The best time for you to meditate is the time you will! It’s the time that works best in your schedule. It is the moment that is easiest for you. If you choose a time that is convenient for your lifestyle, you will find the most attractive and most natural experience.
In my opinion, this is the best way to answer the question: “When is the best time to meditate for the greatest benefits?” If that’s enough of an answer for you, there’s really no need to read any further. Although I hope you do.
Sometimes knowing how others have benefited can help you decide when to meditate or what times of day to experiment with meditation. When I work one-on-one with individuals, they often ask me for advice on the best time to meditate. When I know something about their lifestyle and am in tune with them energetically, I can give specific recommendations. However, when I write an article that is going to be read by a variety of people, I need to approach it in a different way. So here are some considerations.
About my own moments of the day
My best time is 4:00 am. When I naturally wake up at that time, I meditate. It is a happy, quiet, peaceful time, even the birds are still. I love that moment because my mind is not filled with thoughts of the day running through my head. Since I just woke up, I am in a state of non-resistance and peace. I usually meditate for 15 to 30 minutes, sometimes longer. Then I decide if I’m up for the day or if I want to go back to sleep. If I haven’t meditated at 4:00 am, I will often meditate before the day’s activities.
It is important for me not to have a rigid schedule. My body and my intuition tell me when it is time to meditate. If I feel like I’m “forcing” myself to meditate, I stop. Instead, I go for a walk or just do something different from what I’ve been doing to release any resistance or clear my mind. Since I am already a regular meditator, it makes sense to say that I only meditate when I want to. However, when I was starting out, I discovered that it was important to make the decision to meditate at certain times and sit down to do it whether I wanted to or not.
In the evening around 5:00 is another time of the day that I often meditate. In most of our culture, that’s the end of the “work day.” However, as an entrepreneur, I rarely stop working at that point, but I do like to take a break. When the break is meditation, I go from my office to the living room of my house and sit in one of the two chairs that I bought specifically for meditation.
The elapsed time of this meditation is quite variable. My purpose is to experience the feeling of connection to the Divine, which I can best describe as “detachment with heightened awareness.” It is a particular sensation, which is understood by the person who feels it, but is really ineffable. I usually reach that state quickly, unless I’m agitated and need to release the agitation first. I stay with the feeling until it ends spontaneously. That can be a few seconds or a few minutes. Even if I’m only in that consciousness for a few seconds, they replenish me for hours.
Additionally, I guide my clients through a guided meditation process over the phone, often multiple times a day. This puts me in the same consciousness as meditating myself, so I consider this to be part of my meditative practice. I also keep my regular clients conscious three times a day, which is another aspect of my meditative practice.
Examples of the best times of others
In working with others to establish their meditative practice, I have become extremely open-minded about the various practices and approaches to meditation, including the time of day. I encourage people to experiment to find their own ways. Beginners should start at the easiest time, which can be in a car parked in the driveway or in a mall because that’s the only time alone. Immediately after the post exercise cool down is a time when the body is very receptive to deep rest or meditation for some. Before or instead of a meal to allow the body to nourish itself before or instead of a meal can benefit many.
Not all meditation requires sitting in a chair. So jogging is meditation for some; swim for others; gardening for others. Find an activity that helps you tune in to your Divine aspect, and when the time is right for that activity, it will be the time to meditate for you.
3:00 in the afternoon is usually a time of day when people need a break; In the workplace, it’s often a fast-paced time when people need to shake, laugh, or scream. Right after that may be an optimal time for some to sit quietly for a few minutes.
now back to you
You may find that you have a better time of day when you are learning to meditate than a different best time of day when you are an experienced meditator. When you’re just learning to meditate, it helps to have optimal conditions: a quiet place with no interruptions. After you have experienced some benefits of meditation, you will not need to create the ideal situation because you will be engaged on a different level. Many people meditate on airplanes and trains or other noisy places.
Your personal energy will ebb and flow throughout the day, so you’ll want to take advantage of that. You may find it most beneficial to meditate when your personal energy is naturally low.
I know for sure that any time of the day can work, with the exception of after meals, since meditation slows down the body, including the digestive system. There is no magic time by the clock. There are options.
What is the best time of day for you to benefit from the greatest benefits?
