Excellent advice.

Invaluable, thanks.

I’ve done 4 10day Goenka silent retreats. I don’t know what “enlightenment” means, but it seems like I’m traveling lighter. Have you ever got the chance to do one or more of these retreats, make every effort to do it, to push through any excuses or distractions or inconveniences that might be required in your lifestyle to take this 10 days. you will never be the same. And that’s a good thing.😊

This is very poor, you are there to meditate and you focus your time watching people, also you are not qualified to give advice about preparations for vipassanna as taught in this school, this teaching is coming from the Buddha, please do not dilute or misinform people if you respect the teaching,

Thanks I will begin prepping and trying your tips for the easy position. I was doing the schoolyard one here at home and it’s murder after about 20 min 😂; I’ll try the seiza bench at my sangha which I typically haven’t used for more than 30 min. I was beginning to be intimidated as the date draws closer as I’m old and have all sorts of knee and hip issues. I’m determined not to use a chair !

"Buddha’s way was Vipassana - vipassana means witnessing. And he found one of the greatest devices ever: the device of watching your breath, just watching your breath. Breathing is such a simple and natural phenomenon and it is there twenty-four hours a day. You need not make any effort. If you repeat a mantra then you will have to make an effort, you will have to force yourself. If you say, “Ram, Ram, Ram,” you will have to continuously strain yourself. And you are bound to forget many times. Moreover, the word ‘Ram’ is again something of the mind, and anything of the mind can never lead you beyond the mind .Buddha discovered a totally different angle: just watch your breath - the breath coming in, the breath going out. There are four points to be watched. Sitting silently just start seeing the breath, feeling the breath. The breath going in is the first point. Then for a moment when the breath is in it stops - a very small moment it is - for a split second it stops; that is the second point to watch. Then the breath turns and goes out; this is the third point to watch. Then again when the breath is completely out, for a split second it stops; that is the fourth point to watch. Then the breath starts coming in again… this is the circle of breath. If you can watch all these four points you will be surprised, amazed at the miracle of such a simple process - because mind is not involved. Watching is not a quality of the mind; watching is the quality of the soul, of consciousness; watching is not a mental process at all. When you watch, the mind stops, ceases to be. Yes, in the beginning many times you will forget and the mind will come in and start playing its old games. But whenever you remember that you had forgotten, there is no need to feel repentant, guilty - just go back to watching, again and again go back to watching your breath. Slowly, slowly, less and less mind interferes. And when you can watch your breath for forty-eight minutes as a continuum, you will become enlightened. You will be surprised - just forty-eight minutes - because you will think that it is not very difficult… just forty-eight minutes! It is very difficult. Forty-eight seconds and you will have fallen victim to the mind many times. Try it with a watch in front of you; in the beginning you cannot be watchful for sixty seconds. In just sixty seconds, that is one minute, you will fall asleep many times, you will forget all about watching - the watch and the watching will both be forgotten. Some idea will take you far, far away; then suddenly you will realize… you will look at the watch and ten seconds have passed. For ten seconds you were not watching. But slowly, slowly - it is a knack; it is not a practice, it is a knack - slowly, slowly you imbibe it, because those few moments when you are watchful are of such exquisite beauty, of such tremendous joy, of such incredible ecstasy, that once you have tasted those few moments you would like to come back again and again - not for any other motive, just for the sheer joy of being there, present to the breath. Remember, it is not the same process as is done in yoga. In yoga the process is called pranayam; it is a totally different process, in fact just the opposite of what Buddha calls vipassana. In pranayam you take deep breaths, you fill your chest with more and more air, more and more oxygen; then you empty your chest as totally as possible of all carbon dioxide. It is a physical exercise - good for the body but it has nothing to do with vipassana. In vipassana you are not to change the rhythm of your natural breath, you are not to take long, deep breaths, you are not to exhale in any way differently than you ordinarily do. Let it be absolutely normal and natural. Your whole consciousness has to be on one point; watching. And if you can watch your breath then you can start watching other things too. Walking you can watch that you are walking, eating you can watch that you are eating, and ultimately, finally, you can watch that you are sleeping. The day you can watch that you are sleeping you are transported into another world. The body goes on sleeping and inside a light goes on burning brightly. Your watchfulness remains undisturbed, then twenty-four hours a day there is an undercurrent of watching. You go on doing things… for the outside world nothing has changed, but for you everything has changed."

