Browse
Top articles
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
00:00
00:00
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Hi, and welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session we're going to talk about how long you should meditate. Now a common question I get from people is how long should I meditate? Is it one minute, five minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour? And a lot of people assume that, you know, the more, the better. But that's not necessarily the case because there's another variable that needs to be taken into consideration. And this is the quality of awareness within our meditation practice.
You could sit and meditate for a full hour, but if your mind is all over the place and you're not bringing any awareness to the experience, well, you might be better off with three minutes of really conscious attention and focus and attunement to your moment to moment experience. Now, this is not to dismiss the role of longer periods of time, where we do nothing and we let the mind wander. There can actually be something very settling to the nervous system to just be still and to let the mind go off and not actually have to try to be aware. So there is some value to that. But when it comes to meditation itself and developing a certain quality of presence and focus and attunement, that is more about quality than it is quantity.
And so how do you take this into how you're engaging with the Mindfulness.com app? Cause we do have different lengths of time. We have five minutes. We have 10 minutes. We have 20 minutes. We have 30 minutes.
Well, I would assess which one do you feel interested in? Which ones have you been practicing? But then ask yourself, what is your quality of awareness during those sessions? Are you trying the 20 and 30 minute sessions, but you notice that your mind sort of spends a lot of time elsewhere? You might try doing the five minute session, but really giving it your full focus, your full attention, your full presence. If you've been doing the five minute session and you feel like you're really there for the full duration of that moment by moment by moment, see if you could take that same quality of presence and focus and attunement and then stretch it to the 10 minute meditation or even the 20 or the 30. So the big takeaway here is that longer is not necessarily better. Start with the time that you feel like you could bring a high quality of presence into and then expand from there. Thank you for your practice and let's settle in for today's meditation.
Short Bouts of Presence
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, and welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session we're going to talk about how long you should meditate. Now a common question I get from people is how long should I meditate? Is it one minute, five minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour? And a lot of people assume that, you know, the more, the better. But that's not necessarily the case because there's another variable that needs to be taken into consideration. And this is the quality of awareness within our meditation practice.
You could sit and meditate for a full hour, but if your mind is all over the place and you're not bringing any awareness to the experience, well, you might be better off with three minutes of really conscious attention and focus and attunement to your moment to moment experience. Now, this is not to dismiss the role of longer periods of time, where we do nothing and we let the mind wander. There can actually be something very settling to the nervous system to just be still and to let the mind go off and not actually have to try to be aware. So there is some value to that. But when it comes to meditation itself and developing a certain quality of presence and focus and attunement, that is more about quality than it is quantity.
And so how do you take this into how you're engaging with the Mindfulness.com app? Cause we do have different lengths of time. We have five minutes. We have 10 minutes. We have 20 minutes. We have 30 minutes.
Well, I would assess which one do you feel interested in? Which ones have you been practicing? But then ask yourself, what is your quality of awareness during those sessions? Are you trying the 20 and 30 minute sessions, but you notice that your mind sort of spends a lot of time elsewhere? You might try doing the five minute session, but really giving it your full focus, your full attention, your full presence. If you've been doing the five minute session and you feel like you're really there for the full duration of that moment by moment by moment, see if you could take that same quality of presence and focus and attunement and then stretch it to the 10 minute meditation or even the 20 or the 30. So the big takeaway here is that longer is not necessarily better. Start with the time that you feel like you could bring a high quality of presence into and then expand from there. Thank you for your practice and let's settle in for today's meditation.
Duration
Play in-app
Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on our mobile app
Get Unlimited Access
A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.
Email Missing
We couldn’t detect your email with the SSO provider you have selected.We are here to make a positive impact on the world. We never want to sell you something that hasn’t helped you live a better life. That’s why if you’re unhappy with any purchase from us, you have 30 days to get a full refund and your money back.
If you subscribed to Mindfulness Plus+ and are unhappy with your purchase, please get in contact with us within the 30-day period and we’ll refund your purchase.
Learn more about our Mindfulness Guarantee.
Mindfulness
We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.
Private Browsing
Congratulations on taking the first step towards a more mindful life! As a token of our appreciation, we want to offer you an exclusive opportunity to upgrade to Mindfulness Plus+ for a price you won't find anywhere else.
Mindfulness Plus+ is our premium membership that includes everything you need to learn mindfulness and keep practicing throughout all stages of life.
Take this exclusive offer to further your mindfulness skills and experience deeper levels of well-being.
Annual membership
$0
Just a small sample of the life-changing 5-star reviews we get on a daily basis.
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
Vidyamala’s tips on catching anger as it’s happening or about to happen are great - clear, practical, and doable.
- Vicoir
The little talks before the meditations are priceless. It's like I've found my peeps. The topics, the quotes, the goals—it all makes so much sense to me, things I want to be thinking and learning about. Most importantly, the meditations are kindness-centered, which I love. It feels like a new way to approach meditation.
- Lauren
Incredible, easy to navigate app. I would highly recommend this app to anyone who wishes to reduce stress and anxiety or simply as an aid to improve overall mental health.
- Kirtus
I love how the app gives me pointers to new things to explore.
- Lydia
So calm and soothing. I love the new bundle with Kelly Boys, she’s brilliant!
- EJ
Better than Headspace. I've had the paid version of both apps, and I must say I enjoy this one better.
- Gina, Plus+ Member
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
I am very new to meditation, and am so happy that my first introduction to it has been through this app
The first session was fantastic. I feel safe. And supported. Almost like having someone helping me through my difficult time. I’m very grateful for this app.
- Babi
You get a lot of useful tips for handling stress and anxiety in 'real life'.
- Joy
Highly recommend.
- Humanfrst
Kelly Boys is hands down the best. Everytime I click on one of her guided meditations I get excited for the calmness that lies ahead.
-
Thank you for joining us
Dive into the full library and enjoy all it has to offer!
Claim your free access
Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.
7-Days free trial, cancel anytime.
Complete a few quick questions to make your own personalized mindfulness plan.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Sign up or login to your mindfulness account to proceed.
Mindfulness
One membership to gain access to a world of premium mindfulness content created to help you live happier and stress less.