Transcendental meditation is a form of meditation pioneered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that uses a sound mantra. During meditation practice you choose a single constant sound in your environment to continually focus on (also known as the sound mantra).
When it comes to practicing transcendental meditation how do you know how long you should practice for? And how often?
How long should you practice transcendental meditation?
Most types of meditation can be practiced for as long or as little as you prefer. While this is true for transcendental meditation, experts and instructors of TM recommend that you practice this type of meditation for 20 minutes at a time.
Herbert Benson M.D. researched the effects and benefits of transcendental meditation at Harvard University. Benson’s recommendation in his research for the ideal time of a meditation session is 10-20 minutes.
The official transcendental meditation website ca.tm.org gives this recommendation: “Transcendental Meditation is ideally practiced for twenty minutes”.
Meditating for over 20 minutes may become difficult for the average meditator. However, anything under 10 minutes probably won’t be effective.
How often should you do transcendental meditation?
Transcendental meditation can be practiced as often or as little as you desire.
If you desire a specific outcome such as lower stress levels or increased states of consciousness, you should create a habit.
The official TM website recommends practicing transcendental meditation 2 times per day for 20 minutes each session. The first session should be in the morning before daily activities or work. The second session should be in the evening after work is completed for the day.
This schedule of twice daily at the beginning and end of the day is set up for a special reason. Practicing TM before the day begins gets your mind calm and focused for the day ahead. Having a session at the end of the day unwinds your mind from work and allows you to relax for the evening.
How long does it take transcendental meditation to work?
So you want to know when you’ll see the benefits of transcendental meditation. Transcendental meditation expert Dr. Tony Nader says it takes around 4 days of practice to begin seeing noticeable long term benefits.
However, I find that even practicing transcendental meditation one time you’ll find it has a huge impact on your mindset for the day.
With habitual practice of transcendental meditation, you’ll begin to find your mind to be quieter and calmer more regularly.
Keep at it meditators!
Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a meditation teacher, spiritual seeker, and founder of nurtureyourspirit.org. I’m glad you’re here! I founded Nurture Your Spirit because of my love of meditation, spirituality, and spiritual awakening.
