Does it matter when you practice Transcendental Meditation?
While the value of Transcendental Meditation isn’t dependent on a time or place, a proper meditation routine can help you get the most from your practice.
Transcendental Meditation is ideally practiced for twenty minutes, twice a day — to start your day in the morning and in the late afternoon or early evening.
Let’s examine why practicing TM twice a day is the optimal routine for integrating the benefits into your daily life.
Starting your day with morning TM practice
The best time to do your first meditation of the day is in the morning upon arising, ideally before breakfast and other morning activities.
Like an athlete stretching to prepare their body before a run, your morning TM practice organizes you mind for the day ahead.
Transcendental Meditation practice gives you greater energy and resilience to stress, making it easier to maintain a positive mindset, think clearly, and keep stress levels down throughout the day.
What’s more, your morning TM practice can help reduce grogginess and morning fatigue.
Studies of brain wave activity offer insights into the why that is. When we sleep, delta brain waves, which have a slower frequency, become more prevalent. When we wake up, the delta brain waves remain active for a time, creating that feeling of grogginess. Your morning meditation allows the slower brain waves of sleep to transition to the faster and more wakeful alpha-1 brain waves activated during Transcendental Meditation.
In other words, Transcendental Meditation provides an ideal bridge between a night’s sleep and the day’s activity. This is especially important in a world where so many of us rely on alarm clocks which can jar us awake amid deep sleep.
Resetting your mind and body after work
Your second TM practice of the day is ideally done in the late afternoon or early evening.
For many, it serves as a segue from work to your personal life and gives you a clear boundary between the two.
Your second TM practice helps relieve the stress and tension that can build up during the day while also energizing you, so that you can make the most of your evening.
And by ridding your body of the stresses that can accumulate throughout the day, your TM practice helps you sleep better at night and wake up feeling more rested in the morning.
How to fit TM into your schedule
Like any habit, creating a consistent TM routine takes commitment and self-discipline. But a couple of things about TM makes creating that routine easier than most.
First, practicing the TM technique is easy and enjoyable. In stark contrast to many healthy habits — working out regularly, eating healthy, and many other meditation practices — Transcendental Meditation doesn’t involve any concentration or strain: It’s completely effortless. And it’s deeply satisfying.
Second, you can do it almost anywhere. Once you complete the TM course, all it requires is a place to sit comfortably. Your home, an office desk, the subway, or a car (as long as you’re not driving) are all perfectly suitable places to meditate. It doesn’t even need to be quiet.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll notice a difference when you do your TM.
All that being said, a demanding work schedule, family commitments, and other personal obligations can make finding 20 minutes twice a day can be a challenge.
But there’s a reason some of the world’s most successful and busiest people have made getting their TM practice in a priority: it’s worth the time.