Youre Going To Be Running Around All Day And Have A Really Weird Schedule
When I was starting out, I took each and every teaching gig I could get. This meant I was sometimes working 17 hour days.
I once taught a regular 5:30 am client, followed by 7am and 9am ones. I got up at 5am, and I was home by 11am . Then I had several free hours until my evening classes. Sometimes, my last class or private session would end at 10pm.
I also became much more conscious of the weather, because I was going in and out of the elements all day long. There was something tremendously freeing about this, but it can also be perpetually exhausting.
Two Modern Takes On Tantra
Now we understand that there are two ways of looking at Tantra in our modern world:
1) One is to be strict in sticking to the fundamental, scriptural doctrine of the tantras.
2) The other is to allow the natural evolution of spiritual systems through time.
My online coaching aligns with this second perspective. Its essential to adapt to our context as humanity advances and gets new knowledge.
The adaptable way allows us to expand and modernize the ancient tantra teachings. Of course, we shouldnt transform the core. Good expansions bring in whats true in our experience and produce real-life results.
Its as Anodea Judith, best-selling author on chakras, says:
The trouble with anything written down about religion, whether it is written in the Bible, the Koran, stone tablets, or Sanskrit texts, is that the written word is static, while life is dynamic, constantly changing and evolving. Religious texts that have endured through time, always lag behind the times in which they are practiced. In fact, one simple example of this is that the vast majority of writers about yoga throughout the ages appear to be men, while the modern yoga world today appears to be about 80% women.
We need to create a version of tantra that is helpful to men today. Mens empowerment through tantra is still possible. We only need the right approach.
How To Perform Vama Nauli
Take the same stance as in the earlier practice. Follow the steps 1 3 as mentioned in the Madhya Nauli practice.
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Relationship Help Through Tantra
Using the tools of Tantra and the systems in my mentorship program, youll improve your relationship.
Curious to know how my program The Tantric Man Experience helps you? Watch this free masterclass after reading.
A warning, though. This mentorship program isnt for everyone. It isnt your typical sex counseling session or relationship advice.
Its a tantric paradigm shift that will transform your way of life.
This program is only for men who struggle with intimacy, passion, or confidence. Its for men who want help and support as they work to overcome these problems. If youre only looking for a cool new technique, this work isnt for you.
Still interested? Then we can work together with tried-and-true tools.
Ill give you some more good news. Ive been working behind the scenes to create a global community of 3800+ conscious men.
We are sharing what tools are effective for us. Our topics:
- rekindling that passion,
- becoming a master in the bedroom,
- discovering and doing the right things to please and excite their partners,
- and rebuilding the exceptional confidence theyve lost along the way.
We dont complain, we dont judge, we take action!
Simply to join our FREE Facebook community.
Lastly, leave me a comment below if you:
- Want to work together.
- Have references to special classical tantric practices youd like to add.
- Need clarification on any points.
- Feel I didnt mention anything you think is important.
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Tantra Coaching And Revealing The Sources
Tantra teachers must understand where their lessons come from. They need to be transparent and communicate this to their students.
We should avoid giving false or misleading references. And we shouldnt claim that sacred sexuality practices are from the scriptural tantric texts. They have a place in our work but we need to be open about them.
We should honor the true sources of our learning. And give credit and reference to them. Accountability and trust matter.
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The Tantric Sex Ritual Of Kula Yaga
Abhinavagupta, a tenth-century sage called the father of tantra, writes of sexual rituals. In chapter 29 of his text Tantraloka, he describes a rite named Kula-yaga.
At its core, this is an initiation rite that involves practitioners sexual fluids. They use semen of men and the menstrual blood of women for worship, magic, and for mutual ingestion.
These fluids are sacred and very powerful when they become ritual tools.
Another Tantric scholar, David Gordon White, argues in Kiss of the Yogini that:
The sole truly distinctive feature of South Asian Tantra: sexualized ritual practices, especially as expressed in the medieval Kaula rites. Such practices centered on the exchange of powerful, transformative sexual fluids between male practitioners and wild female bird and animal spirits known as Yoginis. It was only by drinking the sexual fluids of the Yoginis that men could enter the family of the supreme godhead and thereby obtain supernatural powers and transform themselves into gods.
On this point, the community of tantric scholars doesnt come to a complete agreement. For example, see Wallis critique of Whites writing here. The gist to say sexual rites are the defining aspect is a bit reductionistic.
The best you can do is check out both sides of the argument and make up your own mind. Independent thinking is crucial for spiritual growth.
Masculine And Feminine Energies
To put it simply, a yogi refers to a male master yoga practitioner while a yogini refers to a female master yoga practitioner. The term, yogi, stands for the masculine energy, while yogini stands for the feminine energy.
If youre a woman and youve devoted your life to walking the spiritual path, then youre also a yogini. Any woman who dedicates her life to mysticism and enlightenment can rightfully call herself a yogini.
