# Formal Practice {% embed url="" %} **By:** [**Vince Horn**](http://www.vincehorn.space) **Formal meditation practice** is a lot like going to the gym and doing an exercise routine. It’s structured, intentional, and focused. **The aim of formal practice is to strengthen our mental capacities in a concentrated way**. Which capacities we strengthen largely depends on which style of practice we’re doing, but in all cases formal practice is about honing our meditative abilities in a structured environment. Now, a dedicated practitioner may average something like 30 minutes, or an hour, or even more, each day, of formal practice. But that still leaves 20-plus hours of the day & night unaccounted for. And this is where the next type of practice comes in: Life Practice --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://guide.buddhistgeeks.org/espanol-1/wisdom/modes/formal-practice.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.