Vipassana course types: 10-day, 3-day, 1-day and long courses

Vipassana courses come in more lengths than the well-known 10-day course, but in S. N. Goenka's tradition everyone starts with that 10-day residential course. After it, "old students" can join one-day and three-day courses, weekly group sittings, and longer courses of 20, 30, 45 or 60 days, each with its own entry requirements. Children and teenagers have separate short courses, and there is a 10-day course aimed at business executives.

The course types and rules below come from dhamma.org's own course glossary, which covers courses in Goenka's tradition only. Other traditions run different formats, covered at the end. Local centres may add requirements of their own, so check the notes on the course schedule before you apply.

Who counts as an old student

dhamma.org defines old students as "those who have completed a 10-day Vipassana Meditation course with S.N. Goenka or his Assistant Teachers." Every course beyond the introductory ones in the first table below depends on this status. Listening to an introductory recording does not count: dhamma.org says people who attend its short introductory Anapana sessions are not old students.

All course types at a glance

Courses a new student can join

Course	Length	Who can join	Eligibility
10-day course	10 full days (12 calendar days with arrival and departure)	Adults (teenagers from age 18)	None beyond applying and following the Code of Discipline
10-day executive course	Same as the 10-day course	Business executives and government officials	None: it is an introductory course
Children's Anapana course	1 to 3 days	Children aged 8 to 12 (varies locally)	Parents' permission
Teenagers' Anapana course	1 to 3 days	Teenagers aged 13 to 18 (varies locally)	Parents' permission while under their care
7-day Vipassana course for teenagers	7 days	Young people aged 15 to 19, in South Asia	Check with the centre
Open day	A day between courses	Anyone	None

Courses for old students

Course	Length	Who can join	Eligibility
Old student short course	1 to 3 days	Any old student	One 10-day course, however long ago
10-day course for old students	10 days	Old students	Varies by location
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta course	10 days	Serious old students	Three 10-day courses sat (not served), a year of practice, no other techniques since the last 10-day course, keeping the five precepts
14-day Gratitude course	14 days	Old students active in service	Three 10-day courses and one Satipaṭṭhāna course, active service, trying to keep two hours' daily practice and the five precepts, local teacher's recommendation
Special 10-day course	10 days	Serious old students	Five 10-day courses, one Satipaṭṭhāna course, service on at least one 10-day course, two years of regular practice
20-day course	20 days	Serious old students	Same as the special 10-day
30-day course	30 days	Serious old students	Six 10-day courses (one since the first 20-day), one 20-day, one Satipaṭṭhāna course, two years of regular practice
45-day course	45 days	People in Dhamma service and assistant teachers	Seven 10-day courses (one since the first 30-day), two 30-day courses, one Satipaṭṭhāna course, three years of regular practice
60-day course	60 days	Mainly active assistant teachers	At least two 45-day courses, plus teaching or heavy service
Self-course	1 to 10 days	Old students	At a centre: three 10-day courses, a year of practice and no other techniques. At home: see below
Group sitting	One hour, usually weekly	Old students	One 10-day course

The 10-day course: where everyone begins

The 10-day course is the introduction. dhamma.org describes it as a course "where the technique is taught step-by-step each day". Registration runs from 2 to 4 pm on the first day, then come 10 full days of meditation, and the course ends on the morning of the 11th day by 7:30 am. The first three days are spent on Anapana, observing the breath; Vipassana is taught on Day 4; mettā (loving-kindness) comes on the last full day.

The guide to the 10-day course, day by day covers the timetable and rules, and Before your first course covers applying and preparing.

The executive course

Executive courses are 10-day courses "especially for business executives and government officials", according to dhamma.org. Its executive site says the technique taught is "identical to that taught in regular 10-day courses". The difference is an extra talk and two question-and-answer sessions by Goenka on work and business, and venues with single rooms and private bathrooms. The site says these courses "are still held in India and Nepal, once a year in UK, and occasionally elsewhere". You find them in dhamma.org's course search under the "For Executives" tab.

