Tantra - the extraordinary in the ordinary
Definition of Tantra
Tantra, contrary to common misconceptions, is the science of energy management. The word itself translates literally to ‘loom’ or ‘weave’ but it’s etymological meaning derives from its root words ‘tan’ meaning “to expand” and ‘tra’ meaning “instrument”, leading tantra to mean "an instrument (tra) for expansion (tan)".
The Tantric Worldview
Tantra besides being a practice and ‘instrument’ is also a philosophy of life. Tantra holds the belief that everything is the manifestation of the divine, the dance of shiva (consciousness) and shakti (the powerful dynamic energy of creation, maintenance and destruction). With this worldview it sees that even the ordinary mundane and even painful aspects of life as manifestations of shakti and as tools for extraordinary growth. As one of my teachers shares;
‘Life, according to the Tradition, is the eternal dance of energy and mind in the world of matter - a play of consciousness that pulses in and out of beauty and bliss, heartache and sorrow and our job, if we're up for it, is to view every little piece of it as divine.’ - Octavio Salvado
Taking into account our spiritual and human nature, Tantra believes that we can thrive in both equally and Tantra is our means of unifying the two. The technique is to use our outer world, our ordinary life experiences as the tools for awakening our inner world, our spiritual awareness. This idea is represented in the iconography of Shiva Nataraja, the Dancing Shiva who transforms the obstacles thrown at him into a part of his dance and evolutionary process.
Tantric Approach to Yoga
Tantra teaches us that our Hatha Yoga practice (physical/practical practice) can be systematically designed to influence the energetic subsystems of the body, one being the Vayus. One way we can work at processing our life experiences and utilising them for growth is by strengthening our capacity to assimilate and digest our experiences and do so on both the physical and subtle levels. We can do this by connecting with Samana Vayu, one of the 5 main Prana Vayus.
Prana in Sanskrit translates to ‘life-force energy’ and Vayu translates to direction so we are referring to the direction of our energy. Each vayu has a specific location, function, direction and action, governing particular mental and physical functions. In relation to digestion, Samana Vayu is the circulatory direction of prana that centres in our abdomen. It is our innate equalizing, assimilative and balancing force that governs our digestion both on a physical and subtle level.
On the physical level it is related to the digestion of food. On the subtle level, it relates to our ability to digest our life experiences and extract the nutrients from them into wisdom.
When our connection to Samana is strong, we can learn from our mistakes, see obstacles as opportunities and we see the lessons we can learn. When Samana is weak, we find ourselves spinning in circles and repeating the same patterns, perhaps we experience the same arguments, the same relationships and we get stuck in the same habits.
So how do we strengthen our connection to Samana Vayu? Below are key practices that you can try right here, right now;
Breathe into the abdominal space, placing one hand on the belly to get a feel for the breath.
Equal out your breathing to a 1:1 ratio, keeping your inhale and exhale the same length.
Explore twisting postures and forward folds.
Practice Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing).
You can practice the tools above wherever you are in your practice and like Shiva, we can begin to bring the ebb and flow of life into our dance.