Posts Categorized: Tantra philosophy

  Origins of Tantra For those of you who are interested in the origins of tantra, the following article, entitled ‘A Thousand Years of Abhinavagupta’ will give you all the information you need:   http://www.sutrajournal.com/a-thousand-years-of-abhinavagupta-by-jeffrey-lidke   It is a fairly scholarly article and gives a lot of insight into the cultural traditions of India.   Although it may not be of interest to many of you, who come to us mainly for relaxation, I couldn’t resist doing a short article on it for my blog, as it does truly clarify what tantra is, and may give the reader some idea of why I keep saying that, strictly speaking, we should not be calling our massage ‘tantric massage’.   Abhinavagupta lived one thousand years ago (ca. 950-1020). It is said that his mother and father engaged in ritualized sexual union, so that their son would not be an ordinary being, but a channel for ‘a god-being to enter this world for the sake of revealing ancient wisdom toward the end of providing a path of liberation for worthy seekers.’ His education was unrivaled and today, he is recognized by many as being the main source for the understanding of the Tantra… Read more »

‘ I would like a genuine tantra massage’ Is a call that we often get. Potential clients will phone and say :’ your website looks really genuine. I am looking for a genuine tantra massage.’ I usually then ask: ‘What do you you mean by a genuine tantra massage?’ And the questioner often doesn’t know what to say. Sometimes they will say things like: an internal orgasm, or learning to extend ejaculation, but the majority of the time, they really do not know. And on our side, we find that however much potential clients may ask for so-called ‘genuine’ tantra massage, as soon as they are on the massage table, they start trying to grab the masseuse, they want to touch her everywhere, or begin to ask the usual questions like ‘ Do you get turned on by this?’ or ‘What made you become a tantric masseuse?’ or ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ etc. And at the end, after experiencing the most mind-blowing experience, rather than allow themselves to sink into the feeling of total relaxation, they will feel they need to make conversation and ask questions like: ‘Are you busy these days?’ or say:’I must rush to my next… Read more »

                      We have been practicing tantric massage in London for over 20 years. When we first began, there were maybe 5 practitioners in the whole of London offering tantric massage. And we all advertised in a publication called Loot.Those were the days before the internet. There were no photos on display, no sexy images, simply a short ad, with our telephone number. And all the practitioners knew one another. Today, if someone wants a tantric massage, they will search on the internet, often via google, and they will find dozens of pages of listings. If a person just goes through the listings on page one of their search, most of the services they will find are escorts disguised as tantric massage. We have lost the innocence and gentleness of the early days. Now, large escort agencies buy their way onto Google search and do all they can to eliminate the competition. This has nothing to do with tantra or tantric massage. It has also changed the expectations of clients who visit these masseuses or escorts in disguise, and then come to us, asking for ‘yoni massage’ and other services which… Read more »

      Tantra is a philosophy which needs to become an integral part of our daily life. And the tantra path needs a teacher to point out the direction. Otherwise, when we come to a crossroad, how do we know whether to turn left or right? How do we learn to look inwards and not outwards? Eventually, we become more and more attuned to the inner teacher, who is revealed in the depth of our heart. But it does help to have an outer teacher, especially at the beginnng. And where do we find a true tantra teacher? It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. In the words of a Sufi Teacher: ‘ The unspoken poverty of our culture is a poverty of spirit, a real hunger for what the West has forgotten: that not just individual life, but all of creation is sacred…… we are part of the great mystery of creation…..First, we need to recognise that this connection with the Earth is missing, that there is an ache, a loneliness within our heart and soul….. and a grief for what we have lost. Because our soul remembers, even if our mind and… Read more »

            The Rolling Stones may recommend it , but what is meditation?   There is a lot of talk about meditation nowadays, but how many people really know what it is? Our world has become one of ‘instant gurus’. People do a course here and there, and then set themselves up as experts. They then teach courses themselves, charge a lot of money and delude everyone else as well as themselves. It is what some Masters have called ‘ the soup of the soup of the soup. ‘ – the diluted understanding which results from our superficial modern world of instant communication and instant gratification. Words like meditation, chakras, kundalini have become part of everyday language. It is all too easy to copy or repeat a few paragraphs from a book or website, without any real understanding of what is being said. People want quick results and dont want to put in the time for real practice and deeper experience. They like to concoct their own philosophies. However, there is another side and a lot of precious information is also available. Generally speaking, it is advisable to turn to the teachings of the great Masters… Read more »

    Mention Tantra and most people think of having sex for hours ‘a la Sting’.   An introduction to tantra on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop has been published. So now another famous celebrity has added her name to the practitioners of Tantra. Or at least she has published an article on Tantra on her website: ‘Goop’.   I was attracted by an article which stated: ‘Gwyneth Paltrow has shocked followers of her lifestyle website Goop by posting an introduction to ‘tantric’ sex.’   However, this is not entirely true. The article is written by Michaela Boehm, who teaches seminars on Tantra. It is written mainly in a Question- Answer format. Naturally, she is talking about neo-tantra, although she doesn’t mention the term, and seems to have little interest in traditional Tantra. But intriguingly, she does say: ” In reality, only a small portion of Tantra has anything to do with sex, and only as a way to merge with the divine.”   She is really interested in helping to improve people’s relationships, problems with intimacy, getting in touch with the masculine or feminine part within us and gives ‘ten tips for creating wild passion and deep intimacy‘   The author… Read more »

    “This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men—go freely with powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and with the mothers of families—re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body.” –from Preface to “Leaves of Grass” – Walt Whitman (1855)

  Have you heard of tantric yogassage? I hadn’t either, until I read an article in the Daily Mail, about Bold and Naked Yoga, which is being run in a studio in Chelsea, NY. The idea is to celebrate our bodies, not to be sexually evocative. When all the students are naked, there is no competition regarding clothing – everyone is the same. Apparently erections during the class do occur, but very rarely – and they encourage that when it does, its OK and nohting to be embarrassed about. It will pass quickly….’once we start moving there is no way an erection could be sustained because of the physical nature of the Vinyasa Yoga.’ You can attend co-ed classes or single sex classes and in the tantric yogassage classes, participants are fully clothed. Since I have never heard of tantric yogassage, I decided to look it up. On their website: www.boldnaked.com, they say that tantric yogassage is the most powerful synthesis of assisted tantric yoga poses and innovative bodywork, to experience the art of touch and energy in motion. It is about letting go, deepening your experience and allowing the flow of energy. The same could be said of tantric… Read more »

  Breathing in Tantric Massage. Is it an erotic practice?   The breath is all important. When we stop breathing, we die. Yet how many of us are really aware of our breathing ?   A rapid, shallow “stress breath”, breathing from the chest, prepares us to fight or flee. It is part of the autonomic nervous system response to stress. It stops us from feeling, as our attention is directed towards the external threat.Our digestion stops and sexual response is inhibited. All our mental energy is directed towards the external environment – we disassociate, we feel shut down, frozen and numb.   Shallow breathing allows us to shut down our emotions so that we can fight or flee more effectively.   When we learn to breathe from the belly, or from the diaphragm, which is how we are meant to breathe, we also feel a fuller range of emotions   Deep full breathing can also release tears and laughter. Simply acknowledging and breathing into a feeling, can clear it.   Through deep breathing, we can learn to practice detachment, with mindful awareness of our emotions – and this is very empowering.   The practice of conscious breathing can alleviate… Read more »