Tantra
'All over the world the schools of tantra have captured attention and interest, often because they are erroneously associated only with their aspects that deal with sexuality. But there is much more to tantric yoga. The word ‘tantra’ actually means a thread or a weaving of threads, and in the context of yoga this refers to the idea of weaving a net of intelligence within, through, and beyond the body and mind. Tantric yoga is considered by some to be a subset of hatha yoga, and others would say that hatha yoga is a specific set of techniques within tantric practice. In fact tantra and hatha yoga alike are organized around the principle that all things are sacred. Many yoga practices are designed to unplug the normally closed central channel of the body, the susumnā nādī, which extends from the center of the pelvic floor right up through the crown of the head and which is considered to be the most sacred channel of awareness within the body. With tantra, which is particularly focused on the sacred nature of everything, deep attention is given to the fine details of all types of experience as a means of reorganizing and balancing the inner processing of experience around and through this central axis of the body. The tantric use of sacred sound and form within the practices has the potential to open the central axis to a flow of focused attention and deep sensation. When the concentration enters the susumnā nādī in this way, the mind automatically starts to fold in on itself, resting in ecstatic depths of insight through pure awareness. Outwardly, tantra is the practice of realizing that the ordinary world and everything we do in the world are incredibly sacred. Within tantra there are many practices that ritualize our ordinary sense perceptions and our everyday activities in the world, allowing us to eventually enter the inner realm of the susumnā nādī and become grounded in reality just as it is.'
- Richard Freeman, in 'The Mirror of Yoga.'
- Richard Freeman, in 'The Mirror of Yoga.'