I am set to sit my first 10-day vipasanna meditation here in Assam, india this November and this video is extremely helpful. Thank you sir!

At a couple of moments watching him drawing and analysing, I thought he was about to bist out some equations 😅 Very helpful advice - have a battle tested position before you go to war!

Thanks for that! As someone with a dodgy knee you zeroed straight to my biggest fear around doing the retreat

Thanks Michael - going for my first retreat in December, and this was super helpful!

Muito bom sua explicação, ajuda muito o banquinho. Não é em vao sua explicação não, obrigado por ela.

Have a blessed day!

Don't self medicate, self meditate.

Why split the genders?

Hey are we allowed to change positions during the 1 hour meditation?

I just saw ur video. I did vipassana back in 2013... I'm going back on 23rd june. This time I'm more disoriented and need to put more efforts. I'm on sleeping pills. I had words with them about this and they said u can take it while being there but earlier as well I discontinued taking pills from the 4th day...because I used to find dizziness in the morning session...any more tips u can provide. I will be thankful...from ur video I got 1 thing remembered and that is called posture...for that, shall I work out for remaining 10 days...like normal stretching and back workouts...doing some yoga related to spinal cord( it plays the vital role)...??

Perfect! Thank you!

I would have to use a chair since I have bad knees are you allowed to rest your back on the chair or not?

Important Also to mention half Lotus as option to sit, half Lotus means only one of the feet is On top of the the other leg and other food touching the Ground

Hello Mike, your video has blown away many cobwebs, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. I didn't know there were breaks at the 60-minute mark! That made me very happy! Also, the sitting is a worry but your discussion and diagrams are very helpful. My first Vipassana course is in July. All the best to you.

I would probably go crazy because I just came back from schizophrenia after forcing myself to be back to the matrix. I went too deep into my mind that I saw reality as fluid and there was no anchor like I was just in a dream and it feels like I died. Maybe it only works for ordinary people and not for people who are by nature self-reflective. If you truly went deep, it wouldn’t be a “nice experience”.

How did you put the grommets into the carpet?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

If you are in the US using public supply then you need a filter for all the chemicals they put into your water.

Thanks for sharing ur experience. It was a Refresher for me. I hv bn doing Vipassana since 1993. I hv a tilted spine resulting in a 1inch shortening in my right foot. Every posture was difficult in the initial courses but I hd wonderful teachers. They were compassionate n encouraging. Gradually the sitting became more n more comfortable. I went on to do many 10-Days, Satipatthanas, 20-Days, 30-Days, 10-Day Specials.. Here I am.. No more physiotherapy n pain killers. A more sorted out human being, trying ti improve everyday..

Should’ve I build my own bench?

A good posture dramatically reduces your suffering during the course. I would add that the height of the bench or pillows is very important for yet another reason as well - it determines where you lean your body. If the height is too low, you will lean back, and have hard time keeping your back straight. If it is too high, you'll start leaning forward, which is not good as well. So at some optimal height, you will feel that you are not falling back or forward anymore, and it helps a lot. Another important thing is when you use pillows, put also smaller pillows below your knees to support your legs' weight. It is tricky to find your optimal support level, if it is too low or too high, then there is no support, and your bottom will feel the pressure. However, with optimal height and pillow placement (for me it was not directly under the knees), you will alleviate all your legs weight.

I'm 6yrs late but this is sooo helpful! Thank you. About to sit my first 10day Vipassana in April.

Enlightening video. Did u bring your own bench?

