March 2007 Newsletter

Greetings One and All!

This is the first issue of the Tantric Arts Institute newsletter. We plan to provide you with monthly newletters from here on in.

In each monthly issue we will be offering something new under the following headings:

• Upcoming Events (Tantra: The Yoga of Love in Pura Vida, Georgia on Mar. 16th - 18th, 2007)
• Tantric Terminology (Shiva and Shakti, the masculine and feminine principles)
• Solo Practice (Using Transmutation Breath to transmute sexual energy)
• Partner Play (Breath Attunement)
• Dear Daka (Advice for Tantrikas)

Upcoming Events

Tantra: The Yoga of Love

March 16th-18th at Pura Vida, GA

A Weekend Retreat with Carolena Fleishman, Deborah Anapol and Friends

Are you ready for a journey to a deeper place in relationship with others and with the self?

Explore, express and expand your sensuality with our growing sacred erotic community for a weekend devoted to the art of Tantra. Blending spirit and sexuality in sacred union we guide you on your path of ecstatic joy in everyday life. Through breathwork, conscious touch, sexual healing, movement, music and compassionate communication, we create a safe nonjudgmental container to ignite the heart-genital connection and to balance feminine and masculine energies.

Join us for this special weekend to realize a deeper connection to the divine within yourself, your beloved and your community. Discover the key to heaven on earth as we revel in the mysteries of Eros, completing the divine dance of love.

As an incentive to early registration, Deborah Anapol is giving away copies of her new eBook, Compersion: Using Jealousy As A Path To Unconditional Love to those who register before February 14th, Valentine's Day. Please register sooner rather than later to ensure yourself a space.

Couples and select singles are welcome.

Tantra the Yoga of Love at Pura Vida, GA

Register Here

Mar. 16th - 18th, 2007

$595 single, $995 couple

Pura Vida, Georgia

Tantric Terminology

Shiva and Shakti, the masculine and feminine principles. In Tantric circles it has become popular to refer to the men as "Shivas" and the women as "Shaktis." However, these terms embody much more than labels for the respective sexes. The notions of Shiva and Shakti refer more broadly to the masculine and feminine principles both within each of us and in the universe at large.

In terms of Tantric development, it becomes important to cultivate both aspects of our inner nature, for several reasons:

• As we develop both our inner masculine and inner feminine, we find that we are more fulfilled and less needy as individuals. This makes us more attractive.
• It also helps to allow us to drop our preconceptions about the roles we take in relationships.
• Cultivating both aspects also inclines us to appreciate the opposite sex more and to understand how to come into partnership with the opposite sex.
• Cultivating both aspects increases the range of ways of being we may adopt, for just as a tree grows in a balanced fashion, a man who cultivates his feminine aspect can become MORE masculine and a woman who cultivates their masculine aspect can become MORE feminine.

Solo Practice

Using Transmutation Breath to transmute sexual energy. (Mostly for men) Gently tighten the muscles around the perineum, both the anal sphincter and the PC muscle. (The PC or Pubo-Coccygeus muscle is the same one we use to stop the flow of urine). Take a breath. As you release the breath, say the syllables, "Eeee," "Ah," "Oh." Feel how "Eeee" resonates in the forehead, "Ah" resonates at the heart, and "Oh" resonates in the belly. Try it again. This is known as the Transmutation Breath and it is very useful for transmuting sexual energy so it spreads throughout the body. With practice, it enables a man to delay the onset of orgasm during lovemaking. When to practice? During self-play, of course! Each occasion of self-stimulation is an opportunity to practice this technique. Try to accomplish 3 of these transmutation breaths prior to orgasm. It will make the experience even more pleasurable and allow for extended lovemaking the next time you are with a lover.

Pubococcygeus Muscle (from Wikipedia)

Partner Play

Breath Attunement is a way to match energies with one's beloved. The method is simple: In an embrace, whether in a hug, nestling like spoons, or during sex, notice when your beloved inhales or exhales, and match their cycle, breathing in and out when they do. This technique is useful for matching energies and is particularly sweet after lovemaking during the afterglow. It is said that with regular practice, lovers can meet on the dream plane using this technique.

Spooning Couple by Ron Mueck

Dear Daka

Q: My boyfriend likes to dress up in my Goddess clothes with me. Should I be concerned that he is really gay? - Wondering

A: Dear Wondering: We wouldn't be concerned over harmless exploration into his feminine side. For one thing, homosexual preference and cross-dressing are generally unrelated, so one is not an indicator of the other. We would encourage you to playfully explore role-reversals together. You may discover ways of relating that although somewhat unorthodox, may open the door to deep intimacy, rather than conforming to the rigid roles we learned growing up.

Please write Dear Daka via the Contact page if you have a question regarding love, sex or Tantra.