Establishing home meditation practice

In a previous article entitled “what, why and how of meditation”, I talked about some basic concepts and the technique of meditation. In this article, I would like to address the question of how to establish an ongoing home meditation practice.

From the standpoint of yoga practice, asana (physical postures), pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation are the three most important components of a yoga routine. If we want to derive full benefits from our yoga practice, all these three practices are equally important. However, to attain the final goal of yoga which is to still the constant agitation in the mind, meditation has been given the highest importance. So, it is strongly recommended that we develop a regular, ongoing practice of meditation. 

Set a schedule

It is strongly advised that you set a fixed schedule for meditation which you can follow every day. What is the best time to meditate? According to the ancient cultural norms in India, the most auspicious time for all spiritual practices is known as the “brahma muhurta” (time of Brahma), which is approximately the two hour period before sunrise. Since it is related to sunrise it is going to be a different time each day depending upon the time of the year. This may not be a very practical approach to follow since the rest of the day follows a more rigid schedule irrespective of the time of sunrise. For example, we need to get to work at a certain fixed time every day of the year. As such, it is best to fix a specific time early in the morning for your meditation.  

Why is morning considered the best time for meditation? That’s the time when you have had a full night’s rest. Your body is well rested and the mind is very peaceful. As a result, you are likely to have the best meditation experience at that time. As the day goes by, the body gets fatigued and the mind gets entangled with all the day’s problems and issues. By the end of the day, you may be too exhausted, both physically and mentally, to do your yoga practice. Many of us have other commitments in the evening – taking care of children, taking them to their after school sporting or other activities, you may be held up at work for an extended meeting or you may have planned a social get-together with friends etc. As I like to say, morning time is your own time whereas time in the evening is “borrowed” time. 

Once you start your regular meditation practice, one thing that you will observe is that the total amount of sleep needed gets reduced. So, my recommendation is to try cutting out maybe 30 minutes of your sleep time and allocate that time to your morning meditation practice. Initially, it may seem quite challenging to wake up a half hour earlier. However, over time you will realize that because your need for sleep has gone down with regular practice, you will never miss that half hour of “lost” sleep. Instead of feeling lazy or drowsy, with a regular meditation practice, you will feel much more refreshed and energetic during  the rest of the day. 

“I am not a morning person”, you might say. You sleep late and wake up late. Or, what if your work schedule does not allow meditation in the morning? Can you then meditation at any other time during the day? Of course, you can. In fact, you can pretty much meditate any time during the day as long as your stomach is empty. In that sense, the best time for meditation is either before breakfast, before lunch or before dinner because those are the times when you have had the longest gap since your previous meal. 

Having fixed a time for meditation, it is best to practice at the same time everyday. Once it becomes a habit, you will be automatically drawn to your meditation seat at the same time each day. 

If your yoga practice includes all three components – asana, pranayama and meditation, and you don’t have time to do all three in one session, feel free to split the sessions. For example, you can do pranayama and meditation in the morning and asana in the evening. Or, you can do any other combination that works for you. 

In my own practice, I usually wake up around 4:30 – 5 AM. After finishing my morning ablutions, I usually start my yoga practice at about 6 AM which includes about 35-40 minutes of meditation, along with asana and pranayama practices. Of course, you will set your own time depending upon your convenience.

Setting the environment

If you already have a “pooja” or a worship room or space in your house, you may continue to use the same space for meditation. If not, you will need to pick a spot in your home for meditation. If you plan to do asana practice also, you should have adequate amount of space for your yoga mat as well as some extra space for spreading the arms and legs around when needed. In order to make the space truly conducive for your meditation practice, make sure the space is free of any kind of clutter, smells, sounds, or visual distractions etc. If you have any electronic gadgets around you – cell phone, laptop, desktop etc., make sure that they are either completely turned off or at least their notification sounds are turned off. Otherwise, you have the possibility of being distracted through notification sounds by every whatsapp, text or facebook message you receive or even when you receive a new email.

If you have pets at home, make sure that they are securely kept away from the meditation space and far enough so their sounds (barking of a dog or a cat’s meow) are not distracting. Similarly, if you have small kids at home, you should plan to meditate either while they are still asleep or after they have gone to school etc.

Having picked the appropriate space in your home, it is best to use that same space for your daily meditation practice.

Duration of meditation

How long should I meditate for? That is one of the important questions most people ask when they begin the meditation practice. When I attended the initiation training in Transcendental Meditation (TM) many years ago, their recommendation was to meditate twice a day, both morning and evening, for 20 minutes each. Different teachers belonging to different traditions may have different recommendations. My recommendation would be to start with about 20 minutes a day and then slowly over time build your practice up to about 40 minutes per session. Of course, much will depend upon the time that you have available or the time that you are willing to allocate for your practice. As beginners, some people, even if they have time available, find the 20 minute duration quite challenging. If that is the case, try to sit for as long as you feel comfortable. You may even start with ten minutes a day and then try to build up to twenty minutes or longer.

What if you are strapped for time and have another important commitment right after the scheduled meditation time? It is quite likely that while you are sitting for meditation, you may be tempted to look at the clock from time to time, just to make sure that you are not late for your other commitment. Obviously, that is not going to be a very productive meditation session as you are constantly distracted. In such a situation I recommend the use of a timer. Most phones have a timer feature which you can set for the desired duration of meditation. That way, you can focus entirely on your meditation without having to worry about your commitment. You can gently finish your meditation when the timer goes off.

