Tantra yoga can feel really mysterious if you don’t know what it is. There’s the common misconception that tantra yoga is all about sex rituals, tantric massage, and the kama sutra…
And it partly is—but—there’s actually so much more to tantra than that and if you go to a classical tantra workshop they quite often don’t even mention sacred sexuality at all!
In this article, you’ll learn about what you can expect if you book a tantra workshop or a tantra yoga class, and how you can prepare.
What Is Tantra?
Tantra yoga is a path to a spiritual awakening that originates in Asia. It’s a spiritual philosophy and ancient practice that results in a lifestyle. And this way of life allows you to live in bliss consciousness and deeper alignment with your true self.
Through tantra yoga, you can learn to experience and embody more presence, self-love, self-acceptance, fulfilment, abundance, and pleasure in the here and now.
If you’d like more tips on spiritual awakening and healing then you should check out my blog article here.
What Happens In A Tantra Workshop?
What happens in your tantra workshop depends on who is running it and what type of tantra yoga workshop you go to. In general, you’ll find that many tantric scholars divide tantric teachings into two different categories; classical tantra and neo-tantra.
Neo-tantra is a movement based mainly on the concept of sacred sexuality and sexual practice, and it’s really popular in the West. Its roots are derived from traditional tantra, but unfortunately, it also often (but not always) tends to inappropriately diminish and dissect the complexity and full nature of what tantra truly is.
The neo-tantra movement is often blamed for the global misunderstanding of what tantra is, and in some cases, it can be regarded as cultural appropriation.
Whereas classical tantra can often be regarded as the more traditional and authentic tantric teachings that are derived from Asia. And if you go to a classical tantric workshop, you’ll quite often find that the teacher doesn’t actually touch on sacred sexuality at all.
This doesn’t mean that sacred sexuality and sexual energy are not a part of authentic tantric concepts—because they are.
However, in the wide scope of traditional tantric philosophy, techniques, and practices—sexuality, sexual healing, and sacred sex are actually quite a small part of the tantric spiritual practice, as opposed to the main focus of it (which neo-tantra would often have you believe).
In both sacred sexuality and classical tantra yoga workshops you quite often learn both tantric philosophy and tantric techniques, but again, this is dependent on who is teaching the workshop.
Sometimes yoga teachers focus more on philosophy, and sometimes they may focus more on the actual practices, and other times (and ideally) it may be a more holistic balance of the two.
In most cases, a tantra yoga workshop is going to be very different from a tantric yoga class. In a tantra yoga class, you can expect to be guided through a tantra yoga experience that is very practical and technique based, which allows you to learn how to embody the techniques in your own practice. It often contains little to no philosophy and focuses more on experiential learning.
How To Prepare Before Going To A Tantra Yoga Workshop
Before going on a tantra yoga workshop you’ll first want to decide if it is for you, and if it does resonate—then you’ll also need to prepare yourself for the workshop too.
Here are some questions you can consider or ask before making your booking, and some other tips that will help you to prepare for your tantra workshop.
You can often find the answers to these questions on the workshop sales page or in an FAQ on the website. However, if you can’t see them anywhere, don’t hesitate in just contacting the tantra teacher and asking directly.
1. Is The Tantra Workshop Focused On Sacred Sexuality Or Classical Tantra Yoga?
You’ll want to check if the workshop is based on neo-tantra and sexuality or classical tantra yoga, or perhaps a mix of both.
This is the basis of ensuring that the workshop is for you. If you want to learn about sexual awakening combined with spirituality, you’ll be really suited to a neo-tantra workshop.
Whereas, if you want to learn about traditional tantra yoga as a whole, then classical tantra is probably going to suit you better.
If you notice that the class is for partners, then it’s most likely based on neo-tantra and sacred sexuality, also known as ‘red tantra’.
Whereas, if the class contains things like mantra chanting then this could possibly indicate it holds more of a classical tantra yoga focus, also known as ‘white tantra’.
Simply check with the teacher what the exact learning outcomes of the workshop are. And also check their background, education, and experience too. This will help you to understand if the workshop will help you to achieve your goals.
