Tantra is one of those words many people have heard but often don't know what it truly means. Tantra always seems to pop up when people think of things such as Tantric sex, Tantric massage, extended orgasms, and the Karma Sutra. Tantra is not solely focused on sex, yet the general population believes that it is. Tantra is an ancient spiritual belief system that teaches many philosophies and theories. Tantra is more than sex.
So, if Tantra is not all about sex and extended orgasms, what is it about then?
In our modern world, nothing gets our attention faster and sells better than sex. Add this to our innate pleasure-seeking and our seemingly dopamine-inducing technology and social media and you have one powerful combination. On one side we have people hungry to connect with and consume pleasure to feel good, and on the other, we have companies, devices, content, and platforms all looking to sell us the fix for our needs.
Much like corporate advertising and marketing departments look to design and tweak their company's products to make them stand out to the target market and respond to what the buying public is buying or demanding, many current scared sexuality practitioners, Tantra teachers, alternative therapists, even erotic massage providers, and sex workers, are exploiting these trends set by our sex-obsessed cravings and are tempting our desires by presenting their services and products as "Tantra", "Tantric" and sexual.
The disclaimer here is that there is nothing inherently wrong, nor any shame warranted, with using sexuality as a tool as it is a fundamental part of human existence. Sexuality is real. Sexual energy is real. And it is our sexual energy that is the driving force of our inspirations, motivations, and life.
By taking the time to scratch beneath the surface of our sex-obsessed lifestyles, one can quickly discover, or intuitively sense, something is existing out there beyond what the media, marketing, and pornography have been feeding us about our sexuality and our sexual energy. We may all get to this reflective stage of life at different times, but when we do it is always that same deep sense of something elusive that is calling us to connect with it, urging us to tap into a higher aspect of ourselves, and to reach out and find our true Self.
And this is something genuine Tantra can help you do.
The Genuine or Real Tantra
It would be true to view Tantra as being a spiritual scientific discipline that is focused on self-discovery and the evolution of Self towards greater awareness and consciousness.
The word Tantra comes from the ancient Sanskrit language and can be interpreted into English to mean "twist", "prolong" or "extend". Certainly no mention of sex or even anything illicit at all. Tantra philosophizes that everything is connected, linked, and intertwined on an energetic web or network.
In its earthlier usage, Tantra is a path that can lead to freedom, liberation, and salvation, rescuing a person from the prison of spiritual karma and recurring reincarnation.
Please don't let a lofty spiritual definition such as this deter you from wanting to learn more. Often too much focus on the arcane and esoteric nature of ancient theories can confuse and discourage people.
Fundamentally, Tantra is a study of energy and how people from all walks of life can connect with it. It seeks to reflect on the great and timeworn questions of human existence in tandem with applying practical approaches and techniques so that one can live in happy harmony with the world, the universe, and with life.
Is There Just One Form Tantra or Many?
Whilst there may be one true Tantra, there are several branches of it. This assortment of branches of Tantra is what brings a rich diversity of learning and understanding to how we see ourselves as a part of the greater universe of life. Not every branch of Tantra will appear to every person, and it is rare to find someone who is equally knowledgeable and proficient across all of them. Ideally, the various branches seek to attract and fascinate the varied and multifaceted individual natures of different people on their unique spiritual journey.
No matter which branch of Tantra you may find yourself on, they will each foster and enrich you sufficiently to become a more balanced and potent person.
As with anything philosophical in life, go with what resonates with you the most and throw away the rest.
Tantra Bodywork and Massage
Tantra bodywork and massage are approached from a healing and spiritual perspective through the application of hands-on bodywork and energetic connection. This path is notably a more recent creation and nothing of this nature has come to us through any ancient teachings. The same is true of Chinses Taoism and with anyone promoting Taoist sexual bodywork practices. Regardless of the speculation of how old or new it might be, this is a distinguished method of healing therapy that offers an essential channel for people to link with higher Tantric teachings.
This amazing and stimulating ritual can bring about exceptional healing and health, eliminate blockages, and break down trauma barriers that can help a person return to their best and fullest life through the enjoyment of sexual satisfaction once again. It is also able to unlock hidden or lost sexuality, the sexual potential, connect with pleasure zones, and is a terrific stepping-stone into learning the art of Tantric sex and incredible orgasmic experiences, cleanse the mind, retune emotions and sensitivities, and awaken the spirit.
Tantra bodywork and massage present the doorway to experiencing astonishing internal and external personal revolution for the individual, which leads to being in a better position to be able to reshape and reform one's life emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and sexually.
Tantric Sexuality
Sexual energy is one of the most powerful types of energy in the known universe that is readily available to human beings. Sexual energy is an elemental force that can be found in all living creatures, not solely people. Sexual energy is so strong that it can influence thoughts and behaviour, and even create new life. The potential of sexual energy is limitless.
