When you are first starting out in mantra meditation there are little things you can do to make your practice that much easier on yourself. Here are a few pointers on continuity and these tips will again help you to maximize your results in your practice.
Have continuity in your practice. It is good to get into a meditation habit which makes your mantra meditation practice that much easier on yourself to stick to, especially when there are times where you don’t feel so motivated or tired, or whatever maybe the case that stops or hinders you from getting your butt on the meditation cushion.
Firstly it is best to practice each day at the same time and same place and stick to it. A regular time and space makes it much easier for your body, mind and soul to have a rhythm to your practice. So if you can stick to one time and not keep changing it, that will make it a lot easier. Meaning if you start practice at 7.00 stick with that time and not 8.00 one morning, then lunch time the next day and before bed the next day.
It is much better to start of in small increments and build up slowly and have enthusiasm for your practice than jump in and try to do an hour, find it hard, feel discouraged and quit after 6 days! It is also more important to do little and often than 1 hour a week and meditating in fits and spurts.
If you are a beginner, start of slow and build up. Start off with a very small amount of time such as 5 minutes. Each week add another 5 minutes to your total meditation time. So the following week will be 10 minutes and then 15 minutes etc. If you feel you need to pause at say 15 minutes for a month as you adapt then allow yourself time to do that.
Do be easy on yourself and accept that learning something new and forming a new habit may take some time. It also takes a commitment, energy and dedication. You do need to work at it.
So choose your time and decide when to start, then commit yourself to your mantra meditation practice and start!