You’ve probably heard of yoga before, but have you heard of Tantra Yoga? This unique and ancient practice originating from India, Tibet, and other parts of Asia, combines yoga poses with breathwork, visualization and energy work. Despite the impression one may get from the modern Neo Tantra practices often found in the social media sphere, true Tantric Yoga may not be what you assume.
So, what exactly is Tantra Yoga? This practice is not, as many believe, directly sexual in nature. Tantra Yoga is a spiritual practice. It involves movement and meditation, chanting and energy work, which all combine into a flowing journey to the deepest parts of yourself. Also, though there are poses and postures, Tantra Yoga does not place the same focus on bodies and minds that these forms of yoga.
What is Tantra and Yoga?
At the heart of all Tantric practices is the desire to achieve a greater understanding of, and connection with, yourself and the world around you. It is this desire that forms the basis of the Tantra Yoga practice and its core philosophy of connecting to and working with the energy in your body to gain a deeper understanding of your own self.
You may have an impression that all Tantra Yoga is sexual in nature, this isn’t true. The idea that Tantra and Tantra Yoga are about sex stems from the modern practice of that which we call Neo Tantra. This new age westernized practice that draws pieces of itself from lineage-based Tantra, focuses primarily on the sexual practices of the Tantric teachings. In truth, the older lineage-based forms of tantra do have sexual components, but they are only one small part of what Tantric teachings are all about.
Tantra Yoga is an incredible tool to add into any daily routine, and it is a tool that produces benefits that only grow in strength and number the longer you keep at it.
The Benefits of Tantra Yoga
Tantra Yoga is what some may call a more complex form of mainstream yoga practices. It uses a number of different modalities performed in unison to guide one down the spiritual path towards enlightenment. In doing so, this unique practice can impart many benefits to its practitioners.
One of the most noticeable changes reported by many who have begun using Tantra Yoga in their personal wellness routines is an increase in flexibility, both physically and mentally. As your body begins to become more familiar with the various parts of this form, it begins to loosen and become more fluid and flexible.
So too does your mind begin to mimic that same flexibility. As you begin to loosen up, it becomes easier for you to move through the world, leading to another of the most common benefits, a reduction in stress levels.
As you learn about yourself and how energy moves through you, you gain a better understanding about how your body wants to move in the world. This leads to any number of gains, from improvements in the quality of your sleep and increased mental clarity, to the start of understanding what things in your everyday life are good for your body and what things need to be changed or removed entirely.
The more you grow in Tantra Yoga, the greater your confidence becomes. The “I can’t” statements begin to fall away leading to a general boost in your emotional wellbeing. As your wellbeing becomes a focus for you, those statements often shift towards “I want to” or “I don’t want to.” This leads to even more benefits as you start to understand what is pleasurable for you and begin to move towards those things.
At the same time, the connection and mindfulness these exercises impart lead to improvements in one’s ability to connect with others. The flexibility and fluidness of these forms teach us to be more flexible and fluid in our interactions, allowing us to connect more mindfully and to be able to build deeper bonds with friends and partners alike.
The benefits of a Tantra Yoga practice touch almost every aspect of one’s life from physical and mental to emotional and spiritual. And yes, Tantra Yoga can lead to beautiful awakenings in your understanding of sexual energy, sexual union and intimacy. The more your understanding and capacity for pleasure deepens, the more space is made for the experience of it, whether solo or with someone else.
Core Practices of Tantra Yoga
Tantra Yoga combines a number of different traditional yoga practices in order to achieve the flow and balance that creates such spectacular results for so many. Through combining these elements in varying ways Tantra Yoga lives up to the meaning of the word Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism which is “to weave light and sound with form.” In practice this weaving appears in many forms and presentations blending together into a holistic healing journey unique to each person.
The core practices of Tantra Yoga can be broken down into four main groups. Let’s have a closer look at each of these pieces and the parts they play.
Asanas (Yoga Postures)
Forming a base from which to start the journey, the various poses in Tantra Yoga allow you to ground into your body and tap into the energy channels that flow through you. Asanas help place a focus on flexibility and strength that promotes a feeling of stability. As you grow into the practice, the asanas become easier, building confidence through familiarity, and allowing you to delve deeper into your connection with yourself as you gain greater awareness of the energy moving through your body.
There is a wide variety of poses that are used in the practice of Tantra Yoga. The choice of which poses to use is influenced by a number of factors including the intent, the experience of the person doing the practice, the strengths of the teacher, and much more. As well, the other practices that are weaved together to form the whole also inform which asanas are best for what you are working on.
Pranayama (Breathwork)
Helping to deepen your connection to and understanding of the energy flow that is always occurring throughout your body, pranayama techniques help to regulate breathing and provide a direct path to the regulation of energy flow through the body.
There are various types of pranayama that can be practiced, and like the asanas, the selection of which breath is most appropriate is tied into the greater whole. Pranayama is a powerful tool, helping you to connect to your body’s energy centers and work with them to achieve greater awareness.
The modulation of breathing also helps to promote relaxation and a feeling of heightened wellness. It gives us a place from which to direct and guide ourselves, allowing us to be truly immersed in the moment and the journey we are experiencing.
