Totality Therapy Events

Drakensberg Tantra Retreat 8 - 11 April: Time to book

2010-03-12T07:57:00.001+02:00

Tantric Love Retreat

8 - 11 April 2010

Shakti Malan and Stephen Tredrea
Drakensberg Mountain Retreat
only 3 hours from Jhb

Sex is the seed
Love is the flower
Compassion is the fragrance
- Osho

Tantra

Tantra is a collective name used for the ancient mystery practices that access, channel and catalyze sexual energy as a force of awakening. These practices have now become available to us, and opening to their gifts can happen remarkably quickly with the guidance of experienced Tantrikas.

The practice of Tantra invites you to be fully alive, without judgment or suppression of anything that is in your life. It beckons you into a state of unconditional love, where existence itself becomes the beloved. It opens your heart and your being to the presence of your sexual beloved in blissful, transformative meditation.

Tantric Love Retreat

The Tantric Love Retreat is an opportunity for you to become acquainted with, and drink deeply from, the well of experience that is Tantra. The quote above from the great Tantric master Osho captures the essence of the Tantric Love Retreat. First we awaken the raw fire of our vital life force or sexual energy. Then we guide this energy up the body, where it touches the heart and becomes a force of love. From there, this energy, which we call Kundalini, rises up further through your being until its fragrance fills you with the knowing that you are one with all that is.

The retreat is structured to accommodate both newcomers and those of you who have already started your exploration of Tantra. If you have a deep commitment to awakening, and if you are willing for profound transformation of your reality and your sense of yourself, then this retreat is for you. You are welcome on your own or with a partner, and persons of all sexual orientations are invited.

The theme of this retreat points to two essential elements of Tantric practice:

Awakening the fire of your sexual energy or vital life force and
Refining the quality of your sexual energy into the nectar of divine love.

The objectives of the retreat are:

To awaken and release the flow of your sexual energy into the flame of presence
To free up your capacity for feeling, experience and sensation
To deepen your capacity for love
To assist you in integrating dualities that keep your energy and your sense of yourself in limited expression
To introduce you to methods and techniques that connect sexual and heart energy
To refine your sensitivity and awareness of energy and the presence of the other
To increase your ability to direct sexual energy as a force of awakening
To welcome the inner lovemaking that happens when we open up to the unique expressions of feminine and masculine energies in ourselves and in each other

The challenge of Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? This retreat is an opportunity for you to explore further - how much are you willing to let yourself feel? Are you willing to feel your raw instinctual power? Are you willing to feel all your emotions and sensations without judgment and suppression? Are you willing to increase your capacity to stand the bliss of subtlety? Are you ready to start feeling the blue flames of tantric presence ripple over your skin? Are you ready to let every breath become an act of love?

Methods

For this we will use a combination of Tantric methods:

active meditations
dance and movement
breath work
sound work

tantric meditations
sensory exploration
touch sensitivity training

Shakti and Stephen, the presenters

Shakti Malan is presenting this retreat and will be assisted by Stephen Tredrea. We are both members of the Advait Tantraschool (tantraschool.co.za). Shakti is a dakini (female tantra teacher) with a full and lively practice based in Cape Town and has been running retreats across South Africa. She has extensive experience in retreat facilitation and a deeply lived understanding of Tantric work. She holds Ph.D. in Sosial Anthropology. For more on Shakti's work and approach, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. Stephen is a daka (male tantra teacher) who beautifully embodies in his life and work the right approach of the masculine towards the feminine. For more on Stephen, see stephentredrea.com

The venue

The Drakensberg is the ideal setting for this retreat. This exquisite mountain range has been named "Dragon Mountain" because it evokes exactly the quality of a dragon for the onlooker. The Drakensberg Mountain Retreat has been home to some of the finest retreats in the country since its opening. Do yourself a favor and go have a look: www.drakensbergretreat.co.za. The center is situated a mere 3 hours from Johannesburg on the road to Durban. We will endeavour to coordinate transport between retreatants coming from Cape Town.

Cost and bookings

Cost: Drakensberg R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals

Please contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za if you have any questions.

To confirm your booking, please deposit payment* into the following account:

Dr. S. Malan
Standard Bank current account
Merriman Square branch (02-11-09-00)
Account number: 073152811

*Please talk to me about a payment plan if you are not able to pay in one go.

With love
Shakti

"Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love; and then for the second time in the history of the world, men will have discovered fire!" – Theilard de Chardin

TrueSex 1: Saturday 27 March - Cape Town

2010-03-10T13:47:00.000+02:00

Hello beloveds,

Attached a workshop run by friends of mine who do beautiful work as an introduction to the field of conscious sexuality. Book with them if you want to attend the event, and also let them know if you want to be on their mailing list for future events of this kind. This event is introductory so send on also to friends who might resonate with it.