Hahaha I laughed too hard at the accuracy of his thoughts. Very technical and helpful actually

This is brilliant. I'm disappointed at myself for not thinking of it, lol. I have a bosch fridge and an official bypass filter is $90 CAN (3X the price of a filter!!). Found a site thay sold just a simple cap plug for $20 but they don't ship to Canada. So thank you for the video. Definitely going to be doing this as I have plenty of these quick connect pieces lying around.

"And here you have the old women, which doesn't sound so great...." Wonderful. Really shows perspective after all this meditation.

Thanks. An excellent and informative presentation. I would only add, from experience, that the full lotus asana is by far the most stable position, much more comfortable than a chair, hence favored by serious meditators. It takes training and patience, but is a worthwhile achievement that will last decades. Starting from scratch, go easy, alternating one leg at a time for short periods of duration. Do not be in a hurry.

Thanks. An excellent and informative presentation. I would only add, from experience, that the full lotus asana is by far the most stable position, more comfortable than a chair, hence favored by serious meditators. It takes training and patience, but is a worthwhile achievement that will last decades. Starting from scratch, go easy, alternating one leg at a time for short periods of duration. Do not be in a hurry.

Sounds like your on a good path now! This retreat is called a boot camp of meditation it’s not always been beneficial for people. They are researching the negative effects that can happen at Brown University. Cheetah house. Many come back with difficulty. Sounds like your on a good path now! You might not need this retreat. I was sorta talked into my first retreat and looking back I don’t recommend it to people. Don’t discount your own hard work to get where you are now. That’s awesome!! Good luck!

Thank you so much for making this informational video!

This info may be helpful to some. However, it is better not to have too much expectation about the sitting 'comfort' or any such concerns because it is the central teaching of Budhha not to have an 'aversion' to uncomfortable feelings and not get attached to the comfortable experiences. It is human nature to think if you had 'that cushion,' or this particular 'sitting chair,' that 'bench,' and so on; it's a never-ending concern and comparison. Getting used to and endure whatever situation is more sustainable. The unnecessary anxiety will be over once the attitude is of surrendering and going inside using the 'breath-watching' & 'body-scanning /mindfulness' techniques. But it's a different story if you have a medical condition. Then, one has to discuss it with the teacher and decide accordingly. Damaging the body is not the middle path of the Buddha's teaching.

Half Lotus is the best position!

Very helpful!

Thank you very much for your tip ! I’m working on it !

I don’t understand about the sitting. For the 4 hr period, you sit straight for 4 hrs? No movement? No one gets up? No walking meditation?

This is useless...the main purpose of the process is to condition mind for pains and gross n suttle sensations

Shut off the tv/ internet. Go inside, and sit quietly with yourself. There, you will find the answers.

This was so helpful because this was my main fear, that i would be expected to sit in a specific posture despite losing blood flow to my legs and feet. I’m glad to know I can find a posture that I can maintain and these suggestions are super helpful. Thank you!

Thank you Mike! I appreciated this alot plus maybe you founded a news discipline: "structural meditation engeneering" :D

Thank you Sir for your kind sharing.

I did mine in Montebello Québec Canada, men and women where separated in every aspect

What kills me about this is if you were watching everyone around you. You weren't doing it. The reality is that barring of course any injuries or disabilities. Any position held for that length of time will produce pain. Pain is part of the process. Not something to be avoided. Im glad I went with zero preparation. They deliberately don't give any instruction on how to sit and I understand why. Its just adding unnecessary complexity and the mind will be distracted by this. It's not important. You don't need to reason around it either. It's a practice. You just need to do it. What you will find eventually is you will start to learn and figure things out. Just by listening to the feedback your body is giving you. This is a much larger problem with our society of wanting to be spoonfed everything. Robbing ourselves of developing the critical ability to figure things out on our own and trust our own ability. I had some of my greatest lessons and breakthroughs opening up and surrendering to this pain. Not trying to avoid it.

Just finished my first course. Around day 6 I found a posture where I had 3 cushions to get some height, and had the soles of my feet together. This avoided extra pressure from my shins on the other ankle. That and ensuring I had my core engaged to keep my lower spine straight really made things easier for me.

Best solution ever 👍🏼