Do you celebrate your mastery and finesse? Are you intimate with a posse? Do you rally and converse with your various parts (i.e., feelings, emotions, actions, words), regardless of their positivity? Recognizing your gifts, cultivating relationships and collaborating with all aspects of your human nature are just a few of the effective Tantric teachings that have invited more humour, dharma and love into my life.
It takes a lot of courage for me to remember and relish my unique flair. Once as I started to immerse my awareness and actions around my gifts, conditions in my life began to align. Life didn’t seem so edgy, or shall I say I didn’t seem so edgy? It was as if I stepped into my flow (i.e, dharma). Unfortunately I’m not in this flow 100% of the time…there are moments when I’m in the mud. But now I have the knowing to feel and see when I’m misaligned, and then I take steps to meet the flow. Whether they are baby steps or T-Rex steps I move toward my dharma.
It took a load of strength (and continuously demands a balance of sensitivity and muscle energy) to cultivate and sustain community (e.g., family, kula, sangha, posse, etc). Community has not only been shown to clinically improve health and well-being (Ornish, 2007), but historically and today lineages and families around the globe utilize relationships as a means to receive support and harness more potency. It is within these relationships that we can see the reflection of ourselves – all parts of ourselves. Over time I’ve learned to have a good laugh at certain aspects of myself, but simultaneously I’ve been overwhelmed by the compelling impact of the Tantric practices that are now part of my repertoire (e.g., visualizations, japa, meditation). These practices have invited me to unfold parts of myself that have never been revealed and transform patterns that don’t necessarily serve myself or those around me.
As my teacher Dr. Douglas Brooks reminds me, there is nothing more divine than to dwell deeply in the elements of nature, society and humanity, and that our flawed and vulnerable human qualities are nothing more nor less than the Divine being revealed (Srividyalaya, 2011). These teachings not only invite me to love myself more, but also to love others.
Tantra is a Sanskrit word translated in some texts to be ‘doctrine’,‘theory’ or ‘system of practice’ (Wallis, 2012). Tantra has also been associated with definitions such as ‘loom’ or ‘weave’. According to Wallis, the Tantrik practice is learned from someone aged in the tradition and who has received not only blessings from the practices but has also experienced some of the snags. Southern and Northern India embrace different Tantric traditions, scriptures and practices. To define Tantric Yoga in a brief statement like this would only diminish the auspiciousness of this beautiful tradition. Instead, I invite you to explore and learn more about the accessibility and practicality of this yoga tradition. Visit http://rajanaka.com/ OR http://mattamayura.org.
For me, Tantric Yoga is a remembrance that my embodiment as a human is a playful, intentional and powerful experience that requires collaboration, cooperation, and cohabitation with conditions, circumstances and people surrounding me. The more I embark on the Tantrik path, the more I realize that there is so much more to discover about myself and everyone around me. Due to the vastness within myself and others, I’m immensely curious to explore and discover life.
Douglas Brooks (2011): Srividyalaya, Ganesha Puja, Crossing the Threshold of Tantric Understanding and Practice.
Wallis, Christopher Hareesh, (2012): Tantra Illuminated, Anusara Press, Texas, USA.
Ornish, Dean (2007): The Spectrum, Ballantine Books, NY, NY.