#MeditationMonday: When Should I Meditate?

Happy #MeditationMonday, friends! I am missing everything about India, but it also feels good to be back in NYC. I’m (very slowly) pushing through the jet lag, catching up on sleep, remembering how to exist in this crazy city, and getting back into my normal routine.

Part of getting back into a routine, of course, means re-establishing and committing to the time that I meditate every day. Last week, I talked about the importance of WHERE we meditate. WHEN we meditate is equally as important.

We already have a lot of set habits in our lives that we don’t have to think about — brushing our teeth, taking a shower, catching the train or leaving for work. Those are all habits that have been cemented out of consistency and practice.

Meditation is no different. As Kamlesh D. Patel, the global guide of Heartfulness Meditation, explains in The Heartfulness Way, meditating at a fixed hour creates automatism — the more we meditate at the same time each day, the easier it is for meditation to become a habit, and the quicker meditation will become like second nature.

Of course, our lives are incredibly busy. It can be hard to find a time to really dedicate to mediation. It is important to meditate at a time where you will be the least distracted, and will be able to give full, committed dedication to your meditation. Once you find that time, commit to it, and allow yourself to create a habit around it.

There are also special times during the day where meditation is especially encouraged. The hour before sunrise, noon, and sunset are times that are most conducive to meditation, because it is a period during which one part of the day connects with another, and nature is intended to achieve a state of balance. These times are called sandhyas, which is Sanskrit for ‘conjunctions’. By meditating during one of these times, it is possible to absorb the balance created by nature into our meditation and ourselves.

Over the years, I’ve tried meditating at a variety of times — first thing in the morning, around 11AM (which is generally when I used to wake up on the weekends ha), and mid-day. As I’ve honed in on my practice, I have found that I like to meditate as soon as I wake up, right before sunrise — this centers me in a space of peace and calm first thing in the morning, and allows me to carry that grounded energy with me throughout my day.

However, it is important that you test out for yourself what time works best for you to meditate. Try each timing out and see how you feel after each. You will know instinctively which timing works best for you.

You can find all of this information in The Heartfulness Way, co-authored by Joshua Pollock and Kamlesh D. Patel, who is affectionately referred to as Daaji. Got questions or thoughts? Comment below — I’d love to hear them!

Happy Monday, friends!

With Love.,

Mamata