Are you wondering, “what is Tantra yoga?” This ultimate yogi guide reveals how it promises a closer connection to the divine through intimacy and self-love.
There is a certain degree of contrast between traditional Tantra principles and other forms of yoga, which are mainly emphasized through the relationship between the physical body and one’s inner world. While other styles of yoga focus on the renunciation of your physical body and the journey to escape from the suffering within, Tantra yoga promotes the value of self-love, self-discovery, and self-awareness to ignite the light of the mind. Traditionally, Tantra yoga comprises many techniques, such as meditation, visualization, mudras, and pranayama.
Read on to learn more about Tantra yoga and how to practice it.
Contents
The Origin Of Tantra Yoga
Tantra is an ancient spiritual form of mental exercise that takes root in India, Tibet, and other parts of Asia. It has a special connection with traditional Hatha yoga. However, it also involves other yogic traditions and layers besides just asanas.
Even though Tantra nowadays is commonly linked to tantric sex, traditional Tantra yoga is inclined towards spiritual enlightenment by connecting with your energy through the concept of pleasure. You might also be interested in learning about Kriya yoga.
How Does Tantra Yoga Work?
Tantra yoga comprises techniques such as meditation, visualization, mudras, and pranayama. The mutual concept amongst these techniques is centered around discovering your inner world of energy and how it’s translated through breathwork, silence, and the stillness of your physical body.
Think about Tantra yoga as a higher form of mental exercise that develops the subtle energy flow within your body and spirit, leading it towards the Divine. Silence and stillness play a major role as you want to harvest the purification and activation of kundalini when practicing this type of yoga.
Tantra yogis break down their practice into five different bodies, which include the physical body, energetic body, emotional body, wisdom body, and bliss body. These five zones are synchronized to take the whole person into account to help you achieve your goals and deepen your relationship.
The Connection Between Tantra Yoga And Regular Yoga
I like to perceive Tantra as an approach or introduction to other forms of yoga. The purpose of many yoga styles is to pave the way for self-realization, including Tantra yoga.
Tantra yoga trains you to practice in silence and stillness to connect with your inner self. Ultimately, it trains your mind to perform better when you move on to other types of yoga. You might also be interested in learning about Kundalini yoga.
How To Prepare For Tantra Yoga
Cleanse Your Mind
Lean into the blank state of mind and remove any noises or chatter that get in the way of your mental silence. Dissolve any mental and physical barriers to growth so you can ease into each pose. It will help you cultivate personal empowerment and develop a sense of trust in your intuition.
Get Comfortable With Silence
Staying in a completely silent atmosphere is not easy for many people. The power of silence allows your mind to be free from endless distractions, creating a sanctuary of ultimate divine and serenity inside out.
Release Tension In The Mind
Forcing yourself into total relaxation may not seem easy as it sounds. If you are a beginner, the first phases of Tantra yoga may be the hardest as they start to use up your reserves and gradually makes you tense, stiff, and anxious as your body and mind are not used to such an environment. As long as you stick to your goal, Tantra yoga will help facilitate total relaxation and dig deeper into your self-discovery.
Prioritize Pleasure
Tantra yoga is not solely about sexual poses for couples, even though sexual tantric yoga is also one of the choices.
In traditional Tantra yoga, pleasure can be found in all forms of life around you. No matter what you do, try to seek pleasure, even in the simplest and tiniest things. It can be sitting in silence doing breathwork in the garden, reading a book, or practicing other poses.
Check out our Prana yoga guide.
3 Tantra Yoga Postures You Can Practice
Boat Pose
The boat pose is common because it helps stretch your body and strengthen the hip muscles. To make it more fun, you can practice the boat pose with your partner or friends to develop a better sense of connection.
Sit on the floor facing one another, and place your arms outside the legs reaching out to your partner’s hands. Bend your knees and raise your legs until the balls of your feet touch your partner’s.
Warrior I
Everyone can ease into this pose without any hassle. If you have a partner to practice with, maintain eye contact during the pose to deepen your connection. Other than that, I recommend your toes touch one another.
As you stretch with your arms and hands above your head, the spine will be straightened, and your shoulders will be stretched.
Hand-On-Heart
Last but not least, placing your hands on the chest of your loved one is the best way to develop a mutual connection. You can perform this pose by sitting cross-legged or standing still facing each other. Your partner will do the same, and both of you will start to tune in and develop a zone of harmony around you.If you liked this post, you might also be interested in learning about Nidra yoga.