2. Is There Nudity?
If the tantra workshop does include aspects of sexuality—will tantric sexuality techniques be taught and practised on humans?
Will they be teaching you tantra massage? And if so, how will you be learning the techniques? Will you be practising with other workshop participants?
Neo-tantra can be taught in many different ways. More commonly than not there is no nudity, no touching, and no live sexual demonstrations. However, it would still be advised to ask and check—especially if it would make you uncomfortable if there was.
These are commonly asked questions about tantra workshops, so you’ll usually find this on an FAQ on the website. But if they’re not, don’t be afraid to ask.
Sacred sexuality can be taught in many ways. And in general, nudity and demonstrations of practices on humans are not required to learn about tantric techniques, tantric philosophy, or tantric practices.
Most tantra yoga teachers demonstrate using the same tools as any other teacher would—with workbooks, slideshows, props, and any other educational materials that are needed.
*If you are participating in a tantra yoga workshop that does contain nudity, tantric massage, and tantric practices that are done in person, please practice safely and with appropriate caution.
Unfortunately, the world of sacred sexuality and tantric sex is not always safe and there have been many cases of sexual and emotional abuse within the industry—so it’s important to do your own independent research into teachers and schools.
3. Will I Learn Tantric Philosophy Or Tantric Techniques?
To ensure that your expectations are going to be met, you might want to check if you’ll be learning tantric yoga philosophy or practising tantric techniques—or if there’ll be a mix of both.
In classical tantra yoga there is a big focus on subtle energy, ceremonies, rituals, and deity worship.
Traditional tantra yoga incorporates many different aspects such as spiritual philosophy, yoga poses (asana), breathing exercises, subtle energy and chakra work (pranayama), meditation practice (dhyana), ritual, devotional fire ceremonies (yagna), chanting (mantra), sound (nada), sacred geometry and diagrams (yantra), energetic seals (mudras), ceremonial worship (puja rituals), and more…
In the workshop, you might be taught the yoga philosophy of tantra, or get live demonstrations and be able to participate in (and therefore learn) tantric practice too.
4. Ask What To Bring
It’s a good idea to check if you need to bring anything in particular to the class such as a yoga mat, and also what you need to wear. For example, if you’re doing tantra practice, you’ll mostly likely need to wear suitable yoga clothes.
Also, depending on the workshop, you might also need to check if you can join alone, or if you’ll need a partner.
You can also check if you need to make any other preparations for the workshop such as prior reading or watching of supplied video resources.
What Happens In A Tantra Yoga Class?
A tantra yoga class is very different from a tantra yoga workshop. In a tantra yoga class, you’ll most likely be led through a tantra yoga practice (sadhana).
Most general tantra yoga classes contain hatha yoga postures (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation practice (dhyana). And the teacher may or may not choose to interweave yoga philosophy into their class instructions.
How the class is led is generally dependent on the tantra practice level of the practitioners and also the ability of the teacher themselves.
Depending on the level of ability of the practitioners, a good tantra yoga teacher will generally combine other aspects of tantra yoga into the asana practice such as mantra, mudra, and bandha to ensure that the practice is holistic for your spiritual growth.
Tantra yoga classes are a really a great way to learn how to embody tantra yoga techniques. Much of yoga is an experiential learning, meaning that you have to embody the techniques through applied action.
In general, you’ll find that tantra yoga classes really focus on working with your subtle energy body—especially the polar energy channels of solar and lunar energy or more commonly known as masculine and feminine. But in most cases, a tantra yoga class won’t contain a philosophy ‘lecture’ in the same way that a yoga workshop generally would.
Interested in learning more about the signs of spiritual awakening and healing? Check out my blog article here.
Conclusion
Your experience in a tantra workshop and tantra yoga class is defined by the teacher, and what they’re teaching. So, you really want to make sure that you know what you’re signing up for prior to joining to ensure that the workshop or class meets your needs!
Tantra yoga is such a beautiful and liberating practice, it’s definitely worth exploring both workshops and classes so you can experience the scope of this spiritual path and its benefits for yourself!
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