Tantra Yoga
18 Oct 2021 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy
What is Tantra Yoga?
Sanskrit word “Tantra” means “to weave”. Tantra is originated in Sanskrit scriptures and emerged around 500 CE. Tantra is a type of yoga that weaves together many different techniques, such as mantra meditation, visualization, mudras, pranayama, and initiation to study the inner universe through our human body. The tantrics developed innovative yet unorthodox technique for allowing one to experience the reality of the true self –the oneness of the entire cosmos. Instead of expanding and focusing one`s awareness outwards. Tantra saw the value of the body as a tool to explore and delight in.
These trantric techniques and rituals primarily focuses on the cultivation and build up of kundalini energy. Once the kundalini energy gets activated it is encouraged to flow up the nadis and chakras eventually the crown chakra to ‘spill from the top’ and create Samadhi and enlightment.
Tantra , on the other hand, embraced all the aspects of the householders life (work, home, family, desire, and even a sex life) and aimed to merge the material and spiritual , the immanent and transcendent – this was radical.
Tantra yoga originates from a worship of the hindu deities that represent the dynamic and static principles of the universe. Shakti (dynamic,creative,feminine) and Shiva ( static, destructive, masculine). Tantra yoga practitioners seek to comprehend the continual play between these principles.
Tantra yoga and Tantra Sex
Since the nineteenth century, Tantra yoga has become widely associated in the west with ‘Tantric sex’ in which sexual acts and spirituality are linked and orgasm is decentered. The interest in Eastern philosophy and the sexual and revolutions of the late 1960s and early 1970s further popularized and cemented tantra as a yoga techniques for great sex. Tantra as a sacred spiritual practice does relate to classical tantric teachings on the subtle energy body and an embodied presence to sexual union. From the tantric point of view, sexuality can be considered the brain which processes the alchemic transformation of the sexual substances into energy. Consequently, Tantra may be said to begin the border of sexuality. Taking it further, sexology gives many descriptions of orgasmic experiences quite resembling to the special state of consciousness.
There is a truth which cannot be denied by any of the feminists movements ;` man is easily impressed y beauty of feminie body and the woman may love a man for his intelligence , or for the protection he might offer., but a man will always appreciate a woman intelligence if combined with beauty.The love
A man has for a woman is inseparable from the desire. And the love beautiful the woman, the greater the desire. Eroticism lights the spark of the senses, so that they will cause the fire of union, man is nurtured by the beauty of woman`s body, and the women is not mistaken when granting so much importance to this aspects.
The specialists in sexology define orgasm as ‘’a state of trance,accompanied by temporary loss of the contact with reality ‘’.tantra considers orgasm as a beneficial state of expansion of the consciousness, in which the habitual limitation of the human being disappear, the mind is reduced to silence, one experiences of ecstasy.
The complete abandon, the transcendence of time and space , the state of unifying the opposites. these and other assimilate orgasm with metaphysical experience
Therefore , in tantra enlightenment is also named ‘cosmic orgasm ‘
Some Tantra yoga rituals includes:
- Asanas
- Meditaition
- Breathing exercises
- Mantras
- Mudras
- Physical and ritual cleaning
- Visualization of deities
- Yantras
What`s the benefits of practicing Tantra Yoga ?
-Spiriutal liberation
The tantras yoga emphasis on the personal experimentation and experience led to radical techniques to cleanse the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical existence.
Regular tantric practice can help you get these benefits:
- Tantra`s rituals encourage its participants to build up kundalini energy in the top chakras.
- It helps us to access the strength within us to follow our own paths.
- Reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.
- It increases the capacity of intimacy.
- Imporves sleep quality.
- Boost confidence and performance in bedroom.
- Build up kundalini energy.
The Goal of tantra yoga
Tantra yoga enables the practicioner to directly experience the divine and to taste the oneness of cosmos. The scriptures and philosophy of tantra teach us the manisfestation of our highest self. Tantric practice is the process of employing the essence of the best of our lifein all the aspect.
If you practice tantra properly, then you will be able to hold the power of kundalini energy. Kundalini is the form of divine energy which is located at the base of the spine. When it comes to kundalini, you work with cause and effects with the hope to get a certain sensations.
The goal of tantra is the ultimate happiness, feeling so powerful that if you would feel it right now you might not be able to bear its intensity. It can be compared with a regular light bulb through which thousands pf volt are made to run but it couldn`t bear a intensity so, it would most likely to explode. Therefore, in the same way , this practice is not everyone`s cup of tea.
The tantric practice is reserved only to few. It has remained secret for thousands of year. However, it did not decay over time. Tantra is not a religion but a powerful spiritual philosophy that helps people to stay awake and use his/her shakti.
How is tantra yoga different from other forms of yoga?
- Tantra Yoga has long phases of deep relaxation. In true relaxation, the mind shuts off, allowing for an easier connection to yourself. New information is stored and transmitted at a cellular level through repetitions. From that space, you become more free, more loving, more connected.
- The goal is not to gain a more flexible body for aesthetic reasons. The goal is to become more flexible by releasing emotional tightness and blocks.
- Poses are reached by surrendering practices, unlike Hatha, Vinyasa or Iyengar Yoga. If you cannot reach a posture, visualize yourself in it but don’t push your body. Where you feel tension, connect to it by breathing into this place. Create more space. Breathe out while letting go of all tension.
- There is no way of doing it right or wrong. The practice brings you into your own body so that you can feel what works for you in the moment. There is no reason for the teacher to correct your posture. Your body has the freedom of doing the postures in an intuitive way and through relaxation.
- Tantra celebrates our body as our temple. While other traditions see the body as an obstacle, Tantra uses it as a tool for transformation. It recognizes it is not the body that is the problem, but our relationship to our body.
- There is no way to reason to cover the silence with music as the silence is perfect. You learn to be comfortable with the silence, which helps when with an intimate partner.
- Traditional Tantra Yoga is slow and mindful. It lasts for about 2.5 to 3 hours per session. When done regularly, it improves your other yoga practices and your life in general.