Taking brief meditation breaks more often would be OK, however.)
Thoughts in meditation
Thoughts arise spontaneously in the mind. They are a natural part of meditation. The goal of meditation is to become more at ease, relaxed and at peace with whatever is happening. Therefore, it is important to not resist anything that comes in meditation, including thoughts.
Don’t try to push out thoughts or resist them. Simply notice that thoughts are present and let them go the way they come — effortlessly. When you find that the awareness has been caught up in a train of thought, easily come back to the focus of your meditation. (This will vary depending on the type of meditation you are doing. In a breath meditation, for example, come easily back to the experience of the breath.)
It’s important to understand that you have not made a mistake when thoughts come or the mind has become absorbed in thought. It’s a natural part of meditation. The mind may get caught up in a “story” about what is happening in our life, or even what is happening in meditation — what has happened or will happen. Likewise, we can let go of that. Don’t purposely follow the train of thought. Let it go. Let go of the meaning of thoughts. Let thoughts be a meaningless activity in the mind!
Our experience of thoughts may change as we meditate.
As we disengage the gears of the mind, the mind has an opportunity to settle down. We may experience more subtle levels of the thinking process. Thoughts may become more vague, or may even be an intuitive felt sense of something — a knowing that does not get translated into words and concepts. Allow this process of the changing experience of thoughts to happen.
Sometimes you may experience a kind of dream-like state, somewhere between being asleep and awake. This also is a natural experience in meditation. There may also be times when there is a state of “no thought”. No matter what happens just take it easy — take it as it comes!
Noise
It’s enjoyable to meditate in a quiet place, but it is not always possible. All of the meditations on our website can be done in a noisy environment. The key is to not resist noise. Don’t try to ignore the noise or to block it out. Simply let it be and continue with your meditation.
Everything is a part of meditation — the noise, your thoughts about it, the way the mind may start to resist it, the emotions that arise about it. Treat everything that arises in meditation the same way — let it be, let yourself be!
Falling asleep in meditation
Hopefully in meditation we enter a state of “non-resistance”. This would include not resisting sleep if it comes. If we try to keep from falling asleep, we are straining. The goal of meditation to establish a state of ease. Therefore, if sleep comes, let it come.
As the body relaxes, it will take the opportunity for sleep if it is needed. If you find that you fall asleep frequently in meditation, it may mean that you need more sleep at night and is a good reminder to make sure you are getting enough rest.
Strong emotions
When we enter into a state of relaxation in meditation, strong emotions can sometimes arise. This can happen for several reasons. When the mind settles down in meditation, we may become aware of an emotion that has been “under the surface” while we are busy in activity and focused on other things. It may also be that the deep relaxation of meditation causes a kind of “unwinding” or purification, so that any emotion that has been held in the body is released. The meditative state can be much like the dream state in which various issues are being processed.
If we are uncomfortable with a particular emotion, such as grief, the tendency may be to want to push it out. Emotions are a flow of life energy, and if we resist that flow, the energy becomes “stuck”. If you notice resistance to emotions, let the resistance go. Allow the emotion to be experienced fully and the energy of the emotion can flow and resolve.
On the other hand, when a strong emotion arises, the mind may become very busy interpreting it or dramatizing it with a story about it. If anger arises, for example, the mind might pick up on something that happened in the past, or imagine something happening now as the cause of the anger. This involvement of the mind in the emotion intensifies and feeds it, and also obstructs it from moving through easily. When we become aware of being caught up in a train of thought or a story, let that go and bring the awareness easily back to the focus of the meditation. (The focus will depend on the meditation you are doing.)
If the emotion or thought is so strong that you cannot easily come back to your focus (such as the focus on the breath), then simply allow the mind to feel the emotion. Let the awareness locate a physical sensation in the body that is associated with the strong emotion (or thought). Simply continue to feel that sensation in the body. With the awareness easily on the sensation, it will eventually dissolve and the mind will be free to continue with the focus of the meditation.
Ending Meditation
It’s important to take time to come out of meditation slowly. When we are deeply rested in meditation, it can be jarring to suddenly get up and start our activity. Remain with your eyes closed for a minute or two. Stretch, move around a bit, and gradually become more active. When you are ready to open your eyes, you can open them downcast at first. Take your time!
If the meditation process is difficult in any way, read our Difficulty Meditating page.
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22 Responses to “General Guidelines”
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How do I keep with a routine? I feel like I am wasting time. I know I’m not, but there are no results yet and its a bit frustrating just staring at the back of my eyelids.
Sometimes it can take some time to get “into the groove” of meditation. You might need to make a point of doing it each day for a couple weeks and see what happens.
On the other hand, it may be that the way you are trying to meditate is difficult. Have you tried the meditations in our podcast? How are you trying to meditate?
which kind of meditation to start with when we are doing it first time?