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Two: Sit Down Be Humble
After you become a certified yoga teacher, whats next?
But theres something else.
Know. Your. Worth.
About a year after completing my yoga teacher training course, I took a job working as an assistant teacher at a yoga and meditation retreat center. The yoga teacher salary wasnt flashy, but it was enough to live simply.
I worked long days assisting yoga classes, deepening my personal training on the meditation cushion, refining my yoga teaching skills, and holding space for people all over the world.
Holding space. As in offering your complete presence, hosting your energy in the present moment, and ensuring a comfortable learning environment for the students who came to the retreat center.
Yet, what shocked me the most? Other yoga teachers attitudes toward this sacred task.
Freshly-minted yogis would arrive at the retreat center and turn their noses up at tasks they deemed unimportant or below their standards. Hello, Ego.
Whether it was tidying up the props, waking up early to complete a personal yoga practice, or making an effort to connect with guests, these instructors said nope.
The lesson here? As a yoga instructor, you dont get paid so you can breeze into the yoga studio five minutes before the start of class, rattle off a list of yoga poses, and waltz off after 90 minutes.
Laya Yoga And Kundalini Yoga
Laya and Kundalini yoga are closely associated with Hatha yoga but are often presented as being independent approaches.
According to Georg Feuerstein, Laya yoga “makes meditative absorption its focus. The laya-yogin seeks to transcend all memory traces and sensory experiences by dissolving the microcosm, the mind, in the transcendental Self-Consciousness.” There are various forms and techniques of Laya yoga, including listening to the “inner sound” , practicing various mudras like Khechari mudra and Shambhavi mudra as well as techniques meant to awaken a spiritual energy in the body .
The practice of awakening the coiled energy in the body is sometimes specifically called Kundalini yoga. It is based on Indian theories of the subtle body and uses various pranayamas and mudras to awaken the energy known as kundalini or shakti. In various Shaiva and Shakta traditions of yoga and tantra, yogic techniques or yuktis are used to unite kundalini-shakti, the divine conscious force or energy, with Shiva, universal consciousness. A common way of teaching this method is to awaken the kundalini residing at the lowest chakra and to guide it through the central channel to unite with the absolute consciousness at the highest chakra .
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The Tantric Origins Of Hatha Yoga
Lets get nerdy, yeah? You can skip ahead if your current mood isnt history buff.
According to yoga historians, Goraksha is who truly compiled the earliest hatha yoga texts. This is the system we know and practice today.
Goraksha was a tantric practitioner of the lineage of the Nath tradition .
What was his goal? Goraksha wanted to create a simplified version of tantric yoga. By removing the more complex practices of energy and mantra, he wanted to suit the mainstream.
The tantrikas saw this hatha yoga as a tantric amplification of Patanjalis Eight Limbs of Yoga. These were practical prescriptions for having a good life. Worth noting: not the same as modern Ashtanga Yoga.
Swami Swatarama, like Goraksha, was also of the tantric Nathas lineage. Around 1450 CE he compiled the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a basic text for yogis.
This is the true classic text on yoga, where all modern exercise-based yoga comes from. The tantric work of Goraksha and Swatarama is the most influential on modern yoga today.
Tantra scholar Christopher Hareesh Wallis writes:
A couple of scholars have shown now, its not widespread knowledge yet that Hatha Yoga almost definitely comes out of a south Indian Tantric lineage called Shambhavnanda lineage. We also have a newly translated very important scripture, called Matsyendra Samhit, dated 1300, which claims to be the teaching that Goraksha received from Matsyendra.
How To Do Easy Pose In Yoga
Easy Pose Sukhasana is a basic seated yoga posture. It is depicted in some of the oldest images of ancient yogis in India, some of which are at least 2,000 years old. Also sometimes called Simple Cross-Legged Pose, Sukhasana is intended to be comfortable and calming. Its name comes from two Sanskrit words:
- Sukha meaning easy, comfortable, or joy
- Asana meaning pose
Sukhasana is a very common pose for practicing meditation and breathing exercises . It is also often used as an alternative to practicing Lotus Pose for those whose hips are very tight.
Sukhasana is a pose that many people automatically practice as children, but lose the ability to do over time due to sitting in chairs. This is a very modern problem. Early yogis didn’t have the convenience of chairs, so their hips were much more open. Sukhasana is especially good to practice if your hips are very tight just be sure to prop yourself up so your hips are higher than your knees . A few times a day, come down to the floor and sit in Sukhasana. Notice how different it feels than to sit in a chair. Regular practice will gradually open your hips and bring your spine into correct alignment.
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In Fact It Is A Popularity Contest
Although most yoga centers derive a large chunk of their income from teacher trainings, theres still an obvious pressure to fill classes, even if some studios may deny this. The problem is that you cant really make that happen in any obvious way. And unfortunately, it takes time to create enough of a fan base to fill a room.
