An important aspect of yoga is the subtle, but key practice of hand, body and eye postures, to invoke certain flows of energy and create certain states of consciousness, called yoga mudras. In last month’s newsletter I introduced you all to yoga mudras and provided 5 important mudras to start with. In the newsletter I also mentioned I would be creating a comprehensive guide to yoga mudras, and this is the first part of that guide.

In this part I will provide the 5 hand mudras I gave in the newsletter and in the next part of the series I will illustrate and detail many more important mudras to help you take your yoga and meditation practice to the next level. Read more

Dear Friend,
People often ask me how to become “tantric” when they make love. The answer is simple – attitude and awareness.

For the masculine partner – a centered attitude of eros, love and devotion. For the feminine partner – an awakened, kinetic attitude of eros, love, and devotion. More about that in the Tantra Tips issues later in the week.

As far as awareness goes, an old tantric saw says that there are three awarenesses in lovemaking: Read more

Going back to the basics can bear great gifts, especially in love and sex. Let’s remember some of the teachings mom gave us on our way. “Look into people’s eyes as you speak with them,” she said. “Be respectful to others. Listen carefully when someone talks with you,” she insisted. “And never interrupt.” This wisdom turns out to be quite useful, especially in our love relationships.

One of our first tantric practices as a couple was a deceptively simple communication experiment about how we like to be loved — physically, emotionally and spiritually. It goes like this: Steve asks me the question, “How do you like to be loved?” I answer as Steve listens, without commentary. If I don’t answer, he will ask the same question again. After 10 minutes, we switch roles, asking and answering the same question.

Are you willing to invest 10 minutes into your love life? Read more

Nyasa is a Sanskrit word which translates as “placing,” “applying,” or “touching.” But it is much more.

Nyasa is the conscious act of touching or placing the fingers or hands on sacred, sensitive, or medicinally active points of the body. In hindu tantric meditations and pujas, the practitioner lays his hands on himself in each of these places, in special sequences.

The meditator infuses each location with a special mantra, visualization, or feeling, which is spoken aloud or mentally conjured. Read more

When former Marine Jake Scully drapes his sinewy blue body around his Na’vi bride, Neytiri, the heroine of James Cameron’s Oscar-nominated epic Avatar, his neural tendrils fuse with hers, in the script, but off camera, in one of the most unusual sex scenes ever produced on film. Critics and commentators have been dissecting the themes of the Hollywood mega-blockbuster, from its just-war doctrine and environmental ethics. But there’s a philosophical dimension that this otherworldly sex scene captures that most folks have overlooked: the Tantra of Avatar. Read more

While hubbies are scouring the city for red roses, dark chocolates and over-priced dining experiences this Valentine’s season, there’s one way to stay ahead of the curve and provoke an intimacy with your significant other deeper than what lays behind any red ribbon package. It’s called Tantra, and the Omaha Healing Arts Center hosts a night of instructional Tantric dance this Saturday.

Before you write off this article, many misconceptions persist about the ancient practice of Tantra, according to Renee Jeffus, who’ll teach the class. Jeffus is a world-traveling, Bellevue-born instructor and organizer of the event.

After a recent trip to Jamaica where she taught private Tantra classes, The Reader caught up with Jeffus while she lunched in NYC, and asked her to set the record straight on Tantra. In the process of the phone interview, she revealed the dark and rocky road that led her to become a holy woman of sensuality. Read more