How Long does Anapana Practice Take? (2)
How much time should I devote to Anapana practice?
How long can you usefully engage in the practice for?
The length of time for which you are able to stay focussed on your practice will slowly increase as you work with more steps. Don't make the mistake of thinking there is some virtue in superhuman efforts and in sitting for long periods of time. You will tire and lose your focus. You may force yourself to keep sitting, but it will do you little good. It may well be counter-productive as you will come to associate your practice with long, unfocussed efforts. My advice in all the exercises is, "when enough is enough, bring your practice to a close". How long you can sit will vary, and you must judge when continuing will no longer be productive or useful. That is one reason why I advise not to set a time for your practice sessions if possible.
So, don't make it a mechanical routine, when you must practise for so many minutes, on so many days. Make it a pleasure. Practise when you can and don't resent the times when you can't. Stop before it becomes counter-productive. Don't set targets. Don't make it a competition, even with yourself. Relax, enjoy your practice, and then you'll benefit far more from it.
As you get started and with Phase 1
At first you could do the two introductory exercises in just a few minutes, five or ten at the most. The more often you repeat your practice is more important than how long you devote to it each time. If you wish, you could repeat those exercises several times in the day, but however much or little time you spend with them during the week will be beneficial.
Once you start working with the Anapana steps themselves you will find it helpful to set aside a designated time or times each day, or several times a week. Again, the more often you repeat the practice is more important than how long you spend on it each time.
The first four steps could be practised for ten to fifteen minutes, but it may depend on how many distracting or wandering thoughts arise in your mind. That can increase the time it takes for you to work through each step. If possible, I suggest you don't set an end-time for each practice session. Start when you're ready, work through the steps you wish, and at the end you might notice how long it has taken today. That approach won't be possible if you really do need to finish your practice before something else you must do. If that's the case, you might set a timer to tell you when your time is up, but if you do, please choose a very gentle sound to mark the end of your practice. A sudden, harsh alarm might undo the good work you've been doing.
When you get to Phase 2
When you get to Step 5 and begin working with the body-scan, you'll find the time you need will expand to more like thirty to sixty minutes, if you have that length of time, and that amount of energy, available. The time you have may vary on different days of the week. If so, do a shorter practice when you must, but a longer one when you can.
As you move on past Step 5 you will need more time for your practice to be relaxed and effective, say up to sixty minutes if possible. At that stage I found I could only practise for that long once a week, so on other days I did a shorter practice using Steps 1 to 4, and perhaps made a start on Step 5 when I could.
When you get to Phase 3
When eventually you get to Step 9 you might need even longer. If your practice does grow to more than an hour on occasions, I suggest you break after the first hour. Stay quiet and relaxed but either get some exercise, or some fresh air, or just have a drink. Then make a fresh start on your practice, recap what you did in the previous hour as quickly as you can, and then move on to whatever comes next.
At that stage I found I could devote two to three hours to the practice on a Sunday. The rest of the week I usually did a shorter practice, trying to get to Step 6 if I could. In time, you may be able to miss out the body-scan exercise. Once you develop Steps 3 and 4, you may be able to arouse the whole-body enhanced sensitivity of Step 5 without all the scanning.
Enjoy your practice
Whatever you do, enjoy your practice. Make it a pleasure, not a chore. Work with it when you can, not when you struggle. You'll make better progress that way, and it will do you more good. An adventure should be enjoyed.