One-day and three-day courses

Short courses of one to three days are for "any student who has completed the 10-day course", including people whose last course was some time ago, dhamma.org says. They are refreshers, not introductions: nobody learns the technique for the first time on a one-day or three-day course.

In Nepal, Dhamma Shringa in Kathmandu books its short courses through its City Office at Jyoti Bhawan, Kantipath, by phone rather than online. As of September 2026 its schedule listed several one-day courses and a three-day course before the end of the year. Dates change, so check the Dhamma Shringa schedule or the centre page.

The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta course

This course keeps the timetable and discipline of a 10-day course. The difference is in the evening talks, where "the Satipatthana Sutta is carefully examined", in dhamma.org's words. It calls the sutta "the principal text in which the technique of Vipassana is systematically explained". It is usually the first step beyond repeat 10-day courses, and it is a requirement for every longer course. The guide to the four foundations of mindfulness explains the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta itself.

Special 10-day and long courses (20, 30, 45 and 60 days)

The special 10-day course and the 20-day course share the same entry requirements: five 10-day courses, one Satipaṭṭhāna course, service on at least one 10-day course and two years of regular practice. Each longer course then builds on the one before, as the table shows. The 60-day course is reserved mainly for active assistant teachers; dhamma.org says that in some areas others "may be accepted as rare exceptions" after two 45-day courses and heavy service.

Long courses use a separate application form. At Dhamma Shringa, the centre says, "Schedules for Satipatthana, 20 day, 30 day and other old student courses are decided at the beginning of every year." As of September 2026 its schedule listed both a special 10-day course and a 60-day course before the end of the year.

Courses for children and teenagers

Children aged 8 to 12 can learn Anapana on a one-, two- or three-day course. One-day courses run at schools, camps and centres, with half-hour meditation sessions mixed with discussion, stories and games. Teenagers aged 13 to 18 have their own Anapana courses. The children's site says the course "was designed for 8-16 year olds, but sometimes teenagers up to 18 can attend". On residential courses, boys and girls are taught in separate groups where appropriate. There is no charge for any of them.

For older teenagers there is a 7-day Vipassana course "designed for young people aged 15-19 years in South Asia", with separate courses for young men and young women. The children's site says these run only in India and Myanmar, but as of September 2026 Dhamma Shringa's schedule also listed one in Kathmandu, for ages 15 to 19. At 18, teenagers can apply for the adult 10-day course.

Group sittings

Goenka's closing talk on the 10-day course asks students who live near other meditators to sit together for an hour once a week. Group sittings are open to old students only. Their times and places sit behind the old-student login on dhamma.org, which you get by emailing dhamma.org the name of your last course's teacher, its approximate month and year, and its country. The dhamma.org app also has one-hour group sitting recordings for old students.

Self-courses at home

An old student can also sit alone. dhamma.org's self-course guidance says anyone who has completed a 10-day course "can decide to do a self-course", usually at home or at another meditator's home, for one, two or three days or a full ten, but not longer than ten days alone. Self-courses at a centre are stricter: they need three 10-day courses, a year of practice and no other meditation techniques since the last 10-day course. More in Keeping up the practice at home.

Serving on a course

Old students can volunteer as cooks, cleaners and helpers. dhamma.org's support FAQ says anyone who has completed at least one 10-day course with Goenka's teachers, and "who have not practiced any other meditation technique since their last Vipassana course", may serve. When you apply, the form lets old students choose to attend or serve. Service is unpaid, and the special 10-day and 20-day courses ask for service on at least one 10-day course. See Dhamma service in the glossary.

Courses of every type are free: they are funded by donations from past students. See Is Vipassana free? for how that works.

Other traditions run different formats

The formats above belong to one organisation. Other Vipassana traditions organise retreats differently. The Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts runs retreats "lasting from a weekend to three months". Suan Mokkh in Thailand holds a 10-day retreat starting on the 1st of each month and says there are "neither shorter nor longer retreats available". Centres in the Mahasi tradition, such as Panditarama Lumbini in Nepal, let meditators set their own stay, from seven days to several months.

The comparison table on the techniques page sets the traditions side by side. To find a course near you, start with the list of centres by country.