Video Tantra Tip #1: Relax and Balance Yourself

Relax and Balance Yourself:
Alternate Nostril Breathing

Slow, deep,
alternate nostril breathing
improves mental,
sexual,
and physical performance.

For a More Centered Mind
Greater Longevity & Endurance
Easy Meditation
Hightened Awareness and effortless control
During meditation, work, sport, and sex

3 to 5 minutes is enough, but you can do more, gently.

Do it when you wake.
Do it before you sleep.
Do it before you meditate or
before you might make love.

You will sleep better,
think more clearly,
last longer in bed, effortlessly,
and enjoy the effortless flow of pleasure and subtle energy
that comes from clear meridians and smooth, slow, deep breathing.

It's great for men
great for women
great for children and teens.

Breathe smoothly, deeply, and slowly, and smile!

Tao Semko, Instructor
www.UmaaTantra.com

Bliss arises spontaneously

"The function of Tantra and Aghora is to put the goverment of mind,
senses, and body into the proper order to avoid misery. Life minus
misery for a prolonged period produces satisfaction, which yields
happiness; and when happiness is increased beyond all conceivable
limits and is sustained it becomes bliss, what the Vedas call ananda.
Sadhana is a means to this end. When Kundalini awakens, if body, mind
and spirit are in good working order bliss is certain.

Bliss is not something you have to create, or accumulate; it arises
spontaneously."

--Dr. Robert Svoboda, recalling the words of his teacher, in his book
Kundalini, second book of the Aghora trilogy

Tantra Without Technique

As Tantric yogis, we teach ourselves to do amazing things with our bodies.
We explore how our bodies work first through solitary practice and then in
society.

But anyone can experience lovemaking and all of life more deeply, even
without the deep training of authentic tantric yoga. Here's how:

At east once in your life, decide to just *feel* everything as you make
love. Ignore techinique, position, orgasm, showing off, and the like.
Close your eyes and relax them, slow way down, and feel everything.
Everything. The air on your skin, the sound vibrations in the air.

Slow dawn, down, way down, and become aware of how your bodies feel,
all over again. Explore by touch, not mental image. Forget everything
you think you know, and just slow down.

Slow down. It's that simple.

Relax, slow down. Slow way down. Slow your movements enough to feel
every hair, every pore, every glorious impression and perfect moment.
Touch so slow you're barely moving. It's not teasing. It's just
feeling. Feeling and responding.

Feel every sensitive membrane and patch of skin. When you slow down
like this you feel things you've never noticed before.

Slow Way Down. Barellly move.

Slow your breathing down, too. Breathe down all the way into your
toes. Breathe smoothly. Enjoy the oxygen. Breathe slower and deeper
than you have since you were a baby.

So slow you're almost not moving. Remember the first attraction - and
the first love - you ever felt for your partner, and feel them warming
you all over again. ince you're moving slowly, you'll find those
feelings will amplify.

Feel every hair on your body stand on end as the warmth and desire
builds... Feel each pore breathe that desire and love in and out as
your touch awakens it.

Feel all the parts of your body that you may not have thought as
sexual. They they come to life too, and become brand new erogenous
zones.

Disappear into the slow, slow, slow, awareness -- of each other's
liquid bodies...

Prolong your inhalation and exhalation, smoothing out your excitement
or nervousness into long, langorous breaths... Slow down even more...

Explore by feeling, without thought, without time, notice your body
and sensation interacting with your partner's touch, and notice your
partner's skin, electricity, and breath as they react to your
touching, to your feelings.

Technique is only one way. Awareness, sensation, love, laughter,
attraction can be spontaneous if you both relax enough...

Sex is more than than you think. So stop thinking. Try breathing.
Try feeling... Try slowing down. Try enjoying. With emphasis on the
"joy."

Smile, breathe, and keep your tongue up!
Tao Semko

Very special circumstances...

I wanted to share, with gratitude, an extremely powerful email we got
from Canada last month when I asked for reader feedback. I've removed
her last name only to respect her privacy. I want to thank her for
opening her life and heart in an effort to help others... It begins:

Dear Tao Semko,

In regard to your request for my opinion on the biggest benefit your
tips etc. have given me. �First of all I will explain my situation so
you can get a better perspective and may help others who are in the
same boat as I..

My husband and partner is a quadrapalegic due to a truck accident 3
years ago. So as far as a sex life is concerned, there isn't any, he
is paralyzed from the chest to his feet... �I am 53 years young, I
work out so have a decent physique, So in order to find some sexual
gratification, without being unfaithful to my husband..I went on a
search to see if there was anything out there for one without a
partner..Enter Umaa Tanta..

I wrote to you about 2 years ago asking that question.. and your tips
started coming in..I have followed them faithfully. �But the one huge
benefit was,,Learning so much more about the Female body. I thought i
knew most things, little did i know just how naive i was..