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric Orgasm Workshop repeat this Thursday by popular demand

2010-03-09T22:12:00.001+02:00

Tantric Orgasm: Building sexual energy

Shakti and Stephen
Thursday 11 March
7 - 10/11pm
Cost R350 pp

St James (directions upon booking)

This workshop is an introduction to the sexual meditation of Tantra. Tantric practitioners are interested in building sexual energy and supporting the flow of this energy through the whole body as a force for awakening and pure, blissful presence. The workshop will give you a taste of some of the basic techniques and approaches we use. Some themes to be covered:

Genital sex versus spiritual sex
Sex up the chakras
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Bookings: Respond to this email or sms me on 0833010399. These workshop is introductory, though I will be discussing and exploring new information that old-time students can benefit from.

For more on us, see shakti.co.za and stephentredrea.com

Embracing your Desire: Women's workshop this Saturday

2010-03-08T20:13:00.000+02:00

Embracing your Desire

Women's Workshop
this Saturday 13 March 10am - 1pm
Persephone Institute Hout Bay

This workshop is the second in an ongoing series for women interested in exploring conscious sexuality. The first four workshops are explorations of different aspects of the first chakra. The aspect we next look at is our life impulse, which is fired by our desire. Embracing your Desire is an opportunity for women to explore together what touches us in the realm of desire. Whereas some spiritual traditions advocate 'rising above' your desires, Tantra says that desire itself can be the gateway to greater awareness. For some women, the impulse to desire has been suppressed due to past experiences. I am hoping that the three hours of this workshop will help you to get a glimpse of your own desire again. And if you are in touch with your desires, the workshop will give you ways of using them towards your awakening.

We will use some breath and movement to connect deeper to how desire moves through our bodies. We will also do a shamanic drum journey to help you discover what is there for you in the realm of desire.
Cost: R350pp
Please book asap as places are limited. More information once you have booked. To book, email or call me on 08330103999

You are welcome to come to any workshop even if you have not done the previous ones. I structure the workshops so that they are complete in themselves. The workshop is suitable for beginners and for women who have done this work for some time.

In Greek mythology, the god Pan embodies free exploration of desires. Here is an ancient hymn to him; may it inspire you some more for the day!

HYMN TO PAN

Thrill with lissome lust of the light,
O man! My man!
Come careering out of the night
Of Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea
From Sicily and from Arcady!
Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards
And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards,
On a milk-white ass, come over the sea
To me, to me,
Come with Apollo in bridal dress
(Shepherdess and pythoness)
Come with Artemis, silken shod,
And wash thy white thigh, beautiful God,
In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount,
The dimpled dawn of the amber fount!
Dip the purple of passionate prayer
In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare,
The soul that startles in eyes of blue
To watch thy wantonness weeping through
The tangled grove, the gnarled bole
Of the living tree that is spirit and soul
And body and brain --- come over the sea,
(Io Pan! Io Pan!)
Devil or god, to me, to me,
My man! my man!
Come with trumpets sounding shrill
Over the hill!
Come with drums low muttering
From the spring!
Come with flute and come with pipe!
Am I not ripe?
I, who wait and writhe and wrestle
With air that hath no boughs to nestle
My body, weary of empty clasp,
Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp ---
Come, O come!
I am numb
With the lonely lust of devildom.
Thrust the sword through the galling fetter,
All-devourer, all-begetter;
Give me the sign of the Open Eye,
And the token erect of thorny thigh,
And the word of madness and mystery,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan,
I am a man:
Do as thou wilt, as a great god can,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake
In the grip of the snake.
The eagle slashes with beak and claw;
The gods withdraw:
The great beasts come, Io Pan! I am borne
To death on the horn
Of the Unicorn.
I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan!

I hope that you will join me for this very special event

Love

Shakti

Fwd: Embracing your Desire: Women's workshop 14 March

2010-03-05T12:12:00.001+02:00

Embracing your Desire

Women's Workshop 13 March 10am - 1pm
Persephone Institute Hout Bay

This workshop is the second in an ongoing series for women interested in exploring conscious sexuality. The first four workshops are explorations of different aspects of the first chakra. The aspect we next look at is our life impulse, which is fired by our desire. Embracing your Desire is an opportunity for women to explore together what touches us in the realm of desire. Whereas some spiritual traditions advocate 'rising above' your desires, Tantra says that desire itself can be the gateway to greater awareness. For some women, the impulse to desire has been suppressed due to past experiences. I am hoping that the three hours of this workshop will help you to get a glimpse of your own desire again. And if you are in touch with your desires, the workshop will give you ways of using them towards your awakening.

We will use some breath and movement to connect deeper to how desire moves through our bodies. We will also do a shamanic drum journey to help you discover what is there for you in the realm of desire.
Cost: R350pp
Please book asap as places are limited. More information once you have booked.

You are welcome to come to any workshop even if you have not done the previous ones. I structure the workshops so that they are complete in themselves. The workshop is suitable for beginners and for women who have done this work for some time.

In Greek mythology, the god Pan embodies free exploration of desires. Here is an ancient hymn to him; may it inspire you some more for the day!

