The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Tantra Yoga
The more you learn about any kind of Yoga, the more there is to know. A wise teacher once said, “Every day I wake up to find out I know less than I did the day before.”
This is even more true of Tantra Yoga – about which there is much misinformation and distortion of truth. The history of Yoga is long and a bit of a mystery as it migrated throughout Asia. The methodology of Tantra Yoga is too complex for a mere generalization.
Tantra Yoga is a vast subject that cannot be practiced to its full potential by reading books. This style of Yoga requires formal guidance from a Tantra Yoga teacher. There are a few myths about this form of Yoga, which are false or partial truths. Below I will cover a few of them.
Ritualized sex is not a common practice within these Yoga schools. Most Tantrics follow the Dakshinachara path, which is often called, “The right-handed path,” within western culture.
This is a deeply spiritual form of Yoga where deities, such as Shiva, are worshipped. Tantra Yoga is an integration of Bhakti Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Mantra Yoga, and Yantra Yoga. The Tantric who follows the Dakshinachara path is usually a good example of tolerance and lives a constructive life.
The Tantric who follows the Vamachara path, which is sometimes referred to as, “The left-handed path,” is a Yoga practitioner who participates in sex rituals, drinks alcohol, consumes other intoxicants, eats meat, and sacrifices animals.
Keep in mind, this is the minority, but most of the contemporary Tantra Yogis and Yoginis, who follow the Vamachara path, are practicing a form of “New Age Tantra Yoga,” without any direction or guidance from a Guru.
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