In my entire life i have never experienced an orgasm, clitoral or full
body, following your tips and knowledge was an absolute breakthrough
for me on a personal level... �I have been in your website many times
and if anyone who finds themselves in my situation for whatever
reason, be it thru�a disability or alone, I completely recommend your
website and all that you have to offer.. �I am no one special, I am
just an ordinary woman, wife, mother, and grandmother.

Finding Umaa Tantra and learning what I have, it may sound strange, At
the beginning of all of this I weighed 220 lbs,�used to be 130lbs at
one point in my life...I am now 145lbs.. �I am no expert on weight
loss or gain. But i truly believe for me, being able to release
orgasmicly was a huge factor in my weightloss. when the loss�began , i
started to work out at a local gym..

What a huge difference in my life now..Sex wasn't one of greatest
things�throughout my life, most experiences i have had with sex�left
me hating it most of the time, like i am sure most women feel,
statistcs have proven that, everyone should take lessons in Tantra. I
did, and it has transformed my life..the sad part is, I can't share it
with my husband, so wished i had found you many years ago..

One burning question is:��Why isn't it more available in Canada???
thank god for the internet..As i am shy about even discussing sex
outside the bedroom, I found this way was and is alot easier for me to
explore everything about a womans body and how it functions..I had
always asked myself what the big thing�was about orgasms..never
experiencing one, thought if that is all there is to sex, I must be
missing something.. �Well I was, and am very pleased I found it, But
it isn't all about sex either..Its all about helping the mind, body
and spirit work together as one..

Thank you for asking me to participate in this opinion poll..

Peace, Love , Light and Laughter

Colleen W.

_____________

Dearest Colleen,

If you are reading this, thank you. I still have that email you wrote
two years ago.. I'm sure I speak for all of the readers when I say I
appreciate your bravery in showing how tantrism can help anyone with
the genuine desire to experience the fullness of life and
spirituality, whatever their beginning circumstances.

As you've understood, Tantra begins exactly where you are. Tantrics
are just ordinary people who learn to bravely explore their own human
nature, beginning with the most human of experiences.

Sex is at the very base of our awareness of what it is to be human.
Therefore, tantrics inwardly embrace sexuality as a very real part of
our re-linking with that which is bigger than us all. Tantra is not
all about sex, but Tantra embraces and uses every form of human
experience to bring us closer to our deepest, most universal nature...

Colleen, let me thank you again for your courage -- if you'll send me
your mailing address, allow me to send you several UmaaTantra DVD's...
viewing these materials should help you understand how to share much
more than you think possible with your husband. If you' want
specifics right away, just email or call and I'll explain.

--Tao

_________

That's it for this Q+A. More great letters will follow.

Remember, tantra means experiencing the universal, or divine, within
everthing mundane life offers. If learning Tantra's methods intrigues
you, investigate our products. Look a little deeper at what we offer.
You never know... two years from now it just may be you writing us to
say how your life has changed for the better, just like Colleen did
here today! It's very brave, and we thank you in advance...

Smile, breathe right, and keep your tongue up!
Tao Semko of www.UmaaTantra.com

P.S.
A great place to start understanding the Tantric view, from the
privacy of your own bedroom, is right here:
http://www.umaatantra.com/order.html

Did you miss this?

It seems that this past month the email filters were more brutal than
usual. I received a number of urgent emails about missed issues of
Tantra Tips.

Even though you subscribed to these emails, your email program may be
depriving you of their content. You may not have received them all. If
you could just help me by doing the following simple steps, it may
just keep us "connected."

Please "whitelist" our email address, info@umaatantra.com, by adding
it to your email program's address book, and by creating a special
folder named " UmaaTantra.com " just for our correspondence. I'm told
that AOL users even have a special "whitelist" function they can use
that instantly classifies hot broadcasts like Tantra Tips as "rush
delivery" while continuing to screen out the "riff-raff".

If you missed the previus announcements, hopefully this "sanitized
message" will reach you:

We've posted a full schedule of upcoming South Florida Workshops here,
including one with the legendary Dr. Glenn Morris:
http://www.umaatantra.com/events_calendar.html

Don't forget to whitelist us, and then keep your eyes peeled:
re-broadcasts of last month's Free Tips are headed your way,
along with new ones...

Smile, Breath Right, and Keep Your Tongue up! Tao Semko of
www.umaatantra.com

P.S.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last day for "early bird" discounts on
the Mantra Secrets Workshop on the 18th:
http://www.UmaaTantra.com/mantra.html

Everyday samadhi?

The goal of yogic practice is the absorption called samadhi. Yoga
means union, and samadhi means, literally, "to place together".. Real
yoga begins with samadhi. Postures, breathing, concentration,
meditation, ritual, or tantric lovemaking -- these are just means to
an end. But what if I told you that you already experience samadhi
hundreds of times a day? Confused? Here's a great explanation from
Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri):

"Lesser and Greater Samadhi

We are all pursuing samadhi or absorption in one form or another.
There are not only the higher yogic Samadhis but ordinary Samadhis.

