Tantra Yoga – Benefits and Prerequisites For Practice

Tantra Yoga is a much talked-about term, but what is it and what does it take to practice tantra yoga? Quite simply, it is a set of tantra exercises that harnesses extremely potent power for spiritual regeneration.

Because of this power, it lies at the fundaments of ancient tantra practice.Tantra yoga lays special emphasis on the development of the powers latent in our six chakras, from Muladhara to Ajna. It should be clarified here that tantra yoga is not concerned with sexuality, but with creative force and transmuting the energy of this force into higher channels.

This revered and highly efficacious form of tantra practice involves deep meditation, in which the student of tantra sits calmly and purifies the mind and heart of wayward thoughts and desires.Tantra yoga is a ritual path, and is often grossly misunderstood and wrongly practiced. The fact is that its practitioners must have purity, humility, devotion, courage, dedication to their tantra teacher, a deep understanding of cosmic love, faithfulness, contentment, dispassion, non-covetousness and honesty. This form of yoga is a process that can unfold one’s spiritual nature through the constant worship of the energy within, collectively known as Shakti.

Practiced diligently under the guidance of an accomplished tantra master, it brings about an awakening of the self.Tantra yoga does not limit itself to a particular branch of study – rather, it incorporates in it diverse elements which are linked by a unifying rule of Tantra Dharma. It aims to bring about consciousness in all states of human life – the conscious state, the waking state and the dream state. It is a path and practice that teaches the methods and ways by which we can discard intolerance, ignorance, selfishness and the animal instinct that lives in all of us.Tantra believes teaches us that the primary driving force behind the Universe isnothing but desire, and that desires are very natural for a soul residing in a human body.

Tantra yoga brings physical and mental cleansing through Pranayama (tantra breathing exercises) the visualization of energized energy vortexes (yantra) and deities, the repetition of mantras (energized sounds/words) etc. It is a holistic means of studying of the macrocosm from microcosmic point of view.When a student of tantra practices tantra yoga under a tantra teacher, he or she will soon be able to identify a wide range of factors that impact our thoughts and feelings. Regular practice of this most basic – and yet most powerful – manifestation of ancient tantra inculcates the contentedness, concentration and focus which are needed to release our consciousness from its inherent limitations.

In short – tantra states that desires are natural, and tantra yoga provides practical means and devices to reprogram our minds and desires so that they serve us, rather than the other way round.

Acharya Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra Teacher with an in-depth knowledge of traditional Indian sciences and Sanskrit literature. Visit his tantra online guide to read more about Tantra Yoga, learn tantra exercises and tantric techniques from this young Tantra Master.

Tantra Meditation To Re-Establish Inner Connection

Tantra meditation can help bring us back in touch with ourselves – and with what truly matters in our lives. The art of tantra is all about transcending the superfluous and reconnecting with our elemental core. Never has there been a greater need to practice tantra mediation than today…

Mankind has strayed far from the elements that ancient Tantra upholds as holy and paramount. We are chronically obsessed with the development and acquisition of sleeker cell phones, smaller Ipods, faster Internet connections and smarter refrigerators. The human race continuously strives to improve its own situation better – unfortunately, in the constant search for something that is smaller, bigger, faster and jazzier, we have forgotten how to appreciate what we already have, or rather, had – the soul connection.

Is sitting in America and video-chat with friends or relatives in India real connection? We have adopted a false ideal – that of instant gratification, money, mechanical partying and mechanical loving. We think we are making things easier, but something as basic is being lost. We are experiencing a slow degradation of the soul. Bodies come together, but a tantra master will point out that this conjoining is incomplete to the point of unwholesomeness. Minds exchange ideas, but there is no common meeting ground of the spirit. Ideas, thoughts and emotions remain disjointed, dry and bereft of true life.

Those who learn tantra must choose not to be blind to the fact that relationships are at their worst point ever, and that the soul-to-soul connection –the very crux of interactions – is being steadily eroded. While the most basic tantra lessons lie ignored by the wayside, relationship fixers, marriage counsellors and lawyers mint money from the disconnect.

No one recognizes this as a serious problem. We are contend with coping as best as we can, either by ourselves or by paying for services that are ultimately useless. Modern science does not acknowledge a mind-body-soul connection and treats bodily ailments in isolation, cutting off its connection to the soul and mind. However, ancient tantra hold the key to this problem – a problem that arises when we lose the connection with our mind and thereby fail to connect with others. When you practice tantra meditation, you open the portal to your soul.

In this context, here are two simple Tantra meditation techniques:

1) Watching-The-Breath Tantra Meditation:

Pay close attention to your breath for a few minutes. Relax, close your eyes and focus on inhaling and exhaling slowly and comfortably. In this tantra breathing technique, you must breathe through your nose, involve the diaphragm and allow oxygen all the way to the inner core of your lungs. Visualize a energy-cord from the bottom of your feet to the main energy-cord attached to your spine.

