Friday, March 5, 2010

What's Tantra Got To Do, Got To Do With It?

Last week my boyfriend performed the ultimate act of coolness.
Camouflage in downtown Santa Cruz was holding an Introduction to Tantra class, and he actually came with me, willingly. As you can imagine, this greatly impressed his general awesomeness upon me. I thought, "It takes a real man to Tantra, whatever that means!"

Before the class we both confessed that attending such a thing took us both out of our comfort zones. I knew from the flier for the class that there would be "no nudity or explicit activity in the class." I knew that Tantra was an ancient practice related to yoga that used the essential and elemental energies of masculine and feminine to build and release ecstatic energy. I knew that it could create more pleasure in your life and more intimacy with your partner. That's about all I knew, but I wanted to get in on that--even if it required some touchy-feeliness that elicited awkward giggling.

Fourteen attendees gathered in the front room of Camouflage, singles and couples alike. We sat in a circle on yoga mats and blankets. The workshop was being taught by a man named Luke who runs the business Tantric Joy with his partner Jan. You can see their website and read more about Tantra here. Luke was a handsome fellow in his 30's with a straight forward and knowledgeable attitude but a great dry sense of humor. No overly-thin, ponytailed instructor in tie-dye with ooglie eyes and an exaggerated smile. I was more comfortable already.

Luke gave us an overview of the history and different practices of Tantra. He lead us through some breathing exercises and reviewed the body's seven primary chakras as well as the sound to activate them. At one point the class lined up in two rows facing one another. We broke away from the partner we had previously pared up with. We moved down the line, spending a few minutes just gazing into the eyes of someone who was a total stranger. We attempted to truly see them as a whole individual and send love to them. I would have thought that this exercise would be extremely difficult for me. But I actually found it to be such a beautiful and profound experience that I just wanted to hug these strange women whom I had been both staring into and opening myself to for only a few moments.

The class finished up the evening by returning to or original partner or "buddy." My boyfriend and I stood facing each other. Luke instructed us to put our right hands out to touch the other's heart. We then covered our partner's hand with our own hand, and gazed into their eyes. We stayed like that. I felt a powerful flow of energy between us. I also felt surprisingly shy. I thought, "Wow...look at the way he's looking at me... I think this guy really does love me... I think I really love HIM!..."

I had to suppress an awkward giggle.

It was a powerful evening, and a meaningful introduction to this ancient philosophy and practice that many have heard of, but few have experienced.

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