We are only happy when we are so engrossed in something that we forget
ourselves because the separate self is sorrow. Samadhis are peak
experiences in which we become lost in the object of our perception.

Being inspired, enwrapped in music, engrossed in a movie, or lost in a
sexual experience are all lesser Samadhis.

Yoga teaches that there are five different levels of consciousness
(Chitta):

1) deluded (mudha)

2) distracted (kshipta)

3) imaginative (vishipta)

4) focused or one-pointed (ekagra)

5) calmed (nirodha)

Samadhis exist on all five levels of consciousness, but Yoga as a
spiritual discipline is only concerned with Samadhis of the last two
levels, which are purely Sattvic (spiritual) in nature.

These are arrived at through the development of our higher awareness
and are under the control of our deeper intelligence. They are the
greater or the yogic Samadhis.

Samadhis of the one-pointed mind involve the use of an idea or
support, from contemplating an object in nature to reflecting on the
nature of ultimate Reality. They are focused on a particular object
that may be external or internal.

Here the mind consciously gets concentrated in the object and its
underlying cosmic truth is revealed.

Yogis use this type of Samadhi to unconver the secrets of the cosmos
and the psyche. These are an extension of the methods of Pratyahara,
Dharana, and Dhyana that we have already discussed.

Samadhi of the calmed mind is beyond all objects and thoughts and
involves stilling or silencing our consciousness on all levels. This
type of Samadhi is necessary for transcending the outer world and for
Self-Realization.

Generally one must develop the Samadhis of the one-pointed mind in
order to develop those of the calmed or silent mind.

The lesser or non-yogic Samadhis are transient in nature and cannot
permanently bring peace to the mental field. They occur when the
unpurified mind comes under the temporary domination of one of the
three gunas and through this merges back into its core (Chitta), which
is the level of the gunas.

When one guna prevails there is an absorption in that guna. but in
time the other gunas must assert themselves and the Samadhi comes to
an end. These lesser Samadhis are outside the control of our awareness
and depend upon circumstances.

Such lesser Samadhis are the main cause of mental disturbances because
they breed attachement and cause addiction to them."

--Dr David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) in "Ayurveda and the Mind"

See this book on Amazon.com

What is Tantra?

What is "Tantra?"

Try to blithely define Tantra and you'll quickly make yourself a
liar.

A "tantra" may be a spiritual practice for achieving "expansion to
liberation." (it may be a ritual or meditation)...

A "tantra" may be any practice of material transformation or
spiritual alchemy...

A "tantra" may be a mundane practice of magic, a talisman, or a
totem, used for wealth, power, domination, or protection, or
soothsaying...

It may be a scripture or treatise enumerating any of the above types
of tantric practice. Most such writings date from 500 AD on to the
present.

A "tantra" may be a strictly oral teaching of either mundane or
spiritual practice. Many of these oral teachings date back several
thousand years, and are reflected by sculpture, pottery, friezes,
paintings, and ritual implements from as far back as 7000BC...

Tantric practice may be highly ornate, with much external ritual
paraphernalia, or it may be completely inside the mind, completely
internalized as a visualization or awareness beginning with a
specific focus.

Some tantra does involve the use of "forbidden" substances - alcohol,
flesh, intoxicants - but these are used within the context of
specific rigorous practices, and should not be taken as excuses for
debauchery.

Some tantra involves the use of mantra (sound resonance) and yantra
(visual resonance), but not all...

Some tantric schools view existence as "duality" ("I and Thou")
others as "non-duality" ("i am that i am"). Some are polytheistic,
and some are monotheistic, some are not theistic at all.

There are tantric teachers (for instance, some teachers of Samaya
Tantra) who will tell you there is no sex in real tantra. There are
tantric teachers who will tell you tantra is only about sex. Neither
group is right.

Most tantra works with "sexual" energy, but this may be on the
macrocosmic level of natural, universal forces of creation and
destruction, or on the interpersonal level of human sexuality
(whether physical sex, or visualized "divine" intercourse), or even
on the microcosmic level of the polar (male/female, solar/lunar,
yang/yin) forces within the individual human body. In the most
powerful practices, tantra may be all of the above...

There are practices developed only in the last 40 years, classified
as "Neo-Tantra", "Modern Tantra" or "New-Age Tantra". Some make
valuable contributiona, in that they can improve physical and
emotional health through loving sexuality, but they lack many of the
higher spiritual benefits of traditional tantric practices, and in
some ways further obscure the power and meaning of these traditional
practices. But Tantra has many millenia of history of this sort of
obscuration -- dilution and syncretism are nothing new.

Any one of the above characterizations of tantra, taken individually,
is only half-truth.

We explore them all intimately in issues of Tantra Tips and in
UmaaTantra's Tantric Inner Circle.

Keep your eyes peeled for more, and smile, breathe right, and keep
your tongue up!

Tao Semko of www.UmaaTantra.com