How to win a battle with STRESS

There are as many benefits to meditation as there are ways of doing it. From the virtual to the hilarious, the practice of sitting still has become a go-to for relieving stress, improving concentration and even revving up your brain’s compassion center, but there is one tradition that trumps them all.

Vipassana, the art of seeing things as they really are, is a 2000-year-old Buddhist practice that is offered at centers in almost every corner of the globe. Former students have described the 10-day course as both miraculous and not dissimilar from torture.

The latter is due to its strict no-distractions policy — no phones, music, books or even a pencil and notebook are allowed for the duration of the course. Also off the table are talking, gesturing or making eye contact with other students. The only time you will hear the sound of your own voice is during the nightly Q&A with your teacher and maybe while crying yourself to sleep on your first night. Speaking of sleep, prepare to be woken up by the morning bell at 4am to start a day that includes two vegetarian meals and roughly 10 hours of meditation.

The miraculous part comes slowly, as you learn to deal with the discomforts of your busy mind and restless limbs and discover the power to choose which whim or ache you give in to. It is serious work, but like a grueling physical routine, the more of yourself you put into the process, the more you will feel yourself transformed. Many students have found the course life changing, alleviating chronic anxiety and making it possible to connect to the present moment rather than running mental sprints between the past and the future.

The best part is that the Vipassana course (info here), complete with food and lodging, is offered by donation (and you only pay after completing the course), a rare show of generosity in the world of meditation and wellness retreats. By no means is Vipassana a vacation, but a course at one of their centers in Thailand or Bali followed by some exploration of the destination may create more meaningful memories than anything you’d find at a beach resort.

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art of Living. For those who are not familiar with Vipassana Meditation, an Introduction to Vipassana by Mr. Goenka & related videos and Questions & Answers about Vipassana are available.

Courses

The technique of Vipassana Meditation is taught at ten-day residential courses during which participants learn the basics of the method, and practice sufficiently to experience its beneficial results. There are no charges for the courses - not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the opportunity to also benefit.

Locations

Courses are given in numerous Meditation Centers and at Non-Center course locations at rented sites. Each location has its own schedule of courses. In most cases, an application for admission to these courses can be completed online at this website. There are numerous Centers in India and elsewhere in Asia/Pacific; ten Centers in North America; three Centers in Latin America; eight Centers in Europe; seven Centers in Australia/New Zealand; one Center in the Middle East and one Center in Africa. Ten day non-center courses are frequently held at many locations outside of Centers as they are arranged by local students of Vipassana in those areas. An alphabetical list of worldwide course locations is available as well as a graphical interface of course locations worldwide and in India and Nepal.