A woman who went on a ten day silent yoga retreat has shared the alarmingly strict timetable she had to follow there.
Stephanie Gavan revealed how each day at the Dhamma Dipa Vipassana meditation centre in Herefordshire was tightly scheduled – with nearly 11 hours of meditation each day.
She also said guests have to adhere to a list of rules banning phones, laptops books, writing, eye contact, gesturing, eating past noon and – crucially – talking.
Vipassana, which means ‘to see things as they really are’ is one of India‘s most ancient meditation techniques.
The practice involves repeatedly scanning the body from head to toe until you feel waves of vibrations charging through your limbs.
Ms Gavan signed up to do a vipassana course after she felt swamped with work, dissatisfied with her living situation and navigating a complicated family drama.
Although she had ‘dabbled’ in meditation before it had never been for more than 15 minutes until her place on the retreat was confirmed.
Despite working up to 45 minutes of meditation daily before attending Vipassana, when Ms Gavan arrived her hear palms were sweating and her heart was pounding.
She has now told dazed digital about her bizarre experience including the regimented routine she had to follow, and how fellow retreat-goers started to disappear.
A woman who went on a ten day silent yoga retreat has shared the alarmingly strict timetable she had to follow there
Stephanie Gavan revealed how each day at the Vipassana resort in Herefordshire was tightly scheduled – with nearly 11 hours of meditation each day
On the first day attendees were rudely woken from their slumber by a loud gong sounding at 4 am.
They then brushed their teeth before trudging across a dark field to a large gender-segregated hall where a cushioned space has been assigned for each of them.
One each person had taken a seat recordings of S. N. Goenka – the first teacher of Vipassana meditation – was played on speakers.
‘No matter how many cushions I used to support me, a persistent ache gnawed at my spine, my knees felt like shards of glass, and my ass became permanently numb’, Ms Gavan said.
The group sat in the hall for two hours at the start of each day and followed the same routine for the whole time they were at the retreat.
Ms Gavan said as the days passed by, more and more empty cushions started to appear in the hall, signaling early departures.
The rest of the day consisted of solo and group meditation sessions, meal breaks and question time before bed at 9.30pm.
In total attendees do roughly 10 hours and 45 minutes of meditation each day.
Ms Gavan said the part of the retreat she found particularly challenging was being silent.
She also said guests have to adhere to a list of rules banning phones, laptops books, writing, eye contact, gesturing, eating past noon and – crucially – talking
She added: ‘Being alone with yourself is hard, but it’s also revealing. Boredom forces you to pay attention to things you’d usually miss.
‘At break, I watched birds slurp down worms like spaghetti and caterpillars making leaves disappear.
‘Suddenly, every occurrence is an event, and you begin to appreciate how precarious, profound and funny life can be.’
When the group’s vow of silence was finally lifted and they were able to discuss their experiences Ms Gavan found most of the women she had been were seeking some kind of healing.
This included those battling addiction, grieving, or struggling to find a purpose in their life.
For some Vipassana was a positive experience, with one woman going as far as to say,’ Vipassana has been the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental health’.
However, not everyone found the retreat to be beneficial, and another attendee said it made her anxious.
She also expressed how she believes there should be a bigger health warning for people with prior mental health issues.
A spokesperson for Vipassana in Hereford said: ‘A Vipassana course is serious, intensive and demanding, and all participants are made fully aware of the demands of the course before they come.
‘They are asked to confirm that they have carefully read and understood the Code of Discipline and the Timetable, so they know what to expect.’