Vikas,
Often a “breath awareness” meditation is the easiest way to start. We have one you can listen to on our podcast and also on our Meditation Oasis CD (available as a CD or download).
We also have a list of the best meditations to start with that are available on our podcast (click here).
In a number of times, though not always, when I settle to meditate, especially in the mornings, I see some spiritual images passing by. The shapes are very new to me. The shapes of the images are hard for me to explain. Please assist me by a clue so that I understand the meaning of these images and why they image in my mind.Thank you. -Johnson.
Johnson,
I may be able to say something about why images come to your mind, but I can’t know the meaning of particular images to you. What might be most useful would be to explore within yourself what those images represent and convey to you.
As to why the images appear — sometimes while meditating people reach an “altered state” of consciousness. Images might come in a kind of dream state (sometimes the mind passes in and out of a light sleep and dreaming). This would be much like images coming in a dream. It is also possible to see images that represent subtler levels of perception, where we see that which lies deeper than superficial appearances. Some people would say that we can tap into the “collective unconscious” where we might see things from another culture or time.
These are only some possible explanations. Good luck as you explore this experience.
I’d like to teach my children (9 & 12) how to meditate. Can you recommend the best (simple & short) guided meditations for them?
Hi Marie, Teaching children meditation is not my area of expertise. I would think that at 12, though, a child could try a Breath Awareness Meditation. You can check out the one in our podcast.
i listen to your podcasts while walking, even reading( am doing my mphil) and at night i go to sleep listening to it.calm and peace. am i over doing it. i dont feel so.pl guide
Hi nadiya, I doubt that it is doing you any harm to do this, although the meditations weren’t really designed to be used this way. If you were doing it too much, you’d probably have trouble focusing on things and become ungrounded. The one thing I’d hesitate about is listening while reading. It could be confusing for the mind to process two inputs like that at once. Using the music alone with all of these things is fine, but when there are words I’m not so sure.
Hi Mary,
I have recently started listening to ur podcasts and they are really good. I feel reluctant and lack interest in daily activities. I feel less energetic. I feel quite dull through out the day though I have proper nutritious food.
Please suggest me which podcast should I listen in the morning to feel energized and fresh through out the day.
Thanks
Shikha
Hi Shikha, It’s hard to say which meditations would be most energizing for you — everyone is different. Pay attention to your experience and see how the different meditations affect you. It’s possible the Nature Attunement Meditation could help.
It’s important, however, to make sure you are getting enough good quality sleep at night. You might be tired because of not having enough rest, and in that case it’s important to get the rest. Also, I’d recommend you check with a doctor to make sure there isn’t something physical that is making you lack energy. Finally, what you describe could be due to depression and it would be good to see if that is what is going on so that you can get some help with it.
Wishing you the best.
HI mary,
Thanks for ur reply.
Looks like I had put up my question in a wrong way. what i actually meant by not bring energized was i cannot concentrate on the activity that i am doing currently. I am always occupied with the plans of the next activity that I would do as soon as I complete the current one. This could be cause my mind is always occupied with thoughts and dominantly, negative ones. Guess these negative thoughts drain out my energy and probably thats y i am mentally tired or exhausted. I am also more of a restless person.
Thanks
Shikha
I have a question about ‘rocking’ during meditation I tend to rock in a circular sometimes side to side motion duriing meditation what does this mean ? Have you ever heard of this ?
Deva, read the post on Body Movements in Meditation and the comments on the post.
You might also be interested in the Sensing Energy During Meditation post.
I have been meditating for about a month now and a few days ago (while i was meditating) i drifted into a feeling of being rained upon and at the same time felt like i was in a “bubble”…….as i became aware of the feeling i sort of drifted out again………….is that the feeling that i should be looking for each time i meditate ?
Hi Craig, I don’t know what kind of meditation you are doing so it’s a bit difficult to answer. In our approach, there isn’t any particular experience to look for. In fact, letting go of expectations is helpful and it can be an obstacle if we are trying to recreate or look for a past experience. Experiences will be different every time you meditate.
Sorry……Chan meditation……..also (when i stop meditating) its as though all the emotions i have pushed out seem to want to go back in again……….i feel a little low but a lot more focused.
I’m not familiar with Chan meditation, Craig. It’s best when you pursue a particular style of meditation to ask questions of the teachers of that style. Good luck.
guide about meditation beginer
why is it whenever i try to meditate i will go into a trance like state and scary men come into it, it frightens me and i jump and then i find it hard to get back into my meditation. Or is this normal for beginners. Many thanks for any help given.
Hi Annemarie,
This is not a normal experience for beginners of meditation. Without knowing anything about you and how you are meditating, I’m not in a position to guide you about this. If this frightening experience continues, it might be advisable to consult a psychotherapist. In some cases, the experience of meditation can stir up things inside that need healing.