Tantra with a Twist: application of an ancient spiritual practice for modern relational communication

Abstract The practice of Tantra is believed to have started in the middle of the first millennium CE [common or current era] in what is now India. What we know of Tantra today has been primarily preserved through the works of the Kama Sutra and the Ananga Ranga. It was not until the 1960s, however, that Tantric practices became more well known in Western societies, and have become increasingly popular since. What is troubling about the predominant Westernization of Tantra is that it has frequently taken on a form of appropriation rather than application from a positionality of cultural genuineness or humility. For instance, much of the aim of Tantric practices in Eastern cultural contexts has focused on spiritual growth, however, in Western contexts the focus has been more on sexual improvement. This kind of misunderstanding ends up minimizing the powerful part that Tantra can play in people’s relational lives. Despite the value placed upon Tantra by practitioners and professionals alike, there is very little scholarly literature supporting its use, and there have been few updates to the understanding of Tantra since the waves of Westernization that have previously occurred. To address these identified gaps, the author, who has been studying Tantra-informed practices and hosting related workshops nationally and internationally for over five years, will discuss Tantric-informed practices through an informed position, including: the scholarly-based brief history of Tantra, Westernization and related waves of Tantra, a reflection on ideas of appropriation versus application, describing and discussing modern applications of Tantra that are rooted in the original intention of connection, integration, and relational communication, including an overview of the techniques and strategies shared in the author’s workshops, as well as how such practices can be modified and applied for informed use in the practicing of sex therapy.