If your mind starts wandering during this tantra exercise, re-focus your attention on breathing in and out. Keep doing this for 10 minutes without a break, and you will feel energy well up within yourself. This energy will draw only those people who love and appreciate you.

2) Zero-Mind Tantra Meditation:

Visualize a garbage dump and empty all thoughts your mind conjures up into it. Sit still in a tantric cross-legged position and let your mind go silent. The root cause of disconnect within ourselves stems from negative foreign energy being stuck in the body. When this virulent energy overshadows your real energy, it results in inner disconnect and disharmony.

A word of caution: Tantra influences mind, body and soul simultaneously. One must therefore practice tantra only under the vigilant guidance of an experienced tantra teacher. Amateur instructions or unguided practice will not yield in any benefits.

Acharya Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra Teacher with an in-depth knowledge of traditional Indian sciences and Sanskrit literature. Visit his tantra online guide to read about tantra meditation, learn tantra exercises and tantric techniques from this young Tantra Master.

Generating Unlimited Stamina With Sensuous Tantra Breathing

Ancient tantra practices are a means of using the natural concentration of intense passionate desire to direct our minds beyond ourselves. The purpose of learning tantra was never to justify sexual addiction or hypocrisy – rather, these practices are meant to boost general well-being as well as specific psycho-spiritual abilities. For this reason, I suggest that my students imagine their energy being released through the tops of their heads after ending their daily spiritual experience.

Tantra utilizes all our energies, and our inherent sexual energy is a very powerful and potent force that can also be harnessed for various spiritual goals and achievements. Understanding the secrets of tantra with the help of a qualified tantra master can help create a very sensual and deep connection with your partner; this connection can be used to transcend awareness of mind and body, and to be totally present in the moment. Tantra scriptures ask us to find the right partner to practice these exercises in a transformative, consciousness-raising process.

I give here a specific tantra exercise that helps us build unlimited sexual stamina with sensuous breathing. This particular exercise must be done on an empty stomach, early in the morning.

•    Stretch your body by placing your palms and knees on the floor

•    Kneel back and let your buttocks slide down towards your ankles; try to stretch your arms forward

•    Exhale and inhale deeply, filling your lungs completely. Now hold your breath

•    Slowly begin to squeeze your anal muscles and pull your anal opening as deeply inward as you can. Remember not to strain while squeezing. Relax and contract your anal muscles slowly in rapid succession.

•    Repeat the squeeze-relax routine 6-9 times, or as long as is comfortable for you

•    Exhale, emptying your lungs slowly. Slowly lie down on your belly and relax in this position for a while, and then repeat if you wish

Attempting such tantra exercises without guidance from an experienced tantra teacher is not advisable, since you will not derive optimum benefits. It is important to remember that some tantra exercises can cause physical and emotional harm if done without proper guidance and supervision.

Acharya Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra Teacher with an in-depth knowledge of traditional Indian sciences and Sanskrit literature. Visit his tantra online guide to learn tantra techniques, kriyas and mudras from this young Tantra Master.

Can Tantra Healing Cure Cancer?

A cure for cancer exists in the healing methods of tantra. This is corroborated by the tantric scriptures and the citations in it.

Cytology is a diagnostic branch of modern practice of medicine that pinpoint early stages of cancer. However, it doesn’t explain the reasons why cancer originates in the body. Tantra practitioners believe they have the answer. Under the guidance of a genuine tantra master, tantra and meditation can indeed heal chronic arthritis, headaches – and yes, cancer as well.

The ancient art of tantra teaches that most of cases of cancer are psychosomatic in nature and origin. Tantra healing methods combine intense chanting and beej mantra hymns at varied vibrations and speeds. They are exhaustively based on tantric scriptures.

Tantric healing has nothing to do with black magic or black arts. Healing through the tantric scriptures is a comprehensive system that gives a detailed understanding of why cancer develops in the body, and what are its specific points of origin are in individual cases. A genuine instructor can train your mind in an integrated manner to lend the power to heal your body.

The word ‘psychosomatic’ implies that the origin of a specific physical condition is a combination of insufficiencies in the mind, body and soul of the sufferer. Tantra believes that the psyche creates the disease, and that the body suffers. Since it is the psyche that is responsible for creating the disease, the only way to cure it is through the psyche. Tantra can cure any disease without having to resort to extended medical treatment, merely by treating through the psyche…. the root of the problem that induced the disease.

As a tantra master, I teach tantric healing so that my students may realize the answers to some of the most thought-provoking questions of life – where do we come from, and why do we have diseases at all in this world? Why can we not be completely free of all diseases? The answers lie within tantra. Students of tantra are aware of the specific roles stress, family and lifestyle play in developing the most life-threatening diseases in the world.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

The Art of Tantra And The Seven Chakras

In the ancient tantric scriptures, the word ‘chakra’ signifies a conscious spinning-energy wheel. A tantra teacher will reveal that there are seven such spinning-energy nerve centers located along the spinal column, and that every chakra corresponds to a specific area of our body. Further, each chakra represents a specific set of behavioral characteristics associated with that specific area of our body, and the various phases of our spiritual growth through them.

