Meditation in Minutes: Does One Minute of Meditation Make a Difference?

Last week I did my own meditation challenge. For me, I know I want to be meditating, but there’s always something else to be doing. Taking twenty to thirty minutes once or twice a day seems like such a small commitment, yet in practice it feels overwhelming. Not having time is my big excuse.

So to counteract that, I went for tiny bursts of meditation. Seriously tiny!

Monday I meditated for one minute. This was definitely too short a time. I had just gotten myself seated and settled in when the timer went off!

Tuesday I meditated for two minutes. I nearly forgot it and was so tempted to let it all slide. It was really only the accountability of telling you all about it that got me to do it. Sad really that I need that much pressure to get to two minutes of meditating. My plan had been to connect it to one of my other daily habits, but I ended up not doing that. I did it when I remembered it and is usually involved slipping into an empty office at my work.

Wednesday I meditated for three minutes. This was a nice amount of time. I was able to get to a place of calm but didn’t get too antsy. It was, as always, challenging to refocus when my mind thought this peaceful moment was the perfect time to bring up my to-do list and plan all the things I should get done that day.

Thursday I meditated for four minutes. Four minutes was a bit much for me. I definitely got quite antsy and fidgety. I think this is something I need to push through. I’m not going to learn focus if I cave at the first sign of trouble!

Friday I meditated for five minutes. It went a little better than Thursday. At least with a little more time, when my mind starts churning out thoughts, I have more chance to catch it and go back to the mantra.

This week I did the transcendental meditation that I was initiated into when I was 13. I’d like to try some of the other meditations that I posted about, though.

My plan was to continue on with the five minutes a day and then if I was able to keep meditating after the timer went off, great. If not I wouldn’t feel guilty about it. But I’m not sure I’m going to manage five minutes a day without the same old excuses. I think for now I’ll keep going with three minutes a day and try to do more each time if I can. But I’ll tell my mind that we’re only sitting still for three minutes and if I want to stop after that, I will.

It’s a start and some meditation is better  than none!