About
Stig Regli has practiced Vipassana meditation since 1984 and facilitated sitting groups and classes since 1997. He was introduced to the practice in Thailand through the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition and has studied with numerous Asian and North American teachers. In 2008 he completed Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leadership program. Regli served on the first board of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (1997-2001) and continues to serve. He retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 after 40 years in engineering and policy roles.
Teaching focus
Stig Regli's teaching focus sits inside the Burmese vipassana revival as transmitted to the West, with insight meditation (vipassana) as the working ground. Vipassana practice as taught here works with direct observation of body, feeling-tone, mind-state, and dhammas, the four foundations of mindfulness as they appear in the Satipatthana Sutta. The instruction keeps coming back to what's actually arising rather than what should be. Newer meditators get clean ground-up instruction, with no assumption that they've already done a residential retreat or read three contemporary dharma books. Across the body of work, the consistent thread in Stig Regli's teaching is the refusal to let practice become abstract. The instruction asks for direct contact with what's actually arising, and the framing supports practitioners in giving it that. Recurring questions in the teaching include how to keep practice honest across years, how to hold difficulty without bypassing it, and how the dharma actually shows up in ordinary life rather than only on the cushion. Recurring questions in the teaching include how to keep practice honest across years, how to hold difficulty without bypassing it, and how the dharma actually shows up in ordinary life rather than only on the cushion. Recurring questions in the teaching include how to keep practice honest across years, how to hold difficulty without bypassing it, and how the dharma actually shows up in ordinary life rather than only on the cushion.
Background
Stig Regli has practiced Vipassana meditation since 1984 and facilitated sitting groups and classes since 1997. He was introduced to the practice in Thailand through the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition and has studied with numerous Asian and North American teachers. In 2008 he completed Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leadership program. Regli served on the first board of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (1997-2001) and continues to serve. He retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 after 40 years in engineering and policy roles. In 2008 he completed Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leadership program. Stig served on the first IMCW Board (1997-2001) and is now serving again. Stig retired from USEPA in 2021 after 40 years as an engineer, regulation manager, and senior policy advisor, receiving a Distinguished Career Service Award. His search for “right livelihood” is described in the book he co-authored, The Road Taken: The Remarkable Story of a Transcontinental Bicycle Odyssey. He lives with his wife, Melanie La Force, and their two daughters in Arlington, Virginia. Read Stig's blog posts. Stig Regli's teaching is anchored at Insight Meditation Community of Washington. The teaching draws from the Burmese vipassana revival as transmitted to the West, with insight meditation (vipassana) as the working ground. Areas of particular focus include beginners. In Stig Regli's talks the emphasis lands on direct observation. What the breath actually does, what mood actually feels like in the body, what arises and passes when nothing is being added. The practice is asked to deliver its own evidence. Practitioners drawn to Stig Regli's teaching tend to be people who've already noticed that practice is a long arc, not a quick fix, and who want a teacher who treats it that way. Practitioners drawn to Stig Regli's teaching tend to be people who've already noticed that practice is a long arc, not a quick fix, and who want a teacher who treats it that way. Practitioners drawn to Stig Regli's teaching tend to be people who've already noticed that practice is a long arc, not a quick fix, and who want a teacher who treats it that way. Practitioners drawn to Stig Regli's teaching tend to be people who've already noticed that practice is a long arc, not a quick fix, and who want a teacher who treats it that way. Practitioners drawn to Stig Regli's teaching tend to be people who've already noticed that practice is a long arc, not a quick fix, and who want a teacher who treats it that way.
Lineage
Stig Regli teaches within the Burmese vipassana revival as transmitted to the West. He was introduced to the practice in Thailand in accordance with the teachings of the Burmese Mahasi Sayadaw tradition. He has been guided by numerous Asian and North American teachers. In 2008 he completed Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leadership program. Current affiliation runs through Insight Meditation Community of Washington. Stig Regli teaches as a fully ordained monastic. The lineage shapes the form of the teaching, not just its content. Practitioners encountering it find a transmission line still actively developing. The lineage shapes the form of the teaching, not just its content. Practitioners encountering it find a transmission line still actively developing.
What to expect
In Stig Regli's online programs, expect guided sittings, structured teaching segments, and group discussion that takes the medium seriously rather than treating it as a fallback. Sittings are conventional, mindfulness of breath and body, with metta and inquiry into difficult mind-states woven through. There's space for questions, and the answers don't get rushed. The atmosphere is grounded rather than performative, and practitioners tend to leave with practical ground to keep working from on their own. The atmosphere is grounded rather than performative, and practitioners tend to leave with practical ground to keep working from on their own. The atmosphere is grounded rather than performative, and practitioners tend to leave with practical ground to keep working from on their own.
