60 days of retreat sounds so difficult and also impossible for somebody like me who is tied to daily job. Curious s where is the retreat that he visits every year?
Also any other daily practice which can have an equivalent effect?
I say this because I would find it impossible to generalise the effects of the regular retreats I've made over the years. I recently sat for 30 days and although it was useful, I didn't find it 4 times as useful as, say, some 7 day retreats I've done. Personally I think science will never discover anything profoundly new from its studies of meditation -- watching the breath is literally just watching the breath, there's nothing else magic that we're as yet unaware of. It's just an incredibly fruitful context to work on whatever "stuff" is personally significant for you at any given time. In that sense I wouldn't be surprised if the similarly simple activity of running is also empirically associated with increased emotional catharsis, spiritual breakthrough, improved non-physical productivity, etc, etc.
It reminds me of a Zen story;
A monk told Joshu, “I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.”
Joshu asked, “Have you eaten your rice porridge?
The monk replied, “I have eaten.”
Joshu said, “Then you had better wash your bowl.”
At that moment the monk was enlightened.
I recently started meditating for 20-30 minutes at a time, once or twice a day, and the eerie calmness that settles in when I'm done (for the "good" sessions) is a great feeling. I can only imagine what 10 and 60 days can do.
I know about a dozen people who have done the 10-day Goenka course. It is definitely hard work because you are meditating for around 10 hours a day, but it isn't actually what I would call hard to do; all your needs and schedule are taken care of and you just give into it.
A lot of the resistance for me was actually preparing family and clients for me being completely offline and unreachable for 10 days, and going through that was a revelation separate from the benefits of the meditation.
The recommendation I give to everyone is that if you have any interest, just book a course several months out when you think you may be able to make it. If you end up not being able to or not feeling ready, then you can very easily cancel in advance, and there is usually a waiting list anyway. However, booking a spot seems to set the wheels in motion.
FYI, there are now many articles/blog posts/etc. by people who have done these Vipissana retreats -- this Google search will find you some:
https://www.google.com/search?q=vipissana+10+day+retreats
(Here's one with the details of the daily schedule (among other things), if that's of interest:
https://oneshrinksperspective.com/2013/06/27/i-am-slowly-goi... )
The entire time, he chants in a dead language, and they want you to blindly recite things in said dead language. He purposely plays with his accent and speaking in order to push a bit of mystical properties to what he's saying (repeating words over and over, laying on a thick accent, whereas at other times he is capable of speaking very clearly).
The actual practise may be fine, but I found the woo-factor to be incredibly high - false advertising.
Just keep at it, but don't push.