# Formal Practice

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/wBhqVhQeFF4>" %}

**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