How long should a beginner sit?
Shorter than you think, and more often than you think. Twenty to twenty-five minutes is plenty; an hour is a way to guarantee you never do it twice. What matters far more than duration is that the session ends before you want it to, because that's what makes you willing to come back.
Consistency beats length by a wide margin. Five sessions of 25 minutes will do more for you than one session of two hours, and the difference isn't close.
Where to sit, and how
A chair is completely fine. So is a sofa, the edge of a bed, or the floor if you like the floor. Cross-legged is a cultural convention, not a requirement, and forcing it when your hips object simply gives you something painful to concentrate on.
Sit so that your back can be upright without effort and your shoulders can drop. Hands wherever they're comfortable — lap, knees, it genuinely does not matter. Eyes closed is easiest for most beginners; if closing them feels uneasy, let your gaze rest unfocused on the floor a metre or so ahead.
What you actually do
In a guided session, you listen and follow. That's the whole instruction, and it's why guided sessions are the easiest entry point — the structure is provided, so you're not simultaneously learning the technique and administering it to yourself.
You'll usually be given something to rest attention on: the breath, a sensation, a phrase. Attention will leave. You'll notice, and bring it back. If that happens constantly, you're doing it right — see why you can't stop thinking.
The worries almost everyone has
Falling asleep is common and not a failure; it usually means you're tired, which is worth knowing. Feeling restless or slightly bored is also common, particularly in the first ten minutes. Crying, occasionally, for no obvious reason — also normal, and nothing to manage.
Feeling nothing at all is the most common first-session outcome of the lot. Meditation is not a bath bomb; the effects are cumulative and mostly show up in how you respond to things later in the day, not as fireworks during the sitting.
Starting with other people
One practical advantage of a live group session over an app: you show up. A recording waits patiently forever and gets opened roughly never. A session at a set time, with a person on the other end, gets attended.
Ours run every weekday at 6:00pm Singapore time, they're free, and no one will ask you to do anything you haven't done before.