Too busy to meditate?

Some of my students complain that while they love meditation, they can’t seem to find time for it in their busy schedule. When is the best time to meditate? How long should I meditate?

My answers are – try different times for meditation and find that suit you the best. I prefer early morning meditation sessions but I have used late night sessions (just prior to going to bed). On weekends, I prefer afternoons. Try different time slots and see what works best for you. I aim for 15 minutes of meditation. I also use 5 or 10 min music pieces for shorter sessions (Check this link  http://meditation-magic.com/the-balloon-meditation/ for free 5 min meditation that you can download to your phone or computer).

I spent two years of my high school in the coastal Indian town of Visakhapatnam. My sister (Dr Suguna / Editor of this blog) was a college professor of a women’s college (gender only college are not uncommon in India). I feel privileged that faculty members from this college continue to enrich my life. One of them, Dr. Vijayalakshmi (Retired Professor of Languages – Hindi) shared this note with us.

It is when our lives are full and busy that we need our daily meditation to help center us for the day. Ironically, when we get busy, the first thing that tends to get cut back is our meditation practice. We have less time and a lot on our plates, so it makes sense that this happens, but in the end it doesn’t really help us.

Most of us know from experience that we perform much better when we give ourselves time each day to sit in silence. And the more we have to do, the more we need that solitary, quiet time for the day ahead. As a result, while it may sound counter intuitive, it is during busy times that we most need to spend more time in meditation rather than less.

Expanding our morning meditation by just 10 minutes can make a big difference, as can the addition of short meditations into our daily schedule. Unless we are in the midst of a crisis we always have five or 10 minutes to spare. The key is, that spending that time in meditation, is the most fruitful choice. We could be getting our dishes done or heading into work earlier instead, so it’s important that we come to value the importance of meditation in the context of all the other things competing for attention in our lives.

We can create more time in the morning, either by getting up earlier or to prepare breakfast the night before and use the extra time for meditation. We can also add short meditation breaks into our schedule, from five minutes before or after lunch to a meditation session at night before we go to sleep. When we come from a place of centered calm, we are more effective in handling our busy schedules and more able to keep it all in perspective. If more time in meditation means less time feeling anxious, panicky, and overwhelmed, then it’s certainly worth the extra time.

"Everything good will happen in its own good time if you let it, and don't worry yourself in the meanwhile."
~ Lao Tse

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