Tantric sexuality and Tantric sex seek to tap into sexual energy to take traditional lovemaking for couples and magnify their pleasure and sensation and grow their orgasmic potential.
Many old teachings acknowledged that sexual energy was indeed a powerful force that needs to be channelled in a specific way so that it could be utilised to reach many amazing types of orgasms and varieties of pleasure. Through its rehearsal and training a person can become highly alert and sensitive to breath, touch, energy, sensation, vibrations, and ever-the-minute rhythms on the emotional frequency of their partner.
Total presence and sexuality create the space for us to experience oneness and totality. We can reach states of awakening and loss on a wave of endless thrilling, super-sensory, all-consuming spiritual ecstasy which will lead to an entirely new way of living life, of existence, and of how we view reality.
Tantric sex is a genuine path to reaching spiritual divinity. This kind of sexuality reduces our traditional carnal sexual desires and urges that express our sexuality almost like a default seeing and substitutes them with an enchanting and invigorating type of love and longing to know the definitive truth.
Tantra for Couples and Relationships
Tantra is a beautiful path of learning for couples who wish to transform their relationship and help it blossom into an enriching spiritual union of love and sharing for both partners. When truly realised, this is a path that can lead to unbelievable transformation for the couple and the dynamics of their relationship.
Couples who cultivate their relationship with Tantra find what love truly means, not only with the couple's partnership but also within themselves. With commitment and dedication, this may lead to potent openings of the heart and soul to levels of deep intimacy not previously thought possible.
Tantric Yoga
Tantric yoga, much like other variants of yoga, is a mind-and-body practice but with a greater emphasis placed on energy. Most contemporary styles of yoga combine physical postures to reshape and stretch the physical body, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation exercises. Tantric yoga is the opposite of this and treats the body as the tool the accomplish yoga.
Each of us has a physical body, so it is easily something most people can learn how to connect with. It's quite real, you can touch it, and move it around. What Tantra yoga centres around is using the physical body to reconnect a person with all of the delicate, minute, and ethereal forms of energy and aspects of themselves. Consequently, a person will start to identify themselves as being something outside of merely their physical, tangible form. That something is an energetic and spiritual being with intent and purpose.
As a practice, Tantric yoga can foster optimal health and healing, revamp emotional structure, cleanse the physical body, and develop sought-after qualities such as determination and unconditional love, in addition to so much more. In a way, this is the most vibrant, deeply personal, and authentic form of yoga you are likely to encounter.
Kundalini Yoga
Tantra provides enhanced techniques for awakening, unlocking, and safely moving the kundalini energy with kundalini yoga.
Kundalini yoga has its original heritage way back in ancient esoteric lineages of Tantra where teachings were so secret that they were only shared with a select few suitably committed and talented initiates.
Located at the base of the spine is every person, kundalini is celestial energy that embraces great levels of potential. When this restrained energy is awakened in the correct and safe way, it can be moved up from the base of the spine, through the body, and up into the crown of the head. Complete and natural unlocking and rising of kundalini has the potential to experience immense adjustments to almost every feature of their being. Life will never be the same after.
Tantric Meditation
Tantric meditation differs from the hundreds of other styles and types of meditation available in the way it makes use of more potent forms of energy.
Tantric meditation is a complex form of meditation with a noted focus on the energy that is connected through things such as colours, vibrations, visualizations, and sounds to aid with elevating and evolving the meditator's level of awareness and consciousness.
Pranayama
Pranayama is what is known in Tantra as breathing exercise. Try and think of it as a type of gymnastics for your lungs. What turns deep, focused, and controlled breathing into Tantric practice is the way it teaches one how to control their prana, or life force energy. This life force energy exists inside us and all around us and is finer and slighter than the everyday air we breathe in and out. When we can understand and control our life force energy within our own body, through work with the chakras, then we can move forward and learn to control universal life energy, the energy of the cosmos.
Tantra is Not So One Dimensional
Tantra is a very fertile and varied platform that offers us an exclusive and valuable opportunity to embark on an energizing, electrifying, all-embracing journey to improve our self-development and spiritual growth.
All of these different branches of Tantra that have been summarised above are there to spark the interest and stimulate the fascination of all different types of unique people coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, educations, temperaments, and levels of spiritual knowledge.
The beautiful thing is you get to choose to learn the path that speaks to you the most. Choose one, choose many, the choice is ultimately yours.
This article only really skims over what Tantra is truly about. To do so would many more pages and thousands of more words. There is so much more out there for you to discover.
And as you can see, Tantra is much more than just sex.
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The information contained above is provided for entertainment purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice on your personal situation and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. The Writer and Shoshin Therapies disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
I went to tantra at massage in prague, it was such a great and interesting experience!