HYMN TO PAN

Fwd: Embracing your Desire: Women's workshop 14 March

2010-03-03T15:45:00.001+02:00

Embracing your Desire

Women's Workshop 13 March 10am - 1pm
Persephone Institute Hout Bay

This workshop is the second in an ongoing series for women interested in exploring conscious sexuality. The first four workshops are explorations of different aspects of the first chakra. The aspect we next look at is our life impulse, which is fired by our desire. Embracing your Desire is an opportunity for women to explore together what touches us in the realm of desire. Whereas some spiritual traditions advocate 'rising above' your desires, Tantra says that desire itself can be the gateway to greater awareness. For some women, the impulse to desire has been suppressed due to past experiences. I am hoping that the three hours of this workshop will help you to get a glimpse of your own desire again. And if you are in touch with your desires, the workshop will give you ways of using them towards your awakening.

We will use some breath and movement to connect deeper to how desire moves through our bodies. We will also do a shamanic drum journey to help you discover what is there for you in the realm of desire.
Cost: R350pp
Please book asap as places are limited. More information once you have booked.

You are welcome to come to any workshop even if you have not done the previous ones. I structure the workshops so that they are complete in themselves. The workshop is suitable for beginners and for women who have done this work for some time.

In Greek mythology, the god Pan embodies free exploration of desires. Here is an ancient hymn to him; may it inspire you some more for the day!

HYMN TO PAN
Thrill with lissome lust of the light,
O man! My man!
Come careering out of the night
Of Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea
From Sicily and from Arcady!
Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards
And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards,
On a milk-white ass, come over the sea
To me, to me,
Come with Apollo in bridal dress
(Shepherdess and pythoness)
Come with Artemis, silken shod,
And wash thy white thigh, beautiful God,
In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount,
The dimpled dawn of the amber fount!
Dip the purple of passionate prayer
In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare,
The soul that startles in eyes of blue
To watch thy wantonness weeping through
The tangled grove, the gnarled bole
Of the living tree that is spirit and soul
And body and brain --- come over the sea,
(Io Pan! Io Pan!)
Devil or god, to me, to me,
My man! my man!
Come with trumpets sounding shrill
Over the hill!
Come with drums low muttering
From the spring!
Come with flute and come with pipe!
Am I not ripe?
I, who wait and writhe and wrestle
With air that hath no boughs to nestle
My body, weary of empty clasp,
Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp ---
Come, O come!
I am numb
With the lonely lust of devildom.
Thrust the sword through the galling fetter,
All-devourer, all-begetter;
Give me the sign of the Open Eye,
And the token erect of thorny thigh,
And the word of madness and mystery,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan,
I am a man:
Do as thou wilt, as a great god can,
O Pan! Io Pan!
Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake
In the grip of the snake.
The eagle slashes with beak and claw;
The gods withdraw:
The great beasts come, Io Pan! I am borne
To death on the horn
Of the Unicorn.
I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan!

Greetings
Shakti

Big Questions Series: Monday night Workshop on Tantric Orgasm

2010-02-24T10:16:00.001+02:00

Tantric Orgasm: Building sexual energy
Shakti and Stephen
Monday 1 March
7 - 10/11pm
Cost R350 pp
Venue to be confirmed

Genital sex versus spiritual sex
Sex up the chakras
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Women's Tantra workshop: Cosmic Sexuality Saturday 27 February

2010-02-19T15:29:00.001+02:00

Or cosmic sexuality
A Tantra workshop for women

Saturday 27 February 10am - 1pm
Persephone Institute Hout Bay

Women's sexuality has a cosmic quality to it.

It is elemental.

It rises up in our bodies through the earth.

Come discover and celebrate the flow of this energy with me in a morning of

dancing,
breath meditation and
shamanic journey work

This course is part of a series of workshops in which I am guiding women in Tantric practice through the chakras. We are working with the first chakra at the moment. All women are welcome. You need not have done any courses before. To book your place, write me an email so that I know you are coming and pay R350 (the full course fee) into the following account:

Dr. S. Malan
Standard Bank current account
Merriman Square branch (02-11-09-00)
Account number: 073152811

Namaste
Shakti

Tomorrow's Tantra workshop now 3 hours

2010-02-19T15:23:00.001+02:00

Tantric Practice for Men and Women
Saturday 20 February
3pm - 6/7pm
Noordhoek
Facilitated by Shakti and Stephen

This workshop provides you with a practical experience of Tantra, the art of sacred sexuality. Tantra sees sexual energy as vital life force, as an energy that can support your awakening into the truth of who you are, beyond personality and story. In this workshop, we will be a) activating vital life force or kundalini through breath work, movement and meditation and then b) guiding this raw energy up our bodies to enable its refinement through the chakras. This workshop is an introduction to a central theme in Tantra which I discuss in more details at http://totalitytherapy.com/blog/2009/10/inner-and-outer-heat-in-tantra-in.html

No partner needed, all welcome.
Cost: R350pp
Bookings: Shakti@shakti.co.za or call me on 0833010399
For more on the presenters see shakti.co.za and stephentredrea.com

Tantric Love Retreat 8 - 11 April Drakensberg (3 hrs from Jhb)

2010-02-17T22:52:00.001+02:00

Tantric Love Retreat

8 - 11 April 2010

Shakti Malan and Stephen Tredrea
Drakensberg Mountain Retreat
only 3 hours from Jhb

Sex is the seed
Love is the flower
Compassion is the fragrance
- Osho

Tantra

Tantric Love Retreat

Awakening the fire of your sexual energy or vital life force and
Refining the quality of your sexual energy into the nectar of divine love.

