Take a breath and get ready for some Tantric Meditation.

Where Western style meditation is all about stress reduction and learning to manage a busy lifestyle and career, Tantric meditation has a different goal. Tantra’s goal and aim is, like all forms of Buddhism, to help you reach an enlightened state of being. Now, this may have the side effect of also managing stress and helping you cope with a stressful modern life, what the most likely outcome is for most people is a sudden awakening and understanding of the state of the soul and self in relation to literally everything else. Short form: tantra can help with stress, but first it’ll really stress you out.

I know a lot of people turn to meditation for many reasons.

tantric meditation 800 356 6169Stress relief, managing mental health issues, and connecting with their inner selves are all often stated reasons to meditate. And a lot of people turn to Tantra in hopes of finding a robust sex life lurking there. I started meditating in order to learn to tame and control my mind, emotions, and reactions to emotions and the world.  From a Buddhist point of view, suffering arises from attachment, and attachment arises through emotional connection.  Therefore, controlling the reactions to emotions can help limit suffering! I know, it looks so easy when it’s spelled out in simple terms, but the reality is much more difficult.  If you’ve tried to meditate for any reason, and had trouble establishing a routine practice, try Tantric Meditation instead.

Tantric Meditation for beginners.

Tantra tends to focus a lot on your breath and your energy, so get ready for what’s gonna sound like a lot of spacey new-age talk. To start a Tantric meditation practice, you need a firm pillow or a rolled up towel, a timer, and some patience. Oh, and a nice space to practice in. Think of your meditation practice as just that: practice. You sit in a nice quiet space with pretty focus images around you, and learn how to catch your mind in an ideal situation, so that later, when you’re in a chaotic real world situation, you can catch your mind before your stress spirals out of control. You’re practicing for real life!

Sit in a neutral position, with your hips canted slightly back, spine curved naturally, shoulders relaxed. Don’t clench your hands or jaw, and try not to cross your arms. Set a timer for a minute or so, when you’re starting out. Don’t overload yourself by going for a half hour long meditation session, all you’ll wind up doing is stressing yourself out and frustrating yourself, and that’s the opposite of what meditation should bring you. Slowly bring your awareness into your body, out of your mind. Become aware of your bones alignment, the way you hold your muscles. Acknowledge that this is your body, you are your body, and what your body holds is your vital essence. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, slowly. When you’re starting out, just this is enough to drop your stress levels significantly and increase your body awareness throughout the day.

As you advance in your practice, you can add more body awareness exercises to your Tantric meditation practice.

Try using gentle touch across your skin, being careful not to press too hard or involve your muscles. Slow, smooth strokes can increase blood flow to your extremities, and awaken nerve endings that have been missing out on needed stimulation. Just, touch yourself. Think in terms of when you sit to masturbate: when you’re just barely starting to feel a little horny, and you kind touch and stroke and rub really softly? Like that, only expand your idea of what an erogenous zone is to encompass your entire body.

To really bump your practice up a notch: invite your partner to participate with you. From sitting and breathing, to looking deeply into one another’s eyes, to reverently touching each other… it’s pretty easy to let your Tantric meditation evolve into a little old fashioned fucking.