When we think of Tantra, we think of sex and imagine that it has to do with esoteric practices that make sex better, but it’s not articulated how or why.

It’s all a mystery — a deep, dark secret that most of us would love to learn. Now Tantra yoga teacher Rod Stryker brings clarity to the age-old mystery. Rod has been teaching Tantra, meditation and hatha yoga for more than 25 years.

The now world-recognized got his start studying and teaching in Santa Monica, becoming a top instructor at Yoga Works in the ’90s. Rod soon began traveling worldwide and developed a system of Tantra that stays close to its origins, called Pure Yoga.

The notion of sex defining Tantra came about only recently, Rod explains, when Western teachers began offering “spiritual” sexual practices in the late 70s and early 80s. Although these teachers called the practice Tantra, they really weren’t being accurate.

Practices in the scope of Tantra are called maithuna, meaning “to make two, one.” “Maithuna was originally developed as a method to awaken spiritual consciousness using sexuality and sensual intimacy,” says Rod.

It is one of many practices in the Tantric discipline, and to separate it apart from the whole decreases its effect and power.

Rod explains that many of these Western teachers had not properly studied Tantra from a learned master but rather took the sexual hook and ran with it to make money or for other selfish reasons.

“Rather than teaching people how to discover the immense and extraordinary life that is possible through real and lasting self-realization, many teachers promoted orgasms — how to have as many as possible (for a woman) or none (for a man).

It would have saved confusion if what they were teaching was simply called by its real name.” [via] Note: To be continued…