When you practice authentic tantra under the guidance of an experienced tantra master, you will learn to correctly focus your energies with specific positions/postures. This will help you to align the chakras, and to induce them to spin in their proper direction and velocity. Learning how to energize, focus and control the chakras through tantra meditation will help establish physical equilibrium and peace of mind, body and spirit.

The chakras are essential components of tantra courses. It is essential to understand the seven chakras and how each  of them relates to a distinct part of our body along the spinal column, from the perineum to the crown of the head. All seven chakras pertain to a particular set of organs, distinct colors and sounds, specific emotions and/or behavior, and also control certain other personal aspects – including personal identity, goals and attitudes.

The seven chakras are:

•    Muladhara – located at the base of the spine
•    Svadhisthana – located around the abdomen, genital organs, lower back
•    Manipura- located at the solar plexus
•    Anahata – located in the heart area
•    Vishuddha – located in the throat region
•    Ajna or Agyna – located in the eyebrows region
•    Sahasrara – located at the top of head and the cerebral cortex

When your tantra teacher guides you through certain tantra positions and yoga postures, you will be able to focus your conscious awareness and prana shakti (energy) on the chakras. This will allow you to correct specific areas of your body that are out of sync with or inactive in correlation to your body.

By balancing the prana shakti among all seven chakras, complete emotional, physical and mental balance is attained. This spiritual energy (or shakti) attained is better known as Kundalini shakti. In its sleeping state, it is pictured as a coiled-up serpent resting at the base of your spinal column, around the Muladhara chakra.

Because the chakras behave like valves influencing the flow of energy, the postures and techniques your tantra master teaches you are extremely beneficial in realigning the chakras to bring about complete harmony of mind and body.

Do not attempt any Tantra techniques without the close guidance and supervision of an experienced Tantra teacher if you wish to derive optimum benefits. Without proper guidance and supervision, most Tantra exercises can cause physical and emotional harm as they influence our mind, body and soul simultaneously.

Copyright (C) Subhojit Dasgupta.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.

The Ancient Art of Tantra: Preliminary Tantra Postures

By practicing Tantra postures, you are fundamentally inviting powerful forces of self-realization into your life. It is extremely important that you obtain expert guidance from an experienced, authentic Tantra teacher while practicing these ancient Tantra mudras.

Tantra JanuSirsa Mudra:

To begin this Tantra posture, sit up straight with legs extended in front. Bend the right leg at the knee and place the foot so that the heel is in the right groin and the front of the foot touches the left thigh. Turn the foot so that the bottom of the foot is facing upward and press the knee back to form an obtuse angle with the body. This Tantra position will be difficult at first; don’t force it. Put a folded blanket under the knee and also under the hips. Gradually the knee will move further back, keeping the foot correctly positioned.

Then proceed into the full Tantra position as below:

Having positioned the foot and knee correctly, stretch the left leg out, keeping the leg firmly on the mat. Settle the heel firmly and stretch the toes up (the heel should pull gently away from the ankle.) Now inhale and bend forward over the straight leg, catching the foot with both hands if possible. Beginners to Tantra exercises should bend only as far as they can without rounding the back. When this Tantra posture is done correctly and completely, the body will roll forward over the extended leg, absolutely flat from the tail bone to the head. Breathe normally for as long as you can. Inhale, release the handhold, come up smoothly, straighten the bent leg and relax. Repeat this Tantra posture on other side.

You will know that you are doing this Tantra posture/mudra incorrectly if your heel is not positioned against its own thigh. The knee has not been pushed back as far as possible to form an obtuse angle. The back is humped and curved because the pelvis is jammed and unable to lift properly. Instead of a smooth, complete stretching of the spine, the lumbar is over-stretched and the rest of the spine constricted. The left leg is not flat on the floor.

Tantra TriangMukhaipadaPaschimottan Mudra:

This Tantra posture generally follows the previous one. Sit with your legs stretched in front. Bend the right leg so that the right foot is near the right hip. The toes should point back. The right calf presses against the right thigh. The body will tilt in this position, so put a small folded towel under the left buttock to keep the hips level and the forward stretch even and extended. Hold the left foot with your hands, inhale and bend forward, keeping both knees together as you stretch forward over the straight leg.

Many students in my Tantra class find it difficult to even take hold of the foot of the outstretched leg in this Tantra posture. If you do, do not despair. Just hold the knee, shin or ankle and sit, breathing deeply in whichever position represents your best extension. Your back may be tight and spine inflexible, so take your own time to adjust. Release the hold and straighten the bent leg. Repeat this Tantra posture on the other side.

When these ancient Tantra techniques are practiced under expert supervision, they have the potential to channel immense Tantra energy into your life.

Subhojit Dasgupta is a Tantra teacher and offers Tantra lessons to select pupils.