Sitting for twenty minutes, twice daily

Commit to 20 minutes, twice a day — the practice period Keating recommends for transformation to occur.

Why it works

Twenty minutes is a practical threshold: short enough to be sustainable, long enough for the mind to cycle through its surface noise and settle into deeper stillness at least occasionally. Twice daily — morning and evening — creates an orientation that bookends the day in silence rather than treating prayer as one more task to fit in. The twice-daily structure also signals that the practice is a priority, which matters for whether it actually continues.

How to do it

1. Commit to a 20-minute morning sit before the demands of the day accelerate.
2. Add a second 20-minute sit in the late afternoon or evening, before dinner if possible.
3. Set a timer so you do not have to manage the duration; use a gentle alarm sound.
4. If twice daily is not sustainable, once daily is far better than not practicing; start where you are.

Evidence

Dose-response relationships in meditation research suggest that regular practice duration correlates with outcomes, though optimal durations vary by practice and individual. A meta-analysis of home practice in mindfulness programs (Parsons et al., 2017) found a small but significant association between the amount of formal practice people actually did and their outcomes, lending empirical weight to the emphasis on a committed daily container. Keating’s 20-minute recommendation is traditional and practical; it aligns with the general research direction without being derived from it. (mechanistic)

The 20-minute, twice-daily recommendation is Keating’s traditional guidance; optimal duration for Centering Prayer specifically has not been studied in a dose-response design.

Sources

• Parsons, C. E., Crane, C., Parsons, L. J., Fjorback, L. O., & Kuyken, W. (2017). Home practice in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 95, 29–41.

Common mistake

Extending sessions significantly when they feel deep and cutting them short when they feel restless — the timer protects the practice from being shaped by how the sit felt, which is not a reliable indicator.