As a long time mediator, your response was what I also saw in the article. People damage themselves in all kinds of ways when they are unsuited/poorly trained/

As a long time mediator, your response was what I also saw in the article. People damage themselves in all kinds of ways when they are unsuited/poorly trained/ prepared for extreme environments. You wouldn't expect a grossly overweight person to run 11hrs a day for 10 days. Goenka's practices are extreme, and the 10 day silent retreat isn't suitable for everyone. This is why there's the questionnaire for Vipassana during enrollment: it's an attempt to recognise someone who's not fit enough (yet) for it. That the author was able to persuade the volunteers, despite his known past, to let him in should not really reflect against them.