So, let’s ask the obvious question: why is Vaike producing a TANTRA event?!
Glad you asked….as someone who has always been interested in the esoteric, and who has spent a lot of her life working with the body via dancing I have had Tantra on my to-do list for a long time.
Last NYE one of my resolutions was to find out more about it.
I brought this up in conversation with one of my best friends – Lauren Penning - who also just happens to have her own yoga studio in Paddington: The LifePod. Lauren mentioned that our mutual friend, who I hadn’t been in touch with for 10 years, was now a Tantrika with her own studio in LA. This is Charu of Embody Tantra.
So I googled her, as you do, and was fascinated to find that she not only had a comprehensive site but also a candid blog that detailed how she integrated Tantric practice into her whole life.
Surprisingly and intriguingly I found that it was not all about 9 hour ‘sessions’ (a la Sting!). The idea is that it is a path of meditation that doesn’t forget that we have a body. Many meditation practices seek transcendence of the body whereas Tantra brings you right back into it, allowing your body, your senses and your sensual experience of the world to be your guide. It sees the energy between male and female polarities (in many forms other than the obvious) as opening a channel to creation and to the divine. Which of course it is, if you think about it!
The practices are based on a series of 112 ancient meditations – actually, only 6 deal directly with sex, but of course, those 6 are what has given Tantra much of its press!
Long story: short, I contacted Charu, bought and read some books she recommended, and soon signed up for her home-study course – this was 7 weeks of receiving a 1 hour recording from Charu, and following through with various home-play assignments that she gave.
And it was wonderful.
So much easier than I thought it might be, such all-encompassing, effortless and immediate effects. Of course, my original impetus was to deepen and nurture my romantic relationship, but I had no idea that Tantric practice brings delightful ease and openness to all your relationships: family, colleagues – it was amazing! Without having any idea or concept of what I was working on in private, my 7 year old son (who was very affectionate and loving anyway) just began to declare his happiness and love for life and for me and quadrupled his usual amount of hugs. He just sensed the change. I mean, he and I were very happy anyway, so I wasn’t seeking or expecting it, but it was so lovely and has continued. And that’s just one example.
What have I learned from my novice explorations so far?
Through integration of Tantric practices, even the breeze on my skin is sensual and divine. Any time I feel ‘off-centre’, I just take a breath and feel it massage me, on the inside. If I’m unsure of a situation, I literally ‘check-in’ with my body, and there is the perfect guide. And that state of ‘being’ that I have sought is just so readily accessible through these tiny things.
And although it’s lovely to incorporate with your significant other, lots and lots of it is about yourself, your other relationships, your relationship with life and with the divine. You can use this if single, or even if your partner isn’t into it.
So that’s why I decided to work with Lauren in hosting Charu to visit and teach 2 weeks of workshops for us. I have gotten so much from this experience so far, I can hardly wait to see how it works with learning from Charu in real life!
I’m happy to answer questions, and if you’d like to read more or perhaps even book in: www.tantradownunder.blogspot.com
(And yes, I made up the name, you know I can’t resist a pun!)
2 years ago • 0 notes