The objectives of the retreat are:

To awaken and release the flow of your sexual energy into the flame of presence
To free up your capacity for feeling, experience and sensation
To deepen your capacity for love
To assist you in integrating dualities that keep your energy and your sense of yourself in limited expression
To introduce you to methods and techniques that connect sexual and heart energy
To refine your sensitivity and awareness of energy and the presence of the other
To increase your ability to direct sexual energy as a force of awakening
To welcome the inner lovemaking that happens when we open up to the unique expressions of feminine and masculine energies in ourselves and in each other

Methods

For this we will use a combination of Tantric methods:

active meditations
dance and movement
breath work
sound work

tantric meditations
sensory exploration
touch sensitivity training

Shakti and Stephen, the presenters

The venue

Cost and bookings

Cost: Drakensberg R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals

Please contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za if you have any questions.

Banking details are:

Dr. S. Malan
Standard Bank current account
Merriman Square branch (02-11-09-00)
Account number: 073152811

Tantric Awareness Retreat 12 - 15 March 2010, Knysna Forest

2010-02-17T08:20:00.000+02:00

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)

with Rahasya and Shakti
12 - 15 March 2010
Lotus Garden Forest Retreat Centre* Knysna
*previously Osho Oasis

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas. Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreatTantric work.

Please book by end February.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals** The retreat starts 6pm on Friday and concludes 11am on Monday.
is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism - a prerequisite for deeper

Correct time and more info on Relationship workshop Monday

2010-02-16T15:33:00.000+02:00

Monday 22 February
7pm - 10pm
Noordhoek
Relationship, commitment, faithfulness

Discussion and practice facilitated by Shakti and Stephen. The themes of the night are:

Types of relationships (monogamy, open relationship, polyamory)
Exploring commitment and depth
Exploring faithfulness and trust
Love versus possession, projection and fantasy

Read my blog on this topic: http://shakti.co.za/blog/2010/02/one-partner-or-many-partners-my-view-on.html

Thank you to all who have responded so enthusiastically.

All welcome. Bookings close on Friday 5pm. Cost R350pm, payable in advance. Bring some sensual snacks to share.

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric Practice for Men and Women - workshop this Saturday

2010-02-16T15:28:00.001+02:00

Tantric Practice for Men and Women
Saturday 20 February
3pm - 9/10pm
Noordhoek
Facilitated by Shakti and Stephen

No partner needed, all welcome.
Cost: R700pp
Bookings: Shakti@shakti.co.za or call me on 0833010399
For more on the presenters see shakti.co.za and stephentredrea.com

Relationship, commitment, faithfulness: Big Questions workshop Monday 22 February

2010-02-15T22:11:00.000+02:00

Monday 22 February
7pm - 1pm
Noordhoek
Relationship, commitment, faithfulness

Discussion and practice facilitated by Shakti and Stephen. The themes of the night are:

Types of relationships (monogamy, open relationship, polyamory)
Exploring commitment and depth
Exploring faithfulness and trust
Love versus possession, projection and fantasy

All welcome. Bookings close on Friday 5pm. Cost R350pm, payable in advance. Bring some sensual snacks to share.

Namaste
Shakti

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking 19 - 21 February: time to book

2010-02-12T15:49:00.001+02:00

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking

with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February 2010
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

Tantra is an ancient mystery tradition that has become accessible today to sincere seekers of truth. Tantra uses sexual energy as a gateway to awareness. By bringing awareness and presence to your sexuality through Tantric practice, you can turn your intimate life into an ecstatic mediation.

Join us on this experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement opens you to greater presence and sensitivity in your lovemaking. Gecko Creek is a beautiful nature environment, an ideal space to reconnect to the natural of your sexuality. Elements of the weekend will be:

Introduction to embracing fears and desires
Loving self, loving your body
Touching with presence
Breath as vehicle for sexual energy
Movement as encouragement to energy flow

Methods we will use are

active meditations
breathwork
touch
movement and dancing
dialogue and input

This retreat is inviting rather than confronting in nature. All sincere seekers of truth are welcome, as couples or singles. This is a Level 1 retreat: all welcome, all will benefit

Retreat fee: R1 500 plus Gecko Creek accommodation (R110 to R405 pppn)

Bookings/enquiries: info@shakti.co.za or 083 301 0399. Please book by Monday.

Book soon as places are limited.

Namaste

Shakti

Big Questions Series: February Monday night Workshops

2010-02-09T15:18:00.001+02:00

The Big Tantric Questions series

Monday 15 February
Conscious Sex 7 - 10/11pm

Noordhoek
R350 pp

How sex goes unconscious (suppression of desires and fears, fantasy, projection, body memory)
Bringing consciousness back (breath and presencing techniques in lovemaking)

Workshops will involve
input from me

discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Bookings: Respond to this email or sms me on 0833010399. Please book by Friday. These workshops are introductory, though I will be discussing and exploring new information that old-time students can benefit from.