I concluded that in order to consistently fill a room of 40 students, at least 400 students needed to want to be there. I had to teach over 1,500 people to develop the rapport with the ones who really understood what I was offering and who wanted more of it on a weekly basis.
That, frankly, takes some time to build! As with any popularity contest, it can drive you crazy if you start to take it personally. Students would swear that I’d changed their lives and then suddenly vanish.
In every conversation Ive had with fellow teachers about their numbers, the more we explored this topic, the more crazy it felt. It is and will remain a mystery.
Practices In Classical Tantra
So what does classical tantra look like?
Some original practices involved:
- Moving pranic energy up the nadis and chakras of the subtle body.
Some even explain tantra with the saying Mantra + Yantra = Tantra.
All these practices are techniques to transmute life-force energy into paranormal power . They lead to liberation , the end goal of tantra.
* The photo is an anatomy illustration of the subtle energy system from the 1899 Tibetan manuscript Sapta Chakra.
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Why Do You Roll To The Right After Savasana
Lying on right side allows breath to flow more easily through the left nostril breathing through the left nostril activates the left or yin energy channel. Yoga is a practice of removing energy blockages. When you roll to the right it symbolizes facing East and a metaphoric rise from your yoga practice.
Kathryn Budig: Yoga Teacher Author Founder Of Aim True Yoga
Kathryn Budig is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher, but she will tell you that her motivation for her practice was quite simple to start.
All I knew was that I felt like a better person after doing yoga, she says.
Budig curates her practice to fit her body. As for poses she avoids, Im not a big fan of shoulder standI find it dangerous for the cervical spine, she says, but I adore a good hip openerit helps to regulate old baggage. Budig is on board for encouraging anyone who wants to try the practice.
Youll only be a beginner once, so enjoy the bumps and hiccups and keep the wonder of a beginner.
What is Kathryns personal mantra?
My longtime mantra is and will always be ‘Aim true, although Ive been supplementing it with, Stay open and curious
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Tantric Meditation The Swords Edge Observance
Lets go to another classical tantric sexual ritual. It comes from the text called Brahmayamala . This is what Shaman Hatley studies in his famous essay.
The Swords Edge Observance ritual is Asidharavrata in Sanskrit. It is the first tantric ritual that involves sexual contact that we find in the texts.
The main idea is to cultivate sexual restraint from lust and desire in the very face of temptation. At the same time, to incorporate a spiritual practice such as meditation and mantra.
The text instructs, The couple should adorn themselves and behave seductively, though with a mind purified by yoga.
In one version of this ritual, the man should place his lingam on the yoni without penetration. Then, he should meditate on the sacred mantras while in the womans embrace.
He needs to do this with zero ejaculation. If ejaculation happens by mistake, the man must do strenuous atonement. Failing to control ejaculation is a serious ritual fault. It requires repeating the mantra 1000 times before he can come back and continue the ritual.
In another version of the Observance, penetration happens and passionate lovemaking follows. But the man must still control ejaculation and stay deep in meditation.
We should remember that these sexual rituals were only for advanced tantra practitioners. You would have to reach maturity and development on the spiritual path. It was not meant for any newcomer and its mainstay was meditation.
Updating Tantra For The Modern World
Tantra, like any other spiritual philosophy or teaching, doesnt exist in a void. Its purpose is to guide people to liberation. And people are complex blends of culture, history, personality, etc.
We can agree that classical tantric practices were good for people in the ancient world. But that was a couple of thousand years ago. Were not there now.
To practice the same tantra in our modern, technological age might not be the best approach. We could get clear benefits from modernizing tantra.
This doesnt mean changing its core. Rather, updating the practice to integrate ancient tradition with the modern man.
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Etiquette Tips For Yoga Class And The Reasons Behind Them
Americans take yoga classes for a variety of reasons, including some that more traditional adherents might not recognize as yoga-related at all. For certain practitioners, the priority is mindfulness or stress relief for others, its maintaining flexibility. Still others view yoga mostly as a workout. Theres a lot of what I call yoga-flavored exercise out there, says longtime yoga therapist Carol Krucoff.
But whatever the goal, yoga students are choosing to pursue it in a quiet, tranquil, breath-focused atmosphere, with minimal distraction. Everyone attending a yoga class, then, should follow etiquette rules that help maintain an aura of calm, concentrated effort. Otherwise, they run the risk of harshing someones hard-won Zen.
Ive been both culprit and victim when it comes to causing distraction in yoga class Ive walked into an already-underway session during the opening meditation, and Ive felt my post-savasana equilibrium evaporate as hard-driving yogis waiting for the next class charge into the room, eager to claim a spot before Ive even gotten off my mat.
Students are really entering a wellness space where classes are held for everyone to experience their benefits, and there are guidelines in place to foster respect and make everyone feel equally comfortable, says Charlotte Raich, who has been teaching yoga for 13 years and is the senior membership manager for Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit organization for yoga professionals in Arlington, Va.
