Improve Sexual Intimacy with Yoga

Practicing yoga can bring intimate couples closer, which results in better sex. How does it work? Mark Whitwell, the author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection says:

"Normally, couples rush at each other and focus on orgasm, using sex as a stress-release mechanism," he says. Instead, he claims, sex can be more intimate and loving if both partners commit to a daily 20-minute yoga practice. "You begin to have better sex because you start to feel your whole body. Sex becomes about enjoying your partner as life, as feeling," he says. "That's the point. You feel better and your partner feels better. That's what yoga develops."

Whitwell explains more in this interview.

Tantra or Tantric Sex for Christians?

Robert Irwin, author of several Christian sex books, discusses whether Christian married couples should explore Tantra or Tantric sex practices.--Love Marriage and Christian Sex

The Three Keys to Orgasmic Energy

Dr. Patti Taylor talks to Margot Anand of SkyDancing Tantra about how Tantra can supercharge your whole life—and your partner’s life--with orgasmic energy and why bringing orgasmic energy up the body will change the way you experience not just sex but love and even life. Click here to listen or to read the transcript of the interview.

The Tantric Quickie

Tantra has almost become a synonym for prolonged lovemaking (see Sting), so the idea of a "Tantric quickie" may seem like an oxymoron, but is it? Not according to Suzie at Tantra.com.

For women, the common feeling is that the quickie means the man gets some sex. Women usually take longer to even warm up to sex. It's a double-edged sword for her - she may want it but she won't likely get much out of it except frustration. This isn't the case with the "Tantric Quickie."

The concept of a quickie implies that there is a long version, as so there is. Tantric sexuality is often a deep, intimately extended experience that can produce waves of hot, sensual sex woven with slow, focused merging. As a couple gets more involved in the practices of breath, focus, and sustaining the high states of arousal an interesting thing happens - they both get much quicker at achieving the high states of arousal.

So the practice becomes setting aside the time for long lovemaking sessions and short, sweet ones, too. Ten minutes will do for the quickies. The suggestion is once or twice a day, and regular, like going to the gym. Put it in your schedule!

The article goes on to describe several "Tantric quickie" scenarios, but why engage in the "Tantric quickie" anyway?

The point of a "Tantric Quickie" is to:

• Heighten your sexual energy
• Get practice at being "ready" almost immediately (especially for women)
• Train men to last longer and feel their sexual energy without expending it
• Fuel a heightened sexual tension between the two of you
• Quickly increase the level of intimacy between the two of you.
• Help raise testosterone levels in women and men who are getting a little older--Tantra.com

The larger point is that Tantra is a varied, all-encompassing practice that embraces all sorts of sexuality and spirituality. If you don't think that Tantra is for you, you may not have explored its many possibilities.

Sacred Sexuality, Tantra, and Heightened Awareness

Rebecca Bogle of GlamSpirit listened to Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson, the authors of Essence of Tantric Sexuality, speak about their book and about some of the key components of Tantra. Read Rebecca's summary of the discussion here.

Scholar Georg Feuerstein Worries That Yoga Is Losing Its Way

Scholar Georg Feuerstein worries that yoga is losing its way.

Georg Feuerstein, author of “Yoga Morality: Ancient Teachings at a Time of Global Crisis,” is worried that, in the process of becoming so many things to so many people, yoga has lost its ethical, philosophical and spiritual roots.--DallasNews Religion

The Meaning of Tantra

What's the definition of the word tantra?

The Sanskrit word tantra means the warp of a loom or the strands of a braid. Like the strings of a warp, the tantra practices serve as a structure for intertwining the sutra themes to weave a tapestry of enlightenment. Moreover, tantra combines physical, verbal, and mental expressions of each practice, which braid together creating a holistic path of development. Because one cannot integrate and practice simultaneously all the sutra themes without previously training in each individually, tantra practice is extremely advanced.--The Art of Tantra