Coming up:

Monday 22 February
Relationship, commitment, faithfulness

Types of relationships (monogamy, open relationship, polyamory)
Exploring commitment and depth
Exploring faithfulness and trust
Love versus possession, projection and fantasy

Monday 1 March
Tantric Orgasm: Building sexual energy

Genital sex versus spiritual sex
Sex up the chakras

Techniques for raising sexual energy

Tonight: Foreplay vs Love Play

2010-02-08T07:37:00.000+02:00

The Big Tantric Questions series

Monday 8 February 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach Lovemaking

Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
How to approach love play
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Workshops will involve
input from me and Stephen
discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Respond to this mail to book your place
or sms me on 0833010399

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric Awareness and Practice Retreats, Knysna, March 2010

2010-02-06T20:39:00.000+02:00

Hello beloveds,

This is an invitation to two retreats run by Rahasya and me in March 2010.

The Tantric Awareness Retreat (12 - 15 March) is an entry-level retreat, for people who have had an introductory experience with us before and are now ready to start an immersion into Tantric practice.
The Tantric Practice Retreat (19 - 22 March) is for students who have already done an entry-level retreat or course and are ready to go deeper.

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)

with Rahasya and Shakti
12 - 15 March 2010
Osho Oasis Knysna

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas. Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreat is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism - a prerequisite for deeper Tantric work.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals** The retreat starts 6pm on Friday and concludes 11am on Monday.

Tantric Practice Retreat (Level 3)
with Rahasya and Shakti
19 - 22 March 2010
Osho Oasis Knysna

The Tantric Practice Retreat is a level 3 Tantra retreat of the Advait Tantra School for those who have already done the Tantric Awareness Retreat and on average only happens every third year. This retreat takes you deeper into the practice of what we explored during the Tantric Awareness Retreat. Our assumption is that we have all now stepped over the doorway of the unconscious in our eroticism, and we are ready to explore somewhat deeper – enact and live more strongly what is there, and get a bit more creative with it. This is a retreat for committed spiritual warriors.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals** The retreat starts 6pm on Friday and concludes 11am on Monday.

** discount applies for students who do both retreats this year

The Venue
The Osho Oasis is in the middle of the Knysna forest. Accommodation is provided in wooden A-frame retreat cottages. A beautiful, secluded venue as a counterpoint to our usual lives.

The facilitators
Rahasya is the director of the Advait Tantra Yoga School (see tantraschool.co.za). The school has teachers in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Shakti runs a Tantra practice in Cape Town and presents numerous retreats and workshops through the country (see totalitytherapy.com and shakti.co.za)

Bookings and enquiries
Shakti : shakti@shakti.co.za Cell: 0833010399

Participants' Reflections on a previous Tantric Awareness Retreat

"I'm battling to find words to describe (my experience of the retreat). It certainly was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in a long time. The main reason is I broke through so many of my limiting beliefs. I feel as a result so liberated… The tenderness, gentleness, acceptance, openness and purity of our sharing made it so exquisite and safe for me to explore territories I never knew existed. As a result I feel I have a more intimate connection to the Divine and my heart has opened to loving at greater depths."

"My mind has been opened to new possibilities. I was so blissfully blessed, and wish to continue on this journey with Tantra."

"It was a divine and blissful sharing of simple love energy and I'm hugely grateful for the journey of the weekend and for every individual who was there that contributed in many and varied ways to make it what it was. It was a deliciously blissful time and I hope to see you all again on the next one!"

"I can't tell you how wonderful, blissful and full of energy I feel (after the retreat). I can't remember when last I felt like this. I am so happy without blockages, I feel like a butterfly in the air. There is a sensation on my skin… it feels like I can move mountains."

On making love after the retreat: "(I found myself) making love slowly and just 'allowing' sensation and sensuality to gradually saturate my body. Once saturated; waves and ripples of blissful lightness-energy moving throughout my entire body; Smaller ripples riding upon bigger waves; Bigger waves being interspersed with calm blissful silence, then resuming again and again; going on an on; never seems to exhaust itself or getting tired of blessing me; making me giggle like a little girl and laugh like a boy riding the rollercoaster for the first time."

Foreplay vs Love Play: Monday night's Tantra workshop

2010-02-03T14:24:00.000+02:00

The Big Tantric Questions series

Monday 8 February 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach Lovemaking

Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
How to approach love play
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Living Tantra - tomorrow night

2010-02-03T08:04:00.001+02:00

Living Tantra
When:: 2010-02-04 19.00 h - 21.00 h
Where:: Cape Town

Description

This is a regular group, meeting on the first Thursday evening of each month starting February 2010. It is for anyone interested in an ongoing practice of Tantra, bringing fullness of awareness into their daily lives. The group provides support, sharing and practice of basic Tantra exercises.

It is suitable for anyone wanting an introduction to Tantra as well as for those who already have experience with the practice of Tantra.

Facilitator: Stephen
Fee: a contribution of R50 is suggested

Stephen is a practising Tantrika in service as a catalyst for the experience of seekers in truth and awareness. He forms part of the Advait Tantra School (www.tantraschool.co.za) under the guidance of Dakini Shakti (www.shakti.co.za). His website is www.stephentredrea.com

Bookings and inquiries: info@stephentredrea.com

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking 19 - 21 February

2010-02-02T15:25:00.000+02:00

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking (Level 1*)
with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

Join us on this experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement opens you to greater presence and sensitivity in your lovemaking. The art of Tantric lovemaking turns loving yourself and your beloveds into an ecstatic meditation.

