TANTRA FOR TODAY: The Subtle Body

Each month, Kathy Kali will explore a different facet of Tantric Dance, a sacred sensual approach to meditation. Our world is ready for the return of the divine feminine, and Tantric Dance offers a direct physical experience of feminine wisdom, which is honored in tantra as the source of life.

Open your hand and let it rest. Your hands are used to “doing” something. Let your hand just do nothing for a moment. Feel the pulse of life in your palm, in your fingers. Letting go of your notions of what a hand is, feel the subtle energies in this part of your body. Notice the energy as vibration...as color...as sound. Let the energies circulate and expand, until you are no longer in your hand. You are in your hand’s subtle body.

What is the subtle body? The deep and subtle and quiet and slow aspects of our being are our deep feminine essence. Activating this subtle body, with receptivity, allows us to channel pleasurable energies more deeply. It is our transmitter. The more we “tune in” to the subtle places within ourselves, the more nourishment we can receive, and the more energy we can channel.

I’ve personally experienced the subtle body as a sweet tingling, a softness, a cloud of energy, and a sense of great space, within my body. In addition, when I feel a lot of pleasure or inner fire come through the Tantric Dance, it often feels as if the pleasure is moving up a central tube, or channel, in my core. Your subtle body may feel different to you. Allow yourself to explore and let your subtlety come through in its own way.

To cultivate awareness of your subtle body, I offer the following simple exercise:

1. Get comfortable and ground.
   Lie, sit, stand, whatever your body feels called to right now. Feel your connection to the earth, and relax.


2. Belly breath.
   Breathe into the belly, and release. Continue. This connects you with your life force, and deepens your grounding.


3. Notice the breath.
   Feel the breath filling your belly and torso, and releasing. Notice any other places the breath wants to travel: your limbs, your back, your neck, your head...


4. Core vibration.
   Feel the breath and the energy emanating from it, as vibration. Absorb this vibration, drink it in, and take into the depth of your being. Notice any sensations, sounds, sights, smells...


5. Do nothing.
   Keep breathing, but do nothing else. You are in your subtle body.
   

TANTRA FOR TODAY:  Devotion

Devotion is defined by Websters as:  “Ardent attachment or loyalty”.  When we devote ourselves to something, we develop familiarity, become one with it, and eventually, we become it.   We become one with it. Bhakti Yoga, as the path of devotion is called in India,  is a popular and non-dogmatic form of connecting with the divine. “Ardent attachment” means that we enjoy being devoted, that it is passionate, even fun!

In tantra, devotional intent is very important.  Through devotion, we open ourselves to become vessels for divine energy to flow through us. In particular, devotion to Shakti, or feminine essence, is central to tantric philosophy, a chance for us to experience deep feminine wisdom. This is real, not air-fairy!   Her wisdom comes through in very physical ways, as sensations and feelings in our bodies, that give us valuable information about our lives.  

Personally, my experience of devotion to the divine feminine has been incredibly rich and pleasurable.  I express my devotion to Her through a weekly tantric dance practice.  You may choose whatever you like for your object of devotion.   What are you devoted to now? What do you practice on a regular basis, daily, weekly, monthly?  Would you like to add something new to your life?   Meditate on what you love & desire on a consistent basis and you will become it.

The following are some practical tips for developing devotion in your life:

1. Breathe it in.
Pick a quality that you would like more of in your life.  Love?  Prosperity?  Peace?  Sensitivity?  Power?  And then, sitting comfortably, breathe into your belly and feel this energy filling your core.  You may find that images, sensations, or sounds come to you.  Just notice them as you keep breathing. 

2. Imagine.
Imagine that your desired quality is embodied by another person, place, or thing.  What image comes to you?  This thing, from your image-ination, can be a potent object of devotion.  Inwardly, surrender to this thing and allow yourself to receive its wisdom and gifts.

3.  Sacred space.
Create an altar, a special place where you can place images, symbols, or items from nature which represent your object of devotion.  This can be as simple as a doily with a picture of your grandmother on it or as elaborate as a mantelpiece covered in images of the Virgin Mary.  Be creative, have fun.  Spend time at your altar on a regular basis, pray, meditate.

3. Sing & dance.

Singing is a worldwide way to worship. In India chanting is a favorite way to practice Bhakti Yoga.  So sing to your object of devotion.  Dance it in the depths of your being.  Allow it to express itself dynamically through you.  Notice how the act of active play helps you to learn more about devotion.

Shakti Kundalini and Tantric Dance

Remember being a kid and feeling alive in your whole being? Maybe while you were in Nature, maybe in the midst of some creative play….And when you first felt sexual energy in your body, was there a similar sense of aliveness, being fully embodied from root to crown? In total innocence and connection with Nature, our most natural first experience of our sexuality and our creativity is as electric, warm, pure pleasure; our shakti, or life-force.

