Events - Tantra, the Art of Sacred Sexuality

a retreat for men and women
facilitated by Shakti Malan and Stephen Tredrea

Please note: this retreat is fully booked. Should you be interested in attending a retreat with Shakti and Stephen, please contact us.

Tantra is an ancient mystery tradition in which sexual energy is used as a force for spiritual awakening. This workshop is a practical introduction to the art of conscious sexuality. What we teach, draws on ancient mystery traditions but finds its expression in accessible modern idiom. The workshop is suitable for beginners and those of you who have been practicing for a while. This is also an opportunity to introduce friends of yours who have been curiously watching your unfolding. You can come on your own or with a partner. Numbers are limited and we aim to keep the amount of men and women equal. The workshop will not require nakedness.

Topics we will explore in practice:

• Experiencing the sacred potential of sexuality
• Understanding the power of sexual energy/kundalini
• Learning how to build sexual energy
• Gauging ow to turn sexual energy into a force for the awakening of the undivided heart
• Experiencing sexual energy as force for meditation
• Learning how to practice Tantra with the opposite gender

Methods that will be used:

• BlissDance, an expression of Tantra in movement
• Active meditations to release energy suppressions
• Tantric solo and partner meditations using breath, sound and movement
• Heart filled dialogue, discussion and enactment to deepen understanding of Tantric principles

Who is the retreat for?

This workshop is suitable for sincere seekers of truth who desire to live beyond their conditioning into the truth of who we really are.

Tantra is deeply transformational work that shatters illusions about love and truth - so it is meant for the brave at heart. Are you ready? Then come!

The facilitators, Shakti and Stephen

Shakti and Stephen are Tantra teachers, based in Cape Town, with the Advait Tantra School (www.tantraschool.co.za). Their practice involves sessions, talks, workshops, courses and retreats, working with individuals, couples and groups. This is offered country-wide and internationally.

Shakti is a woman who has always had a deep sense of calling, which first she explored in the development field working with township communities all across South Africa. Through this work she attained a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology, a discipline that teaches the practitioner to listen to the reality of groups and individuals from an insider perspective, through immersion in the texture of their lives.

Following from many years of devotion to meditation, tai chi, yoga and shamanic work, Shakti had a sudden and profound redirection of her energy into the field of Tantra. This started at the age of 33 with 18 months of death processing in the wilderness, and then a long period of intense work with the Advaita tradition of non-duality, as well as deep personal emotional processing.

Her style of teaching is influenced by Advaita teachings in general and specifically Advait Tantra, shamanism (most poignantly African shamanic traditions), systemic and processwork psychology, her intellectual training as a Social Anthropologist and also her work as a dance and movement teacher. Her central approach is to enter the totality of experience as a gateway to awakening. Shakti believes that sexuality powerfully directs us to this gateway. For more on her work, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com

Stephen has been actively exploring the value of integrating sexuality in his own personal spiritual development for many years. This ongoing exploration includes: dance and movement; body, energy and breath work; mediation and Buddhist studies; Tai Chi practice; and counselling training. Influences flow from various therapeutic, mystery and spiritual practices including Buddhist Tantra, ancient shamanic techniques, and Rudolph Steiner's Anthroposophy. His interest in this work starts with the individual, extending into relationship and deep intimacy, and then out to community. He learns from a number of teachers as he continues to experience, reflect and share, teaching with Shakti on a regular basis.