This retreat is inviting rather than confronting in nature. All sincere seekers of truth are welcome, as couples or singles. We will make sure there are equal numbers men and women.

*Level 1 retreat: all welcome, all will benefit
Retreat fee: R1 500 plus Gecko Creek accommodation (R110 to R405 pppn)
Bookings/enquiries: info@shakti.co.za or 083 301 0399

Book soon as places are limited.

Namaste
Shakti

Big Questions Series: February Monday night Workshops

2010-01-23T10:45:00.001+02:00

Hello beloveds,

Every Monday night of February I will be presenting a workshop addressing one of the big questions students have asked me about Tantric practice. My focus in this series is going to be on sexuality, intimacy and relationship. You are welcome to come to individual workshops, though you will benefit most if you come to each one.

The Big Tantric Questions series
Monday nights 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Workshops will involve
input from me
discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Monday 1 February
Intimacy: What blocks it and how to deepen it

Love and sex: finding the connection, opening the flow
body armoring: how the body takes on the heart's defendedness
how the hear gets defended/ why we lose intimacy
intimacy with who?
techniques for clearing your intimacy blocks/opening the flow

Monday 8 February
Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach lovemaking

Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
How to approach love play
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Monday 15 February
Conscious Sex

How sex goes unconscious (suppression of desires and fears, fantasy, projection, body memory)
Bringing consciousness back (breath and presencing techniques in lovemaking)

Monday 22 February
Relationship, commitment, faithfulness

Types of relationships (monogamy, open relationship, polyamory)
Exploring commitment and depth
Exploring faithfulness and trust
Love versus possession, projection and fantasy

Monday 1 March
Tantric Orgasm: Building sexual energy

Genital sex versus spiritual sex
Sex up the chakras
Techniques for raising sexual energy

Bookings: Respond to this email or sms me on 0833010399. Places are limited. These workshops are introductory, though I will be discussing and exploring new information that old-time students can benefit from.

Saying Yes to your Body Saturday 6 Feb - cost

2010-01-20T10:49:00.000+02:00

Hello women,

I forgot to add the cost: R350 per person.

Namaste

Shakti

Tantric Practice for Women

First workshop: Saying Yes to your Body

Saturday 6 February 10 am - 1pm

Outer Robe, Long Street Cape Town

"Saying Yes to the Body" is the first in a series of workshops for women on the chakras or energy centers of the body. See below for more details on the ongoing course.

The first chakra will only open when we say yes to being embodied, to being on the planet in a body. We women often view our own bodies critically. In this workshop, you will learn ways of coming to love your body. We will also begin to experience how sexual energy moves in a woman's body trough working with the perineum and movement in the lower pelvic area.

Tantric Practice for Women

Tantra, the art of conscious sexuality, is a practice that has since ancient times been led by women. What has been a secret and mystical practice has now become accessible to seekers who are on a committed path of awareness. It is a special calling in my life to support women into the full flowering of where our sexuality can take us. The main elements of this work are:
• Understanding the unique qualities of female sexuality
• Opening to the flow of sexual energy/ kundalini through meditation, dance and breath work
• Unleashing blocks or integrating what has prevented this full flow through the chakras.

Working with the chakras

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

Many women have negative body memories from sexual experience. These can be from a range of sources, including direct invasion, inappropriate contact, painful or insensitive sex and judgments about the realm of the sexual. While engaging your personal healing journey in this realm will be intensified by private sessions with me, the continuous course will create a space for us to collectively and individually release and integrate past inhibiting memories. For more on my approach to this work, see http://totalitytherapy.com/blog/2009/02/sexual-healing-copyright-shakti-malan.html

A continuous course

The course will consist of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra.

You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well. It can also be beneficial to do the workshops a second time. As you grow in life experience, you open to more of what the workshops have to offer.

Growing with other women

This continuous course will create a space for fluid community and support amongst women. We learn from each other and share in our experiences. The unfolding of our personal awareness can be deepened significantly through regular practice in a conscious group context.

Method

The kinds of methods I use are:

Breath work
Guided meditations
Group discussions and sharing
Shamanic journeywork
Body tracking
Collaging, journaling and other creative expressions
Movement and dance

The methods will be an encouragement of the subtlety in women's sexuality. The focus is on the movement of sexual energy in your own body; on getting to know your own body, and becoming attuned to how energy moves through you.

Bookings

To book your place on any/all of these workshops, contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. Please note that I am on the Wild Coast until end January, so you may not get an immeditate response. But I will get back to you in less than a week's time!

Tantra for Women: Saying Yes to your Body Saturday 6 Feb

2010-01-14T16:55:00.000+02:00

Tantric Practice for Women

First workshop: Saying Yes to your Body

Saturday 6 February 10 am - 1pm

Outer Robe, Long Street Cape Town

"Saying Yes to the Body" is the first in a series of workshops for women on the chakras or energy centers of the body. See below for more details on the ongoing course.

