My personal take on this:

This is an interesting thread. Obviously, everyone's experience is different, and ultimately it is your intuition and comfort that will speak to what is serving you.

I will however, say, and I'm sure you know this, but it should be mentioned that the practice is just that. At some point you'll have to release your attachment even to the practice that you feel is serving you. Especially those sensitive spirits among you that have opened yourself up so greatly and are combining practices. The ultimate practice is eventual non-practice. When the singer becomes the song. Don't be surprised if you get there faster than you ever thought. (See second tier "integrated" consciousness in the model of Spiral Dynamics.) If you attempt to carry attachment to your practice or beliefs into that zone, it will hold you back, and your body and life circumstances will have to force you out of it, you could find that the practice actually hurts you or simply doesn't "work".

As far as reiki goes, and other potent combinations, you can and eventually will "break". It's not the worst thing that can happen, but it can certainly be terrifying, although ultimately liberating. If that does happen, know that you are not alone, others have made it through and there are more and more around these days. But if you need or would like to keep your life in some kind of manageable order, I would make a discipline out of retiring the reiki.

The process of Vipassana is developing your awareness of your spiritual body. This is a very sensitive process. Reiki, and other practices that further spike your spirit energy will confuse your mind while it tries to reconcile the chaos that comes out of what's already happening in your body. This can lead to acute health crisis and yes emotional and mental exhaustion/overload. Often digestive problems, fatigue, food/environmental allergies come about.

If it helps, don't think of Vipassana as "Vipassana" and forget about retreats and Goenka. Just practice each moment being grounded in your center. Awareness is not a mental process. Awareness is a felt sense, full presence. If you've done just one retreat, you have been awakened to the process. Sometimes full-body vipassana is just too much for some people.

There are many benefits to a retreat, but don't become addicted to Vipassana retreats. Make real changes in your everyday life that create a future of peace for you and for those around you. Often the craving for a retreat is based on the fact that you know you will be forced to confront/heal things about your past and present relationships. A retreat can bring those things to the surface, but the real change comes when you humble yourself to apologize, forgive, accept, those people, even if they "started it."
Again, and you know this, the real healing happens in the day to day.

If you still feel like you would like to shatter yourself into a million pieces and put yourself back together as a simpler, content, and wiser person than go for it, we're never given more than we can handle. Just make sure you have a solid support net.

Now: some great combinations. A holistic and integrative, healthy physical, mental, spiritual life should include a well rounded lifestyle. Wether meditation, yoga, herb, or enlightened hedonism are your main gig, make sure you are giving your creative, physical, mental, talents the outlet they need, while ensuring yourself the a) proper nourishment from intimacy, and affection with friends and family. b) Serving your community or environment, I think, are essential to ground you and keep you connected to the web of life. A and B are applied metta. And stop eating crap. Especially sugar and processed foods. If you really want peace, and a sense of enlightenment see what happens when you give those food/drink vices up for a week.

This is my give, based on my own personal experience and the experience of some amazing, and beautiful people around me. Much love and guidance from the divine voice within, trust it.

Good luck

"We all come to the same conclusion"

When I ask myself that, it seems like the possibilities are limitless..

so there

David! You are a complete delight! Thanks for the edifying posts.

hehehe What a typical comment from a typical Goenka student to say something like 'prove my statement'. Hypercrite. I can receive false metta from you and millions of other vipassana clowns but they are hollow and their path is beyond critisism...CULT

metta :)

yanks suck dicks. I used to think they were ok while people here cursed them but when they are over here they are assholes and this is more apparent than ever with each experience . Thank god we dont have to cop you tourist yanks out in the country like the poor buggers do in the cities. Your country is a 'hole' full of drug addicts, mad gunmen and prostitutes . So there you go yank.