Meditation
Tantric meditation is one of the most powerful tools you can access. Combining visualization, energy work, breathing and sound (mantras) Tantric meditation is a deep well of knowledge you can access at any time.
When you begin to become familiar with the various meditations you will find that this practice helps greatly in quieting your mind and allowing you to deepen your connection to your innermost self. This practice is also a great way to cultivate greater mindfulness and promote inner peace and an overall sense of tranquility.
Much like the other practices, the meditations you use are interdependent with the other pieces of this interwoven masterpiece you are creating. Each piece both stands on its own and is a part of a larger whole. As you gain familiarity with the various pieces you will find new and different connections forming between them and in yourself as well.
Mantra Chanting
The power of sound waves is well documented and can have extraordinarily strong salutary effects in many different use cases. Specifically in the practice of mantras, the repetition of certain sounds is said to bring about a state of near transcendent focus and concentration from which deep spiritual awakenings can be accessed.
In addition, repetition and rhythm can help you reach states of deeper concentration and whole-body relaxation. Regular mantra chanting is also an amazing method to boost positive energy retention and can have very noticeable benefits in terms of physical health as well.
When combined with the other practices in this list, mantras add the power of sound to your yoga practice, further deepening and focusing you on the path you wish to undertake. There are a wide variety of mantras that may be effective for your purposes and that can be explored on their own as well.
As you can see from the list above, the practices of Tantra Yoga truly work together to form a weaving that envelops you in an experience that is truly immersive. One of the beautiful things about this weaving is the intentionality that is needed to make it work.
It is this intentional participation that forms a kind of bond between the practitioner and the practice, which sets Tantra Yoga apart. Because it is not just another series of steps to be repeated again and again until perfected, but rather a beautifully organic dance that is both grounded in the present and a pathway to reach towards the esoteric.
Tantra Yoga and Sexuality
While Tantra Yoga is not directly sexual in nature, like all Tantric practices there are elements of sacred sexuality involved. The practice of Tantra Yoga teaches us to love ourselves, and to lean into a deeper intimacy in all things. While that does not mean every connection is a sexual one, it does lend itself to learning how to deepen our connections with our partners, should we choose to.
Before we continue it must be said that all Tantra is rooted in a place of deep and fundamental respect and trust between those who practice. This is especially true in the case of practices of an intimate or sexual nature.
Whether the trust is the trust between student and teacher or between partners, the core principles of Tantra are clear that communication, consent, and safety must always be in the forefront of any Tantric connection. These practices can reach deep into the heart of who you are, but that can only happen when the foundational elements of trust and respect are present and mindfully followed by all parties.
So how does the practice of Tantra Yoga help you foster deeper intimacy? As you learn more about the ways energy moves through you, as you discover ways to direct and guide that energy, you are inherently learning how to form connections. At first those connections are connections between two parts of your whole, but as you progress in the practice that ability can be developed to a place where you can begin to form connections with others.
Learning practices such as the shared breath can provide couples a powerful method of connection that can be a jumping off point to explore the wonderful world that is opened to us when two partners mindfully and consensually reach together into the place where the physical, the spiritual and the emotional reside as one.
Integrating Tantra Yoga into Your Life
For those new to it, beginning a practice of Tantra Yoga can seem quite daunting. There is a lot of information out there from a wide variety of sources in both the Classical and Neo Tantra schools of thought.
Sorting out the various pieces and finding a qualified teacher can seem like quite a process. And in many ways, it is a process. It is vital that you take the time to do some studying and form an understanding of what Tantra is so that you have a foundation from which to make educated decisions about which teachers you feel you can trust and who resonates with you.
Some good starting information to consider about the person you chose to learn from might be things such as their certifications, whether the Tantra they teach comes from a direct lineage, their time as a practitioner, and their reputation within their local Tantra community. You will also want to be able to have a preliminary conversation with them to see if you feel they may be the right teacher for you and for them to do the same.
Another important point to consider is their ethical and safety standards. Do they resonate with you, and do they make you feel safe with them as a teacher? There is, of course, much more to consider but that is a solid place from which to begin to form your own questions and discern more of what is important to you.
As well, it is absolutely normal to have doubts and fears when beginning Tantra. As you make a start into this vast world of wonderful things, you may face challenges you had not expected.
Tantra is an incredibly intense and personal journey, and it is normal to have things you need to let go of and blocks you must process out.
Everyone who practices Tantra has these moments, and it is for this reason that taking the time to find the right teacher for you is so important, because it is your teacher who will guide you through these times and show you how to learn and grow through them.
Tantra Yoga is one of the most misunderstood yoga practices in this modern age. Far from a sexually focused whirlwind, Tantra Yoga is a gateway to an extraordinary journey that can take you to places few ever get to visit.
From the powerful rhythmic breaths of pranayama and the fluid motions of the asanas; to the quiet calm of meditation and the tingling sensations of the sacred mantras washing over your skin. Tantra Yoga is the vehicle that can take you to all these experiences and to all the other depths of learning that are opened by travelling this Tantric path.
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