Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The 10-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat (My Comic Experience)

Think about this. Ten days of silence: no books, no writing, no music, no talking. Ten days of doing nothing but meditation, meditation, and meditation for about TEN hours per day. Isn't that awesome? That's the Vipassana Meditation retreat, a life-changing experience (but it can also be a comic experience. lol).

The Vipassana meditation technique taught by Goenka during the 10-day Vipassana retreat is a simple but powerful technique. In my opinion, comparing this technique to the teachings of Yoga, and the experiences of the Indian yogis, can help us understand its benefits even better, such as the mental purification.

One thing that I love about my experience with the 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course was the opportunity to observe the mind. I had several different experiences. Some were pleasant, others not so pleasant, but the best was a mental clarity that I'd never experienced before.

Although I learned a lot from the Vipassana meditation course I had some internal conflicts during the first days. I came to this retreat not because I wanted to learn a new technique. I simply wanted to have the opportunity to practice meditation 10 hours a day for 10 days. However, I encountered several things that I disagreed with.

The iPhone 4: Best Travel Gadget Ever

I'm not a geek and this is certainly not a technology blog but traveling in India with an iPhone 4 has made such a big difference on my trip. It is really such a cool thing that I feel the need to share it with others. I'm sure any other smartphone would work just fine as a travel gadget, they should all perform more or less the same functions, but I've only used the iPhone 4 and I love it! And honestly, all other smartphones that I've seen looks like cheap copies of the iPhone. I prefer to go for the REAL thing.

Forever young: Swami Yogananda, the 103 years old yogi in Rishikesh

103 years old yogi: Swami Yogananda

One day my friends at the Parmarth Niketan ashram told me "Hey, we met an amazing 103 years old yogi called Swami Yogananda and he is going to give us a class tomorrow at 6am, do you wanna join?". "Yeah, absolutely!" I replied. Imagine that, a yoga class with this 103 years old yogi in front of the Holy Ganga River in Rishikesh! Amazing, and for sure, if somebody knows the secret to health and longevity it is him.

Surinder Singh Yoga Teacher in Rishikesh

I gotta be honest, I have a big ego problem. Every time that I go to a yoga class I'm always judging the teacher and his/her class. I find myself with my cup completely full (full of preconceived ideas and judgments). I try to empty it but it is quite hard for me. Luckily from time to time, I meet a good teacher with whom I can naturally become very humble and just break my cup. This was my experience with Surinder Singh. From my point of view a really good Hatha Yoga teacher in Rishikesh.

I came back to Rishikesh looking for an intensive yoga course but unfortunately, July is not the best month to visit India. Most yoga schools close their doors during the monsoon season. What could I do then?

After over 20 days of solitude in Kukuchina, I felt I wanted to come back to Rishikesh, to "civilization" again. I didn't want to spend any time looking for a good place where to stay, but as usual, I wanted to find something comfortable and clean.

I found my answer in "Whereiscallie's" blog, the Parmarth Niketan Ashram. This is one of the main ashrams in Rishikesh, famous for its Ganga Arati

What is Yoga? “Samatvam is the yoga that Lord Krishna talks about at length in the Bhagavad Gita. He defines yoga as: Samatvam Yoga Uchyate (2:48): Samatvam is Yoga; equanimity is yoga... He [Lord Krishna] explains that samatvam is being able to maintain one's balance of mind in success and failure, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, and that is the aptitude of a perfect master who remains equipoised in all circumstances. That is samatvam, the yoga of equanimity ” Swami Sivananda.