A Look at Tantra Yoga

Probably the most misunderstood of all the yoga forms practiced in the West, Tantra yoga has the essence of the ancient teachings. In its purest form, Tantra yoga developed as part of the ancient Indian culture and it pursued to help people achieve a form of non-dual life carried along a sacred path. The modern connotations attributed to Tantra yoga are in fact a defilement of the sacred essence of the practice that results from the mis-translation of some Indian texts by people with little experience in the domain. The difficulty came from the abundance of metaphors used in Tantra yoga textbooks particularly because they expressed experiences that had to be felt individually as consciousness forms.

Just like Chinese taoist texts and in accordance with the Bible message, Tantra yoga insists on the importance of love and the necessity for a heart focus in the perception of the world. There are several Tantra yoga schools too, and a relevant example remain the teachings of Tibetan Tantra. For the Tibetans, the practice of Tantra yoga grew only in monasteries most of the time and it was explained on paper as it was taught in oral form.

According to Tantra yoga practice, the path to be followed is that which combines the love-heart, the will-hand and the wisdom-head in one harmonious whole. It all begins with love and the practice of Tantra yoga exercises should not focus on a certain intent but rather on the beauty of the process. The sexual connotations added to Tantra yoga are a form of corruption of the original practice thus, instead of the balancing of the yin and yang within each of us, Tantra yoga is believed to seek the union with another person.

You should choose guidance in the secrets of Tantra yoga very cautiously since there are many so-called gurus that are not accomplished in the practice themselves. According to tradition, only one who has gone a long way on the path to spiritual awakening can reveal the secrets and instruct a trainee. In terms of overall goal, like the art of yoga in general, Tantra aims at the spiritual awakening of any being and the fulfillment that comes from enjoying liberation at all levels of existence.