When to Meditate
Life is busy, so anytime that works for you, particularly at the same time every day. Early morning meditation known as the amrit vela (2.5 hours before sunrise), is best as it sets your intention for the day and is a serene, reflective time. In the evening either at sunset or just before bed is also a good time.
Where to Meditate
With family and work demands, try to find a place you won’t be disturbed, won't feel exposed, or get distracted. If you an, using the same place daily helps in setting and keeping the routine. Own your space, make it yours, you could fill it with candles, flowers, spiritual images and/or pictures of beautiful places, anything that works for you to uplift, calm, and inspire you. A sheepskin or natural fiber blanket is recommended to sit on during meditation. Yogi Bhajan recommended the sheepskin for meditation, as it creates insulation between the yogi and the magnetic pull of the earth. Additionally a firm cushion or sitting on a chair can aid in keeping your spine straight.
How long to Meditate
Regardless of which meditation you choose to do, maximum benefit is achieved when you commit to meditating for a specific length of time. Commitment and repetition is the key, as 3 minutes a day is more effective than 31 minutes once a week. While regular practice is beneficial, be kind to yourself, if you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up, start again and keep up!
Tuning in to Meditate
Tune-in by chanting Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo three times before beginning the meditation. Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo is known as the Adi Mantra, which opens the highest spiritual channel in your mind. You can also choose to do a yoga kriya (set of Kundalini yoga exercises) or some warm-ups after tuning in.
Meditation Intention
Keep in mind your intention of undertaking a particular meditation. Have a clear picture of the result the meditation will manifest for you. Why did you choose this particular meditation? Focusing clearing on your intention will generate a more power outcome from the meditation. You get what you project, so project the result.
Meditation Length
Yogic science has confirmed there are specific lengths of time needed for certain outcomes in meditation. Therefore, meditations (and exercises in a kriya) are held for a specific period of time.
3 minutes: Affects circulation (blood) and electromagnetic field.
11 minutes: Changes glandular system and nerves.
22 minutes: Balances and coordinates the three mnds.
31 minutes: Affects all the cells and rhythms of the body and all layers of the mind’s projection.
62 minutes: Changes the gray matter of the brain. Integrates the subconscious “shadow mind” and the outer projection.
2 ½ hours: Holds the new pattern in the subconscious mind by the surrounding universal mind.
Meditation Transformation
When you decide to begin a meditation practice, you are giving yourself the gift of commiting to a personal practice and manifesting personal transformation and self-discovery. To master a meditation, practice it as a sadhana (commitment to a daily practice). The daily commitment will develop a life-promoting habit. Habits control us, so when you change your habits, you take control and can change your destiny. The human mind goes through various cycles, and these cycles can be used to replace unwanted patterns of behavior with new, more positive ones.
Choose a meditation that matches your goals or inspires you, then commit to practicing it over 40, 90, 120, or 1,000 days.
40 days: Change a habit.
90 days: Confirm the habit.
120 days: You are the new habit.
1,000 days: Mastery of the new habit