For a complete beginner, 10–15 minutes is enough to start with while becoming accustomed to the practice.

A full period of sitting in a Zen temple is traditionally timed to approximately the length of a burning incense stick—about 30 minutes—so we generally time our meditation in periods of 30 minutes.

Over time, we can learn to sit for two or three periods, with a short break between them to relax the posture and gently stretch the muscles.