What Exactly Is Vipassana Meditation?

There is a good chance that you may not be fully aware of what Vipassana meditation is. Or maybe you have never even heard of it before.

Vipassana meditation, or insight meditation, is the foundation for Buddhist meditations. It is believed to be the meditation principle that the Buddha himself taught.

While many people have a general understanding of Buddhist meditations, Vipassana is relatively unheard of. To fully understand what it is, let's go over the history of Vipassana.

The History of Vipassana

Vipassana is one of the oldest meditation techniques. Gotama the Buddha spent the last remaining years of his life showing people how to break the cycle of difficulties in their lives. He primarily did this through Vipassana.

For the next 500 years or so, the meditations of Vipassana spread throughout India and reigned supreme. However, the practice of it slowly began to fade over time. However, through the teachers and monks, Vipassana was still widely practiced.

It wasn't until the late 1900's that that the teachings of Vipassana would fully reach Western societies. Sayagyi U Ba Khin, a revered teacher, was able to bring this practice of meditation to western society due to his ability to speak English.

Born in Myanmar, Southeast Asia, S.N. Goenka was chosen by U Ba Khin to teach Vipassana in 1969. It was with the teachings of U Ba Khin and Goenka that Vipassana had it's reassurgence and unprecedented growth globally.

What Is Vipassana?

In Western societies, Vipassana is loosely translated to be the equivalent of insight. It is a meditation practice that can lead to transformation of the self by being highly in tune with one's body. The focus with Vipassana is to concentrate on the connections between the mind and body. Through deep meditation, a person will focus on the physical sensations that help make up the body, which then flow into the mind.

Vipassana combines two core techniques. First is the acknowledgement and release of thoughts. Second is to identify the body sensations that occur with these thoughts. It is basically taking the core principles of mindfulness then adding another element to it.

This type of meditation helps you to train yourself to focus on your body, top to bottom, to become more aware of what is happening. It is not only about awareness, but by engaging with your mind and body.

Doing mental scans of your body, it will help you see the connection between your thoughts and what happens in your body when they occur.

This is a type of meditation that can feel more difficult than others. However, the benefits that you get from it are truly astounding.

What Are The Benefits of Vipassana Meditation?

Vipassana is a great way to treat a variety of mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression.

When you have troublesome thoughts that cause your mind to feel stress, it will cause stress on the body, too. So instead of just trying to get rid of the thoughts, Vipassana teaches you how to release the thoughts and tension from your body, at the same time.

If only one of those principles is practiced, it may not be as effective in truly relieving the mental health concerns that you may have.

Who Can Practice Vipassana?

Anyone can practice vipassana, anywhere they want to. However, it is best to learn this meditation practice by an experienced instructor.

At Recovery Collective, we are incredibly grateful to have a novice monk joining us. Trained in the practice of Vipassana, Zaw Maw will be an incredible and beneficial asset to the clients that we work with. We can't wait to learn more from him and to see how he helps transforms lives.

If you want to learn more or to get more information about meditation coach Zaw Maw, please connect with us so we can help answer any questions you may have.