Breath work
Guided meditations
Group discussions and sharing
Shamanic journeywork
Body tracking
Collaging, journaling and other creative expressions
Movement and dance

Tantra news January - June 2010

2010-01-05T10:52:00.001+02:00

Hello beloveds,

A blessed new year to you all. As promised I send you the programme for the next six months early on in the year so you can plan. I am on my way to have a good holiday before it all starts, so don't be distressed if I don't respond to emails immediately. You will get a response within a week of contacting us.

The first six months of 2010 are packed with opportunities for Tantric practice. In the year that is past, Stephen joined me, and a range of courses and retreats have become established. More people are wanting to start Tantric practice, and a significant number of you are ready to go deeper. With the recent First African Conference for Sacred Sexual Educators, our engagement has also become more international. In order to accommodate the range of experience amongst students, we have more events at a range of levels. To help you choose what is appropriate for you, we have made the levels explicit:

How to choose

Level 1: Introductory. All seekers welcome and all will benefit.
Level 2: Entry - start of committed Tantric practice. Some introductory experience required
Level 3: Intermediate. Sufficient entry-level experience required.
Level 4: Advanced: Sufficient intermediate level experience required.

Events for the first half of next year include

• Retreats in the Cederberg, Drakensberg and Knysna forest
• Tantra foundation courses and and ongoing women's course in Cape Town
• A day workshop on male sexuality
• Sexcon – A sexuality un-conference
• Regular Tantra evenings in Cape Town
• Day workshops in Johannesburg

The feedback of students so far is that the depth of transformation that occurs in their lives due to courses, workshops or retreats attended, seems to bear no correlation to the limited time and cost that was involved. Our touch is subtle, but it will take you to the edge of your possibility for expansion.

Retreats

The Tantric Shaman (Level 3)
with Shakti
29 - 31 January: Gecko Creek

This retreat is only for students who have spent significant time in Tantric practice. The aim of the weekend is to introduce you to the Tantric Shaman in yourself. We will explore various subtle to strong ways of opening to trance, using dancing, ritual, masks, breath work, elemental exploration, animal spirit embodiment and sounding.
R1000 facilitation fee plus Gecko Creek accommodation*

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking (Level 1)
with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February: Gecko Creek

This retreat will be an experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Our focus will be on opening the body to greater presence and sensitivity through deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement. The art of Tantric lovemaking can turn your loving of yourself and your beloveds into an ecstatic meditation. This retreat is open to all sincere seekers of truth and is inviting rather than confronting in nature.
Cost R1 400 plus Gecko Creek accommodation

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)
with Shakti and Rahasya
12 - 15 March: Osho Oasis Knysna

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas. Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through the projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreat is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism - a prerequisite for deeper Tantric work.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**

Tantric Practice Retreat (Level 3)
with Shakti and Rahasya,
19 - 22 March 2010: Osho Oasis Knysna

The Tantric Practice Retreat is a level 2 Tantra retreat of the Advait Tantra School for those who have already done the Tantric Awareness Retreat. This retreat on average only happens every third year. This retreat takes you deeper into the practice of what we explored during the Tantric Awareness Retreat. Our assumption is that we have all now stepped over the doorway of the unconscious in our eroticism, and we are ready to explore somewhat deeper – enact and live more strongly what is there, and get a bit more creative with it. This is a retreat for committed spiritual warriors.
Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**
** discount applies for students who do both retreats this year

Introduction to Tantra Retreat (Level 1)
30 April – 2 May: Gecko Creek, Cederberg
with Shakti and Stephen

This retreat is an ideal opportunity to get introduced to the approach, method and practice of Tantra, the art of sacred sexuality. This retreat is accessible to all sincere seekers of truth. If you are already familiar with Tantra and want to come soak up more - or bring a friend along - you are most welcome. Imagine a weekend of sitting in a circle around a fire or in a cool lapa, of lazing in the sun around a pool overlooking the endless mountains of the Cederberg, of coming to touch the mysteries of your sacred sexuality through discussion and gentle practice while being held by two experienced practitioners and the fresh, welcoming breath of nature.

Tantric Love Retreat (Levels 2-4)
with Shakti and Stephen
8 - 11 April 2010: Drakensberg Retreat Center
20 - 23 May 2010: Gecko Creek, Cederberg

In Chinese medicine, the element of the heart is fire. When the fire of our sexual energy meets the fire of our hearts, love becomes infused with power. This retreat is for those of you who are ready to go deeper into the practice of Tantric Love. Introductory level experience is required. The challenge of Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? This retreat is an opportunity for you to explore further - how much are you willing to let yourself feel? Are you willing to feel your raw instinctual power? Are you willing to feel all your emotions and sensations without judgment and suppression? Are you willing to increase your capacity to stand the bliss of subtlety? Are you ready to start feeling the blue flames of Tantric presence ripple over your skin? Are you ready to let every breath become an act of love? This retreat will teach you how.

Cost: Drakensberg R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals
Cost: Cederberg R2 100 excludes accommodation, meals prepared together

Gecko Creek accommodation fees
* Cabin R270 pppn
* Tent R180 pppn
* Camping R110 pppn (Own tent and bedding)

Courses

A general note on all courses: feel free to attend any of these for the second time. Students who have done so have been able to access greater depths of their own beings and have experienced the events as if for the first time.

