[rtl49]

I agree that some people recommend the retreats with too little restraint. I'm a fairly young and healthy person, and I still found sitting still while cross-legged for long periods of time very painful. Even on the last day I found it impossible to sit longer than an hour without moving. And this practice is encouraged -- they were called "sittings of strong determination." This is not to mention the difficulty of meditation itself and the ten-day abstention from communication and all intellectual activity.

That said, I can't plead ignorance, just overconfidence. Since the retreat, I have lasted no longer than fifteen minutes at a time. I prefer lying down (I'm not tempted to sleep). It actually feels like I'm a worse meditator now than I was before the retreat, though I've been assured that this is a "sign of progress."

Truthfully, after maybe 140 hours of practice, I have doubts about the purported benefits. The ultimate aim, the end of suffering, seems like an impossible and likely undesirable goal. For now, I use it as needed to clear my mind when I need to focus.

[mbrock]

Yeah, meditation is a magnet for grand claims. I ignore that stuff too, except to the extent that I find Buddhist philosophy interesting.

The vipassana retreats are built on Buddhism (though the founder prefers to reformulate it in more secular terms) so it's not surprising that they're aimed towards some notion of nirvana.

At the very least, simple breathing exercises can be super obviously relaxing and mind-clearing. Lots of people do them for just ten breaths. Five minutes is quite a lot from that perspective, so I really think we shouldn't dismiss that kind of duration.

[KingMob]

Minor note: Goenka uses the term "vipassana" in a way that makes people think they're synonymous, but many other teachers and schools teach vipassana.

[mbrock]

Agreed. I think it's a pretty definitely Buddhist term though, no? Referring to the fundamental insight into the nature of suffering?

[avtar]

There's no shame in using a chair for sitting :) I'm not sure if you attended a ten day Goenka retreat but other teaching styles in the same tradition can be more flexible.

Walking meditation can also help prepare the mind for sitting practice: http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articl...

[rtl49]

>There's no shame in using a chair for sitting

Easier said than believed when there's a sixty-year-old woman within view managing just fine without one ^^.

I actually appreciated the discipline of the retreat, I was just physically unprepared for the sitting (too inflexible). I'm open to other techniques, and when I'm alone I don't force myself into an uncomfortable posture. Thanks for the link.