Deepen your understanding of Yoga through a three day dive into Tantric theory and practice that will enable you to thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually.

One of the most famous quotes from Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is “I am desire itself when desire is in harmony with dharma”. It means being the unique person you are meant to be in the world. Yoga practice is to help align yourself with the inner voice that helps you to see what your dharma is. Dharma is the centrepiece of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the ancient texts that contains some of the most powerful teachings in the practice of Yoga.

This course has been designed for students and teachers of all levels who want to practise more masterfully. I will guide you on your journey through theory and practice demystifying the Tantric approach to Yoga, bringing the teachings onto your mat through asana and meditation practices, exploring the key touchstones of practice and wisdom with comprehensive discussions to translate complex topics into accessible language. This really is a journey into exploration and deep understanding of the “supreme science” and how to achieve life’s ultimate aims. Even if you’ve never had any experience with Tantric theory or practise, this course will lead you on a step-by-step journey of self-empowerment and discovery.

For regular practitioners of Yoga, this course represents a unique opportunity to explore the meaning behind the techniques – through discussion and conversation, as well as via meditative, inward-focused practices to help you to integrate what you are learning.

Both students of Yoga and Yoga teachers – new or experienced – will be thrilled to be able to focus on translating the key insights of the ancient tradition of Tantra and translating them into practical knowledge to enjoy and develop an exceptional Yoga practice.

Tantra is an incredibly interesting and often misunderstood aspect of Yoga and the further I travel on my own Yoga journey the more I understand its teachings and how to apply the theory to my practice. I would love you to join me on this three day adventure into Tantra, this course is a must and will surely spark your inner Yoga fire again!

Lucy

Tantra and Hatha Yoga Course Summary

To deepen your understanding of Tantra and what it means to practise Tantra, this course demystifies the Tantric approach to Yoga and includes practices pertaining to Kundalini awakening along with many other Tantric techniques and knowledge.

Hatha Yoga consists of asana, pranayama, bandha, kriya, mantra, mudra and meditation, but how does it all fit together? This course highlights specific approaches to asana, pranayama and meditation as well as awakening the spirit (shakti) of practice. It is really a synergistic blend of theory and practice.

Incorporating the wisdom of Ayurveda and the whole of Brahma Vidya (supreme science), Tantra provides a direct and accelerated path to achieving life’s ultimate aims.

Yoga Practice and Techniques

Each day begins with a powerful Hatha Yoga class where we explore key techniques and practices that we will be covering in our course; giving us the ideal opportunity to absorb and embody the teachings.

Feeling the effects of the practices is key to understanding their efficacy and power.  After all, Yoga is a practice, not just an idea. You will be introduced to distinct asana, pranayama and meditation practices that you may not have come across before. In addition, there is a guided Yoga Nidra practice to deepen your understanding of Tantra.

Course Resources

For this course you will receive a booklet that summarises our learnings, including the daily practices so that you can continue your self-practice long after the course, remembering the techniques covered during our time.

Course Details

• Friday November 22nd to Sunday November 24th, 2024.
• Tantra and Yoga is hosted at Yoga One Bournemouth by our co-founder, Lucy. The course runs over three consecutive days, we start each day at 7:15am and finish each day at 5:00pm.
• The studio is located at 2nd Floor, 136 Old Christchurch Road, BH1 1NL in Bournemouth town centre with lots of nearby places to eat and the area is well serviced by public transport. Parking is available close to the studio – both free and paid. Please see our New Students page for more details about parking.
• Please wear comfortable clothes, including something to practise in, the space is heated for your comfort during cooler weather, but you may wish to bring layers at the Yoga practices in this course are fairly slow. Mats, props, course booklet and materials are provided, but please bring a notepad and pens to take any extra notes.
• Fresh, filtered water is available – please bring your own bottle and full bathroom facilities are available on site.

Tantra and Yoga Course Detail and Syllabus

Tantra History and Philosophy

Enter into the ancient past as we explore the revelations, traditions and methodologies that contributed to the formulation and development of Tantra as a philosophy/science, as well as a way of practice.

The beginning of your journey into Tantra is to understand what the ancient masters saw; without which the practice can be very confining; this knowledge enables you to see yourself in the light of creation.

From here we will enter one of the main themes of our course – Dualism and Non-Dualism – the whole notion of Yoga practice is to move from the dualistic to the non-dualistic – although Tantra embraces both.

Vedic Revelations that led to Tantra and Yoga

The origins of Tantra come from as far back as the Vedic revelations, which were first codified in the Rg Veda a couple of millennia before the common era.

It was much later, somewhere between the 3rd to 13th centuries CE that the specific Tantric teachings were laid out – to begin learning them required a “diksa” – this is an initiation of some form and was considered to be the heart of the practice.

Like many spiritual lineages there are “orthodox” and “non-orthodox” practices, and we will look at both.

We will explore the tradition that ran parallel to Veda and became what we know as Tantra – Nigama – so we’ll be looking at the Tantric tradition both pre-“the Vedas”, and also the larger history of Tantra.

We will also look at Samkhya philosophy; this is the dualistic tradition that Yoga is based on, which sees reality as made up of matter and energy.

Unpacking the Chakras

Our main study and discussion is based around the awakening of Kundalini. But rather than a dry analysis of what this involves, we will instead focus on some of the major methodologies and techniques that allow this awakening to unfold.

The chakra system can seem impenetrable at first glance. This is partly due to its intangible quality, but it’s mainly due to our lack of understanding that there are forces in the body that are more powerful than we can grasp.

So, to really unpack the chakras, we must familiarise ourselves with three of the major modalities in Tantra that allow us to do this – everything related to alternate nostril breathing and balancing the nadis, building the psychic fire in the navel centre, and bhakti – love and devotion. Those are the models by which we can reduce our limitations so that Kundalini energy can flow through the chakras and beyond.

The primary focus for all living beings on this planet is survival and with humans this moves onto the concept of “I” and what that I wants – this is a really crucial, underlying theme of Yoga philosophy and a fascinating exploration for your own spiritual journey.

Applying the Teachings

One of the most famous quotes from Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is “I am desire itself when desire is in harmony with dharma”. It means being the unique person you are meant to be in the world.

Yoga practice is to help align yourself with the inner voice that allows you to see what your dharma is.  Dharma is the centrepiece of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the ancient texts that contains some of the most powerful teachings in the practice of Yoga. The techniques given in these ancient texts make it seem very elaborate, so here is where we simplify things.

Awakening energy in the spine is the basis of all the scriptures – they were all seen because someone had consciousness in their central channel. Until that time we are asleep to the infinite and awake to the finite.

This really is critical. To enter the Sushumna, the central channel, is the most auspicious thing one can do. If you want to become an enlightened being, you have to bring energy into your spine. So through a combination of asana, pranayama, meditation and kriya this is precisely what we will aim to do.

For us, there is no point learning about Brahma Vidya without some context of experience; and this is what makes this course different from other offerings.

In this course you will also learn how to meditate using mantra japa – ie the mantra Om – but we will also be working with the longer Mahamrityunjaya mantra.