WELLNESS
like kids released from detention: giddy, relieved, slightly dazed. Kim was warm, sharp, and refreshingly un- Hollywood. We swapped numbers and compared mental meltdowns from the week. It was oddly comforting to realise that even people who live in front of the cameras come here chasing the same thing; a little peace, a little perspective, and the ability to sit still without losing it.
Vipassana means“ to see things as they really are”. You spend days scanning your body, noticing sensations – tingling, pulsing, itching, aching – and learning not to react. Every itch becomes a lesson in impermanence. Every cramp, an opportunity to practice not losing your mind. By Day 6, your knees hate you. By Day 8, your emotions take turns visiting. By Day 10, you’ re oddly peaceful, slightly feral, and convinced you could stare at a wall forever. Then, just when you’ ve mastered silence, they let you speak again; and your own voice sounds like an echo from a dream.
You don’ t go there to“ find yourself.” You go to lose a few layers of noise. Vipassana shows you how impatient, dramatic, funny, and resilient you actually are. It teaches that everything – pain, pleasure, boredom, panic – rises and fades. The only constant is how you choose to respond. When you stop reacting, life stops feeling like a series of mini-emergencies. It just... flows.
Leaving the Centre, I drove back toward Cape Town – no music, no phone, just the wind through the window and a feeling that life had turned the volume down to something bearable. The colours looked sharper. The world felt slower. I wasn’ t“ zen”, exactly; I was just... uncluttered. Of course, the real test came later – traffic, deadlines, WhatsApp groups, people chewing loudly. Vipassana doesn’ t erase irritation; it just gives you a pause before you bite back.
If you can’ t survive 10 minutes without checking your phone, this retreat will feel like being sent to a mindfulness rehab; which, tbh, might be exactly what you need. If you’ re curious, open, and ready to challenge yourself – go. You don’ t need to be religious, flexible, or even calm. You just need to show up and stay put. The rest happens naturally. If you’ re after enlightenment, you might be disappointed. But if you’ re hoping to remember how to breathe again, you’ ll probably find that sweet spot somewhere between the lions and the lentils.
Because it’ s real. No fancy spa robes, no Instagrammable mountain poses, no“ retreat selfies.” Just silence, discipline, and a truth that sneaks up on you: everything changes – even you. It’ s not easy. But nothing worthwhile ever is. I left lighter, quieter, and surprisingly kinder. To others, but mostly to myself. And that, for me, was worth every 4am gong.
The quiet details:
• Dhamma Patākā Vipassana Centre, in Worcester, Western Cape
• Courses are free – donations welcome after completion.
• Apply at pataka. dhamma. africa
• Simple vegetarian meals; private rooms with bathrooms
• Bonus: distant lion roars included
18 | SUMMER 2025 / 26 • rovesa. co. za