What is Tantra?

As a Tantra Practitioner and Coach I am often asked this question whenever I share my profession with someone for the first time. As a friend recently explained when she asked me for a definition of Tantra, “When I go to the ‘Tantra File’ in my mind, there just isn’t a lot there!” For the other people that raise a curious eyebrow at me when I say I’m a Tantra Coach, I surmise the term Tantra may bring up some combination of both exciting and unsavory connotations. 

For me though, the simple answer is: Tantra is medicine. 

The practice of Tantra originated on the Indian subcontinent somewhere between 5-10,000 years ago, depending on the research you read. It was designed as a technology, a spiritual science applied to oneself to catalyze profound healing and transformation for the practitioner and offer a path of on-going liberation. To clarify, it is a practice, not a religion. 

There are many forms of Tantra which adds to the confusion. The form of Tantra I practice and teach is Tibetan 5 Element Tantra rooted in the Shangpa Kagyu lineage with permission to teach from my root lama, Lama Tashi Dundrop. My training was done with the Institute for Authentic Tantra Education, the only government accredited Tantra training program in the world. If you would enjoy learning more about Tantra, you can pre-register for my next “Introduction to Tantra” workshop by sending an email. (See below)

So what is the connection between Tantra and Sexuality?

This is where I often when I get that curious eyebrow arch! But I don’t mind. I’ve been a sexuality educator for 20 years so I’m used to working in a field that is considered taboo or controversial. 

There are both non-sexual and sexual teachings in Tibetan Tantra and the sexual practices are viewed as a spiritual path of realization in which sexual energy is skillfully and ethically cultivated and used for personal health, healing and transformation, and ultimately, to benefit all sentient beings. 

Is this form of Tantra inclusive of women and LGBTQ+ people?

YES. For too many of us, spiritual practices have either left us out or used language that feels alienating. But the form of Tantra I practice and teach allows each of us to show up exactly as we are, along with our identities and life experiences. Tantra welcomes us all! In fact, “queerness” is very tantric in the way it mirrors non-dual reality as experienced in enlightenment, the goal of Tantra. 

Want to hear more about this? If you want to stay in the know about when I will offer my “Queering Tantra” workshop or “Awakening Your Pleasure Potential for People with Yonis” workshops simply sending an email. (See below)

What is meant by “Tantra is Medicine?”

Tantra is energy medicine, and as such, in Tibetan Medicine the energy body is considered senior to the physical body. What this means is that when we work with the energy body we are addressing illness before it manifests in the physical body – allowing us to heal from the inside out! The practices begin non-sexually to allow us to become more skillful before adding sexual energy, which greatly amplifies the potency of the practices. 

I found Tantra when I was looking for ways to heal from the side effects of my cancer treatments and experienced remarkable healing with these practices. If you are a cancer survivor and thriver looking for ways to continue healing from your own cancer journey you may be interested to know I offer a workshop called “Tantra for Cancer Thrivers.” You can pre-register for the next workshop by sending an email. (See below)

What can Tantra address?

Tantra is uniquely suited to provide powerful answers and support if you feel a desire to: 

• Become more grounded, relaxed and present in your body

• Become your own sexual healer 

• Feel more emotionally and sexually connected with yourself and/or your partner

• Have better quality sex

• Enhance your libido

• Experience sex and self-pleasure as sacred practices

• Heal, transform and release trauma

• Regulate your nervous system and vagus nerve

• Experience daily pleasure in all forms

• Cultivate sexuality as a spiritual path

• Slow down and practice mindfulness

• Move through life with more ease and grace

• Understand your feelings and needs

• Enhance your communication with yourself and others

• Become a better lover and partner

• Last longer in bed

• Release unhealthy attachments to porn in a sex-positive way

• Learn semen retention and ejaculation control

• Become multi-orgasmic

• Cultivate more compassion for yourself and others

• Feel confident in your understanding of your body’s unique sexual physiology and process

If Tantra speaks to you and you’d like to learn more about the workshops I offer, or 1:1 sessions for individuals and couples, simply send me an email to set up a complimentary Clarity Call (stacie@strongrootscenter.com).