VIPASSANA with Yogilab

WELCOME
Welcome to the YogiLab Vipassana Meditation Retreat!  You are about to practice a technique that has worked
for millions (and millions!) of meditators around the world for nearly 2,600 years.

At its core, Vipassana Meditation is simply a way of teaching people how to use their minds.  The instructions
for how to do this are deceptively simple, just as the instructions for walking or breathing would be extremely
simple if we were to give them.  But, as with both of those other fundamental skills, it is the practice and not
the theory that produces the results.  

After a short period of training, most people begin to intuitively feel that what we’re training is a natural human
function that we have let become dormant within us.  Once we grasp what the practice is, the propensity for it
begins to awaken.    This is why Vipassana has been so prolific both in the ancient and the modern world,
spawning large waves of traditions such as Zen, Chan, Tibetan Buddhism, and the Modern Mindfulness
Movement.

Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), taught this technique freely and openly to anyone who was interested to
learn.    The late S.N. Goenka (R.I.P.) popularised the spread of Vipassana in the modern world, making it
available globally.    His 10-day courses, run primarily by volunteers, are largely responsible for introducing
Vipassana as a concept and making the practice available to the mainstream.

YogiLab would like to continue this process of updating the technique and making it contemporary, relevant,
and available to all for free.  This is the urge that drove us to bring the practice online, and bring together a
community of meditators to be able to practice at the same time, regardless of our location.

Modern technology has given us the opportunity to practice mass-meditation on a level that was previously
impossible.    One person who benefitted from the teachings and practice space provided at the Goenka
centres was our founder - David Hans-Barker.  He attributes all of his success and happiness to the practice of
Vipassana Meditation.  He made a vow because of the deep impact that this technique had on his life, to share
this method for free with anyone who wanted to learn it.  

Over 15,000 hours and a decade of teaching meditation later, these live, online retreats are us making good on
this promise to make Vipassana available to anyone who wants to practice it.  We’d like to thank everyone who
helped to carry this tradition throughout the ages - from the Buddha to Goenka, and everyone in
between.  And, we sincerely hope we can play our part in keeping it alive and making sure the world does not
lose this powerful skill.

May all beings be happy.

VIPASSANAwith Yogilab
 VIPASSANAwith Yogilab

RULES & GUIDELINES

Although this practice is entirely compatible with a regular life and can be applied regardless of your
circumstances or living conditions, for the duration of this retreat there are some simple rules and guidelines
that you can follow to make your learning experience more profound and powerful.

The first thing that we’d like to state here, is that everyone doing this course as an adult is fully capable and able
of deciding what they should or shouldn’t do.  We encourage everyone in control of their faculties to exercise
that right, and take full responsibility for their choices and the consequences they lead to.

However… If you really want to play ball, and engage with this process in the way that we think is best, here are
the rules we would like you to follow for the duration of this retreat.  If you are not willing to follow any of these
rules, please contact us and make us aware of the situation.

The 5 Precepts
1. To abstain from killing any being;
2. To abstain from stealing;
3. To abstain from all sexual activity;
4. To abstain from telling lies;
5. To abstain from all intoxicants, including coffee, plant medicines,
alcohol, tobacco and anything else you know falls into this category.

ADDITIONAL RULES
1. To refrain from the use of WiFi, computers & mobile devices for anything outside of watching course content.
2. To refrain from reading books and exposing yourself to any other content outside of the course material.
3. To refrain from writing outside of the allotted time periods. To refrain from talking, touching, or having
contact with any other human beings in your environment during this 10 day period.
4. To refrain from eating anything outside of the prescribed diet and outside of the allotted eating times.
5. To refrain from doing any work or other activities that aren’t included in the 10 day program.

These rules are designed to help you optimise your experience of meditation throughout this retreat, and give
you the best possible chance of thoroughly learning the practice over the 10 day period.  If you are not willing

VIPASSANA
to follow any of these rules, please contact us and make us aware of your reasons and situation.

with Yogilab
 VIPASSANA with Yogilab

GUIDELINES
The technique of Vipassana is ancient, and has been working for humanity for thousands of years.  Even the Buddha
said that he “rediscovered” it just under 2,600 years ago.  Throughout that time, many religious and non-religious
organisations have taught their own derivations of it.  The version of Vipassana and Anapana that you will learn on
this course is most directly inspired by the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama - and the scriptures written about his
teachings. The Buddha taught that Vipassana was simply a way to see reality as it is, meditation is just the activity
that allows us to do this.  Because of this, meditation should be taught from direct experience.  In honour of this
tradition, everything discussed and taught on this course will come from the direct, practical experience of the
teacher. Here are some suggested guidelines to get you prepared and ensure that you can make the most out of
this practice.