In tantra sexual fire and creativity are a manifestation of Shakti; primordial goddess who generates the whole manifest universe. In the Hindu pantheon she is a multifaceted deity, known by many names and forms; Kali, Parvati, Durga, and Devi. She is lover, mother, destroyer, and Great Goddess. While women are said to naturally embody Shakti through our deep connection with womb-creation, men can also cultivate their inner shakti to become whole.

Shakti does not distinguish between sexuality and creativity. She is both. When you are creative, do you feel “on fire”? Have you ever “been hot” for someone? This is the same energy. Creative inspiration does not come from our heads—it comes from our genitals! Pay attention next time you have an “aha” moment—is it accompanied with a flush of passion?

Shakti is the snake, or kundalini, that sleeps, coiled around herself, at the root chakra in our perineum, and awakens to expand through the body with the practice of tantric dance. Her feminine wisdom teaches us through the flow of our own sexual/creative vibration, as our serpent self arises and descends over time in an organic flow of expansion and contraction. Sometimes she smolders, sometimes she is electric! But no matter what, Shakti and the sexual fire are profoundly healing and transformative. We are changed by Her every time.

Accessing and allowing the flow of shakti is often a goal of yogic practice, and much is made of the need to do this safely. In the devotional practice of tantric dance, softness & allowing, groundedness, containment, and development of the subtle body are all aspects which ensure a safe and pleasurable passage of energy through one’s core. As one deepens in their Dance, greater expansion and vibration of shakti becomes possible.

Tantric Dance is often called the “Yoga of Shakti” because following passion, pleasure, and primal energy is the path. No complicated breathwork or asana is necessary. The Dance is process-oriented, not technique-oriented. In the dance we honor contained, spontaneous, pleasurable, self-referential movement from our core, or womb-space, the container that holds shakti. Here I offer you some simple suggestions for accessing and circulating Shakti. This is for your pleasure in your body and being. You alone have the key to the temple. Enjoy!

1. Sit.
Sit cross-legged on a comfortable surface, like a pillow, sheepskin, or cozy rug. Breathe into your belly, feeling the breath opening your womb-space and releasing like a gentle tide. Ground. Feel your roots connecting deep into the earth. When your energy has descended into your pelvis, move on to step 2.

2. Move the bowl.
Imagine your pelvis is like a “bowl” holding your womb-space. Tilt it forward, lengthening the belly and filling with breath. Then tilt your pelvis back, contracting the belly and releasing the breath. Enjoy the sensations in your pelvis and womb-space. Play with this rocking motion, allowing it to be full, or subtle, whatever is most plesasurable.

3. Soften your root.
As you are rocking, allow your perineum and genitals to soften and open to the earth. At the same time, relax your face and jaw. Feel how this softening affects the sensations you are experiencing. Continue to breathe into your belly…

4. Circulate the energy.
After a few minutes of rocking, allow the energy and sensations in your pelvis to circulate throughout your body. Let your shakti fill you up. Allowing is the key here—don’t force movement. You may find that your energy stays in your womb-space, you may feel it in your torso or limbs, you may find it resting down in your perineum. Wherever it is, honor and thank Her for dwelling with in you. Shakti. Your creativity. Your life-force.

The Sacred Journey: Deep Healing Through Past Lives

Do you notice that patterns keep recurring in your life that you feel you have no control over? Do you keep reverting to old habits despite your best intentions? Sometimes it can be helpful to explore the source of a pattern that is lingering in the body, transform it, and anchor power to effect the future. The journey to access this power can lead back to our childhood, or even further back, to past lifetimes. In my hypnotherapy practice, I have witnessed again and again how women are able to become more empowered in this lifetime by claiming their priestess selves from the distant past.

One client experienced herself in medieval times, wearing armor, on horseback, encouraging other women to fight the oppression they were experiencing. Allowing herself to confront her fears, she found herself surrounded by the very men she feared would capture her. With the persective and wisdom of the higher self, she was able to escape with another woman to a peaceful forest where she could practice midwivery and natural ways in peace and safety. This transformation created great changes in my clients body and being. She breathed easier, and sank into the knowing that she is a healer and a leader of women, safe and secure, with no need to fight.

Accessing priestess power from the past is especially helpful as we are living in a patriarchal culture today. When I was getting my hypnotherapy training I uncovered some fears of sexual assault which stemmed not from this lifetime, but from a past lifetime in Greece. I traveled back in time through hypnotherapy, and with the help of my spirit guides, stopped a man who wished to do me harm. I was a priestess of the Goddess, steeped in feminine wisdom, and he was a Roman soldier, trained his whole life to oppress others. With the help of my therapist, I was able to creatively shift my perspective on the situation and develop compassion for myself and the soldier. Needless to say, I emerged confident and strong, no longer held by that fear.

Sometimes, of course, trauma from this lifetime can surface to be healed. Whether from this lifetime or another, the same process applies: allowing the feelings, accessing deep and higher wisdom, and creatively re-imagining a better outcome. Hynotherapy is a bit like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel: you pick the ending! And it is wonderful to own the power from our past, so that we may more joyfully create our future.

Blessings on your journey.