2nd Level Solo Tantra Exercises

Best to read this for background on what the three basic exercises are before doing this one. I will make sense then. Helpful, aren't I??

Once you have the Basic Breath, Pelvic Tilt and PC Pump down, now you get to have the real fun of combining them. At first it can be awkward, I know. It's a bitch to have to think about all this stuff and get the body moving in different ways when it's not used to doing so. But, as I tell my students, think of it as a sport or ballroom dancing. You learn certain steps slowly then combine them. At first you are gawky, but with practice it become second nature.

Even if you don't want to do all three at first (or ever), combining two of them can make feelings and sensations different for you and start to open the Kundalini Pathways. Please remember this is NOT serious business. Play. I would suggest starting with two of these until they become second nature. Then, if you want, add the third in the mix for some real adventures.

The easiest combination (and most powerful, in my opinion) is the Breath/PC Pump variation, so I would suggest starting here. Who knows?...maybe you end here. The important thing is to do what feels right in your body.

The Technique: As you breath deeply into your belly, you can slowly tighten your Kegels ( for new or forgetful readers, this is just a different name for the PC muscle group.) As you release your breath, do a controlled release of the PC. Play here, varying the tempo and rate. Some people find that their natural way, the way in which the body responds best, is to reverse the flow. So for this, you would tighten the PC musles as you exhale, instead of inhaling. Play with both to see what comes more naturally. I learned it the first way and used to only teach it that way, but feedback, primarily from men, was that the reverse felt more "in tune" with their natural rhythm and bodysense. It doesn't matter. What matters is the tuning in to the nuances of the energetic movements and shiftings in the body.

Adding the Pelvic Tilt gets a bit trickier. It helps if you have both the this exercise and the Breath/PC combo mastered individually to the point where you don't have to think about the mechanics of either one. Rather, you just have to focus on the combo of all three.

Again, as when learning the Pelvic Tilt alone, it's best to start on the floor so that you have the pressure of the floor against your back for sensory feedback. The way I learned it: As you breath in, you tighten the PC, and arch the pelvis away from the floor so you have the arch in your back. As you release the breath and PC, you round the back so the sacrum is against the floor.

It can also be done with the tilt in reverse. Again...many of the men I know feel this reverse movement is more natural to their bodies. So with this variation, you would be breathing in, tightening, then rounding your back. Or, if you did the reverse with the PC Pump, you would be breathing in, releasing the PC and rounding the back all at the same time. Confused? In the end, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you find what feels good and get a good, smooth rhythm going.

As with the individual basic exercises, it's best to do this for a few minutes every day until you have it down. It's great to combine with any other meditation you do. Bringing the breath deeply into the body and getting the energy stimulated is great for your endocrine system and furthur stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system. But, as with the individual basics, it, too is a basic. The next stage is learning to consciously bring the energy up. I'll talk about that next week.

Please go visit my Tantra Sister, Greenwoman for this week's Thursday's Tantra post. We're doing this informal webring thing so if you write on Tantra and want to be included, please let one of us know and we'll start linking to you, too. Blessings!!

Art:

Primal Essence by Elaine Toland