Posture for meditation

Padmasana (Lotus Pose)

It is very important that you remain physically comfortable and relaxed during your entire meditation session. Which means whatever posture you choose, should be naturally comfortable. If you look at some pictures of ancient yogis sitting for meditation, you will usually find them sitting in the asana called “padmasana” or the Lotus Pose. This, of course, is one of the more advanced poses, not naturally comfortable for most beginners. For most of us, the most commonly used posture for sitting on the floor is called “sukhasana” or the Easy Pose. In this pose you simply sit on the mat with your legs crossed in front and the heels positioned under the opposite thigh.

You may like to visit this page on my blog where I have discussed some of the commonly used sitting postures recommended for meditation.

Now, for some of you with tight hips, thighs and knees, even the sukhasana may seem challenging. Or, you may have some back or hip pain that prevents you from sitting on the floor. In that case there are several sitting options available. You can start by sitting on a cushion or a bolster to lift your buttocks higher than the knees so as to help relax your knees as well as the spine. If that doesn’t work either, you can sit in a chair or a stool etc.

The main guideline for any sitting posture is that your spine should be erect, vertical and elongated, with the head, neck and the trunk in alignment. Of course, you want to make sure that there is no strain felt while maintaining this pose.

Potential obstacles to establishing a practice

One of the main obstacles that you might face is lack of commitment. This leads to laziness and procrastination. For example, you may decide the previous evening that you would wake up early in the morning for meditation. You set the alarm appropriately. However, when the alarm goes off, you allow the ego to take over which prompts you to hit the snooze button and eventually stay in bed long enough that you have no more time for meditation. The only way to avoid this situation is to have a firmer commitment. As soon as the alarm goes off, instead of letting any other thoughts come to the mind, just jump off the bed right away. As they say, “just do it!”. Once you do it a few times regularly, it will become more natural and easier to wake up every morning.

Distractions during meditation

Nagging thoughts

As I mentioned in the previous article, when you sit for meditation and start reciting your mantra, other thoughts will immediately creep into the mind. This is just the nature of the mind. You need to become aware of the thought and gently bring the mind back to your mantra. However, there will be moments when you have a nagging thought that refuses to leave the mind. For example, let’s say you had to write a very important email the previous day but you forgot to do it. When you sit for meditation the thought of that email is going to completely block your mind. In such a situation, I recommend keeping a Digital Voice Recorder (DVR) or a writing pad next to you. Either record that thought on the DVR or write it down. That way you will be able to get rid of the thought from the mind as you know that you will be able to get back to it after the mediation.

Physical discomfort

Even though you may have found the most comfortable sitting posture, as described earlier, it is quite likely that in the early days of your meditation when the body is still not accustomed to it, you may develop physical pain in some part of the body. If the pain is mild, you may just observe the pain, keep it in your awareness for some time until the pain dissipates away. However, if the pain is strong, it will become a big distraction to your meditation. In such a situation it is best to stretch the legs out, shake them out and then try again. You may even need to stand up, take a few steps and then resume the sitting posture.

Sleepiness or dullness

In the early stages of meditation, sleepiness and dullness of the mind can cause a major distraction to your meditation. When you chant the same mantra over and over again, rather than going into deeper states of consciousness, your mind may become very dull and sleepy and you may even doze off. In such a situation, I recommend going through a sequence of body and breath awareness. For body awareness, you may stretch the legs out, make them tight and at the same time make a tight fist with the hands. Then you can go back to your sitting posture. For breath awareness, take a couple of very deep breaths, filling the lungs to full capacity, and then resume regular pattern of breathing. This routine may help drive dullness away.

Can I use a meditation app?

Yes, indeed, you can use a meditation app on your phone if you find something that you feel comfortable with. Personally I am not familiar with meditation apps so I don’t have any recommendations. You must keep in mind, though, that any external meditation aid can only be used as a form of “dharana” practice, not as your own individual meditation. If you recall, according to Patanjali, there are three stages of meditation – dharana (initial focus), dhyana (personal meditation) and samadhi (final absorption). You use dharana practices to bring your mind to an initial state of focus and concentration. Then you need to transition smoothly to your own mantra meditation (the “dhyana” stage). Meditation, as we know, is a very personal and individual practice and cannot be combined with external aids. So, any external aid like a sequence of guided meditation, music, ocean wave sounds etc. can be used as a “dharana” practice to stabilize the mind. After you attain the initial focus, then transition to your mantra meditation.

Group meditation

Even though meditation is a very personal practice, in the early stages of meditation it may be helpful and motivational to become a part of a meditation Group. In the group, you may have one individual leading the effort or you may use a recorded guided meditation sequence to help with meditation. You can try group meditation once or twice a week and follow it up with personal meditation on a daily basis. In the group session, you may discuss distractions and pitfalls that everyone is experiencing during meditation. The group may come up with recommendations for possible solutions to such distractions.

I am hoping that with the guidelines provided above, you will be able to establish your own regular meditation practice at home. I would love to hear about your own meditation experiences.