1. Tantra foundation courses

The Tantra Foundation courses give you an opportunity to practice the fundamental principles of Tantra systematically over time with a group of people. This will considerably deepen your learning and the integration of the practice in your life. The three courses are based on the seven main objectives of my Tantra practice as outlined in http://totalitytherapy.com/about.html. The courses follow a logical progression: We start with processing and enactment of what is in the unconscious (level 1) and then continue to the integration of masculine and feminine in us (level 2). Only when this work is done, are students ready to approach the sexual meditation of Tantra (level 3).

Level 1: Erotic and Beyond

Five Mondays 1 February – 1 March 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula,
5 – 7 March Gecko Creek, Cederberg
Course fee (includes all facilitation, excludes weekend accommodation): R2 500

This course is a first and powerful step towards the freedom that Tantra offers as a practice. It requires of you to embrace both your fears and your desires in the realm of the erotic, and to feel the feelings that emerge from here. You will be taught techniques to process the emotional and mental patters that arise from the practice. The course can offer powerful release and healing from old experiences and expectations around sexuality. Expert facilitation will ensure that the course meets each individual where they are at.

Level 2: The Soulmate Within

Six Mondays May 3rd – June 7th, 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula
Course fee R2 000

In our collective psyches the dream of finding the Soulmate moves strongly - that 'other' who will meet and fulfill me completely. And, as my teacher Rahasya says: "There is a real soulmate for each one of us. But that person is inside." Inside ourselves we are both masculine and feminine. The lovers and loved ones that cross our paths are our mirrors for where we are in the inner relationship between male and female. They can also be a rich fulfillment - and embodiment - of our inner Soulmate.

Level 3: Embodied Love
To be announced – second half of 2010

When you have immersed yourself in the practices addressed in course 1 and 2, you are ready to work with sexual energy as a force of presence. The objective of this course is to get you ready to experience the full potential of your sexuality. This involves developing increased awareness in the body, expanding your heart capacity and practicing presence in every moment, including your most intimate ones. Students who have completed both the Tantric Awareness and Tantric Practice Retreats will also be allowed on this course.

2. Tantric Practice for Women: An ongoing course

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

The ongoing course on Tantra for women consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra. You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well.

First Chakra

Loving the body: Saturday 6 February 10 – 1pm
Our Cosmic Sexuality: Friday 27 February 10am – 1pm
Embracing Desire: Thursday 25 March 7 – 10pm
The Dance of Life and Death: Saturday 8 May 10am – 1pm

Second Chakra

Virgin, Whore and Women's Union: Saturday 15 May 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Belonging: Saturday 29 May 10am – 1pm
Listening to Yoni: Saturday 5 June 10am – 1pm
Taoist Tantric Practices: Saturday 12 June 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Safety: Saturday19 June 10am – 1pm

Third chakra and beyond: Second half of the year

Conferences

Sexuality Dialogue Unconference
27 March 2010 Cape Town

An initiative of EroticSpirit, <Sexuality Dialogue> is The Sexuality Unconference. It is a meeting and dialogue space for individuals who find personal expression of their sexuality in different interest groups and communities. <Sexuality Dialogue /> is an opportunity to come together, share experiences and practices, and manifest a future where sexuality is embraced, honoured and celebrated with the fullness of our potential as human beings.

It's valuable what can be learned and applied from geekdom in our expression of sexuality and in relating to others. It's the topic of an entire talk but here we borrow this loose-conference format for generating open dialogue around sexuality embraced, honoured, celebrated.

Sexuality and Consciousness Educators Conference
3 - 5 December, Cape Town

Workshops

Masculine Sexual Identity – Stephen, May 2010

Talks and workshops with Shakti at Zenatude, Rivonia 8 – 19 February 2010

Talk: Sexuality with Heart - An introduction to Tantra. Tuesday 9 February 7 - 9pm. Cost R50
Workshop: Releasing sexual trauma the Tantric way. Thursday 11 February 4 - 10pm Cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Women - Celebrating Female Sensuality Saturday 13 February 10am - 4pm cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Lovers - Exploring love, celebrating each other. Sunday 14 February 10am - 5pm

Sessions

From January 2010, we are changing our fee structures to make sessions more accessible and flexible. The fee for a session with Shakti or Stephen will be R450 - no price increase from this year. Here are your options:

One hour session: Introductory of follow-up consultation which takes the form of a discussion; practice is unlikely.
Two hours session: This has been the standard time of sessions for the last three years. The extra hour allows time to do practical/experiential sessions work.
Three hours and beyond: Couples' sessions usually are three hours as we will be engaging the realities of the relationship as well as both individuals present. Individual sessions can go up to three hours or longer. This usually happens when deep transformation processes are catalyzed.

Sessions with Stephen: As Daka, Stephen works under my guidance. Sessions with Stephen are usually follow-ups on sessions with Shakti. I first assess what is required.
Sessions with Shakti and Stephen: If Stephen and Shakti are both required in a session, our joint fee is R600 an hour. Sessions with both of us can bring profound release, particularly for women and for couples.

Namaste
Shakti