The entire YogiLab team welcomes you into this collective endeavour, and wishes you the best of luck with your
practice!

We’ll see you in the course,

May all beings be happy

Intention
Be clear about your intention going into this course.  Know what you want out of it, and know what effort
you’re willing to put in to get it.

Perspective Intention
Frame this as an exploration of the self. Everything that we will learn on this retreat is a tool that you
can use to explore yourself.  Every phenomenon you are about to experience, is an aspect of yourself
and reality.  The technique is simply helping you to do this.

Determination
Some of the things you face may potentially be difficult.  Be resolved now to have the determination to
face them, and give your best to this practice with an awareness to what may come.

Know Your Limits

There are times when practicing these techniques where it is useful to push, and others where it is
useful to relax.  Be aware of your state of mind and body whilst practicing, and grade your level of effort
accordingly. 

Relax

VIPASSANA
It’s just 10 days.  It’s just 125 hours of meditation.  After that, you will be in the familiar rhythm of your
world again, with some new skills to face it with.

Be Immovable
with Yogilab
There may be a few (or a multitude) of internal and external distractions that attempt to dissuade you
from completing this course.  This is the resistance that we all face when learning something that truly
makes a strong impact.
 VIPASSANAwith Yogilab

THE OHSAWA NO.7 DIET

During this retreat you will be on a simplified vegan diet. The basis of this eating
system is the macrobiotic diet popularised by George Ohsawa called the “Ohsawa
No.7 Diet”.

This diet is designed to clean out the digestive system and help you to gain a clear,
focused, and peaceful mind. Both of these results are advantageous to a deeper
meditation practice.

Another benefit of this system is that it has a limited number of ingredients that are
widely available almost everywhere.

The Ohsawa No.7 Diet consists of:

Brown Rice
Sesame Oil
Sea Salt

You will only eat twice a day, so eat as much as you need to feel satisfied.

Later in the course we will start to introduce more foods that will help you to feel
nourished, and promote gut health.

These additional foods will be limited to avocados, and a probiotic food such as
kimchi or sauerkraut.

VIPASSANAwith Yogilab
 VIPASSANA
with Yogilab

THE OSHAWA NO.7 DIET

EATING SCHEDULE
Days 1-4
Meal 1: Ohsawa No.7
Meal 2: Ohsawa No.7

Day 5-9
Meal 1: Ohsawa No.7 + avocado
Meal 2: Ohsawa No.7 + kimchi (or other probiotic food)

Day 10
Meals 1: Whichever vegan meal you want
Meals 2: Whichever vegan meal you want

VIPASSANA with Yogilab

 VIPASSANAwith Yogilab

THE OSHAWA NO.7 DIET

FOOD PREPARATION
You have two options for how to approach food prep on this retreat. Option 1 is to ask someone to
prep your food for you, and play the role of server. If so, you simply need to give them the
ingredients list, and times above, and ask them to have the food ready for each meal time.

Option 2, is that you prep the meals for yourself. If you choose to do this, we would advise you to
cook a batch of brown rice in the mornings before the first sit, and this will serve you for the whole
day.

We recommend you wake up in the morning well before the first sit and prepare your food for the
full day. This allows more time during the day for compounded practice time. Remember, the more
time you have practicing successively, the deeper you will go.

Either way, please follow these simple instructions to prepare your meals:

1. Boil or steam the brown rice (to properly follow the Ohsawa No.7 system, rice should
be left slightly al dente).
2. Let sit until any excess water has evaporated.
3. Add sea salt and sesame oil to taste (and avocados/kimchi on the required days).
4. Serve in a bowl and enjoy.

A note on avocados: As you will be meditating and not shopping for the first half of the course, we
recommend you stocking up on all these ingredients on Day 0. If left out of the fridge, there is a
chance that the avocados will get too ripe. So, we advise you to remain aware of the ripeness of your
avocados as the course progresses, and choose to store them in the fridge as necessary.

VIPASSANA
with Yogilab