A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF TANTRA 

The tantric  massage as we practice it at AnandaWave® derives from a spiritual worldview based on tantric philosophy and Taoist techniques.

Tantrism is a philosophical movement that accords central importance to human sexuality. With that belief, tantra developed a range of meditation techniques designed to enable people to use their sexual power for an internal transformation process. Tantrism is not a religion with dogmatic ideas, but rather an applied philosophy that embraces all aspects of life. It dispenses with confining societal structures in order to bring people into harmony with the bigger whole, to enable each person to experience the love and strength of the cosmos – the universal unity – within him – or herself.

The word tantric comes from the Sanskrit. Its root tan means “expanding,” “thread,” or “tissue.” This refers to a large cosmic web in which we are all connected. Tantra unites opposites. Everything has two sides, and only when we recognize both of them without prejudices can we begin to understand the truth that lies behind them. In this way, we are confronted with situations and feelings in life that may appear pleasant or unpleasant, but every aspect of our experience wants to be felt and completely accepted, then transformed so as to allow its essence to appear.

In the tantric story of creation, the duality expressed by the male godly principle, Shiva, and the female godly principle, Shakti, plays a central role. While Shakti represents love and infinite empathy, Shiva represents Eros and mind. In this, Shiva and Shakti are seen not as fairy-tale characters, but as metaphors for the polarities of life. Together they represent a relationship of opposites in the cosmic web of creation.

Before the act of creation there was nothing other than the pure, shapeless being: Shiva and Shakti were one unit. This pure, shapeless being was composed of a high-frequency, godly energy, pure consciousness, love, and light. In tantric philosophy, the great fulfillment is to experience this love und unity, it is necessary for Shiva and Shakti to be able to recognize themselves as both linked an independent, solitary yet remaining unchanged as pure transcendent consciousness.

In Western evolutionary history, this moment is called the big bang. From here, high-frequency energy flows into steadily changing material shapes and begins a never-ending process of evolution. In the tantric view, this process of energetic condensation – of manifestation – occurs in several steps. In our bodies, the Shakti strength is manifested from top to bottom: first in the most subtle levels (seventh and sixth chakra), then in the different elements – ether (fifth chakra), air (fourth chakra), fire (third chakra). Water (second chakra), and finally earth (first chakra).

Once embodied in the element of earth, the Shakti strength develops no further, and the creation process in complete. There, at the bottom of the spine, the Shakti power rests as latent energetic potential within us. This potential is called kundalini, and it is often depicted as a rolled-up snake. A central aim of tantric practitioners is to awaken the kundalini through a range of different techniques, and to have it rise through the chakras along the spine up to the seat von Shiva. According to tantric philosophy the kundalini carries the memory of unity with Shiva. This memory of pure consciousness, enriched and differentiated through the experience of duality, seeks a melting together and union. This desire it reflected in our search for spirituality, in our longing to be happy and whole.

When the kundalini is awakened, whether through sexuality, a tantric massage, and/or different tantric techniques, it rises along the chakras through the channels (nadis) to Shiva, creating a different state of consciousness within us. This consciousness leads us back into the highest unity, the being beyond all polarities known as Samadhi. In this state the never-ending dance continues between male and female, between Shiva and Shakti. It is a union of spirit with the manifestation of its godly form. In tantric, this union is depicted as Shiva an Shakti in an image of sexual union called the yab-yum position.

We all originate from a godly union and are connected to everything else. Earth, rocks, plants, an humans make up a living organism in the interplay of atoms, molecules, and cells. Everything is related, nothing exists separately or in isolation, everysthing in caught up in a highly developed web of life and consciousness. Like a big family, we are all connected to our surroundings by invisible ties; everything has its special place and its job to do. All our doing and thinking cause a reaction and an echo in the entire organism of life. That is what allows me to enter new and often unknown spaces with confidence and trust. I know that I am part of a larger whole.

 

Tantra invites us to recognize ourselves as Shiva and Shakti, as expressions of godly beauty and love. There is nothing in us that is not a part of this godly power. From this perspective, we can look at our “ugly” or “dark” sides anew, since in reality there is no darkness. Darkness is not a condition but, in the tantric sense, an absence of light. When we bring light to darkness, then hate turns into love, greed into generosity, ignorance into humility, and ugliness into beauty. The way of tantric is the way of love and the way of light. For that reason, we see this philosophy as the ideal spiritual frame for a yoni- or lingam massage.

 

Tantric Massages

Tantra encompasses a wide variety of methods, techniques, meditations, and teachings whose essence is continually being reinvented. In this way, neotantrism has evolved into a tantric for people of our time and our culture. The form has adapted to our Western world, but the flower and scent of the original thought remain intact. The same can be said for well-founded tantric massages, which represent an important aspect of neo-tantrism

 

Truth cannot be found in the outside world. It is hidden in the body, which houses our deepest, innermost knowledge about the largest whole. The body is the temple of the soul, and it is for this reason that tantric practitioners approach the body with empathy, respect, and attention. Our massage work rests on the understanding that body, feelings, mind, and soul together form a whole. The goal of our work is to create a connection between spirituality, sensuality, and sexuality. For tantric practitioners, sexuality and spirituality belong together, as two sides of the same coin.

What is special about tantric massage and what differentiates is from other “alternative” types of massage is the conscious and concrete inclusion of the genital area, the yoni in the case of women and the lingam in the case of men. This allows a person to be accepted in his or her entirety, making sexual healing on a physical level possible. During tantric massage, people can find an oasis of calm, of relaxation, and of sensual ease. We work with the sexual chakra, the energy of which leads to the heart chakra, where it is transformed into love. Among some, an intuitive internal recognition of the godly power of unity appears. If that happens, nothing is ever the same again. 

For those of us who give this massage, the meaning lies not only in what we do, but especially in how we do it. To massage an ordinary man, an ordinary woman, in the ancient spirit means to massage the god or goddess in a person. In this we see our tantric message.