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.

VIPASSANA
with Yogilab
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with Yogilab

WELCOME
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.

VIPASSANA
with Yogilab
 VIPASSANA
with Yogilab

VIPASSANA AVATARS 
THE SILENT SADDHU
You are a Silent Saddhu if you are willing and able to practice for the entirety of
the YogiLab Vipassana course. The Saddhus will be starting their practice
at 8:00am and finishing at 11:00pm, meditating for a total of 12.5 hours
daily (up to 16.5 hours including optional meditations).

THE SPIRITUAL HUSTLER

You are a Spiritual Hustler if you have worldly responsibilities to attend to,
which require anywhere from 1-3 hours of work/day. The Hustlers will also
start their practice at 8:00am and finish at 11:00pm completing 12.5
hours of meditation/day, but will have a 3 hour break in the middle of
the day to handle your business or family responsibilities.

THE WORKPLACE WARRIOR

You are a Workplace Warrior if you are committed to learning and practicing
meditation but cannot get away from full time work, parenting, or other real
world responsibilities. The Warriors schedule will have two blocks of
practice/day. The first from 4:00am-9:00am, and the second from
6:00pm-10:00pm, with a block of time in the middle of the day to work.

VIPASSANA
Total meditation time will be 8 hours/day, including two discourses.

with Yogilab
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with 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.

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

Please note, if you are a Spiritual Hustler or Workplace Warrior the additional
rules above will be slightly adjusted to accommodate your respective daily work
schedules. 

Spiritual Hustler & Workplace Warrior Avatars agree to maintain minimal use of
WiFi, and electronics outside of basic work functions and agree to practising

VIPASSANA
noble silence outside of only necessary work/family related communications.

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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.

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

VIPASSANA
with Yogilab
 VIPASSANA
with Yogilab

GUIDELINES
Here are some suggested guidelines to get you prepared and ensure that
you can make the most out of this practice.

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
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
VIPASSANA
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.
with Yogilab
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with 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.

The above diet is only a suggestion. If you have special dietary

requirements OR you are unable to find these foods in your region,
please modify as needed.
with Yogilab
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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
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with 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