Tantra is becoming more and more popular each year, and countless people flock to Koh Phangan, also known as 'Tantra Island', to learn about this tradition.
Tantra is an embodied spiritual path that invites us to recognise the divine in all areas of our life, seeing any and all life experiences as a gateway into recognising our divine nature. This includes sex and relationships but also work, parenting, cleaning, driving- everything can become a Tantric practice.
Our spiritual practice is no longer just what happens on the yoga mat or meditation cushion but becomes part of our whole life.
Tantra's roots originate in India and spread through Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and many other countries in South and South-East Asia, blending with Buddhism (becoming Tantric Buddhism) and also having an impact on Taoism, Hinduism and other spiritual traditions over the last few thousand years. It's a complex and long history with many lineages and forms- some of them quite conservative and some of them very liberal and edgy.
Many people debate what actually makes something Tantric, and what Tantra even is as it's history is so diverse, but generally for something to be considered Tantric it must be linked to the Tantras- spiritual scriptures with philosophy and practices aimed to help a person become awakened and liberated. Tantric practice is also focused on 'householders' - people with jobs and families- who want to become enlightened without renouncing the world (to be a monk in a cave!) and want to awaken in their normal lives.
In the modern world most people associate Tantra with erotic massage, sexual Yoga and other erotic esoteric practices, but some of this is a modern creation and some of it is misunderstood- while there are still elements of truth and sexual and relational practices to be found in some scriptures. The purpose of learning sexual practices was for 3 main reasons
To decondition shame around sexuality, seeing it as divine and sacred
To experience yourself beyond the physical body, and witnessing and connecting to others as they are divine
To transmute the base urge of sexual desire into pure aliveness and bliss, rather than just wanting to release tension or use it to get what we want or validate our ego.
All of this can be learned without actually having sex or getting intimate with others, and we aim to create an environment where you can learn the practices and tools that will support you on this journey without needing to get explicit or intimate with people you're not comfortable with.
Tantra also invites us to transcend our ego and come into connection with life how it really is, rather than our stories and projections on the world. This involves what is often called 'shadow work' and inquiry into our true nature, allowing us to see life more clearly, love more fully and experience more aliveness.
It's important if you're planning to learn Tantra that you learn with professionals who hold this work with utmost integrity, who have trauma-awareness training and who honour the lineage and history of Tantra rather than appropriating it and teaching incorrect information. Unfortunately, a lot of people just attend a single workshop or do a short course and consider themselves a teacher, when really it takes YEARS of study to understand the tradition, and many more years of personal practice to embody the teachings enough to transmit them with integrity.
At Liberating Love Collective, we are passionate Tantrikas who have been on this path for many years, studying extensively with world-leading experts and Tantric practitioners and working with real lineage teachings, translated into a modern and accessible way. Our work is trauma-informed, queer-friendly and we do our best to decolonise our work and bring as much integrity as we can as we share this work, being clear about which teachings are authentic and which are modern creations. All of our work is designed to support you to become more liberated, empowered and connected to the divine.
You can learn Tantra with us through workshops or retreats.
Join the Tantric Arts Retreat on Koh Phangan, July 12-15
Half-day workshops include
Embodied Liberation- Tantrik exploration
Devotional Love and Relating- a Sacred Intimacy exploration
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