I went to a tantric sex workshop. Here’s what happened

As I climbed the staircase of the unassuming Sydney townhouse, my heart pumped in my chest.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the room for my Introductory to Sacred Sex class.

But opening the door, I was greeted by one of the most beautiful, candlelit and plant-adorned rooms I’d ever seen, as my host, Charlotte Leonie from White Dakini, walked towards me.

While more guests arrived, the tantric teacher handed out hot chocolate made from cacao powder, known as a natural aphrodisiac for increasing sexual desire, pleasure and creative energy.

Sitting around the room, we were then all invited to reveal why we’d chosen to attend the lesson, and what we hoped to achieve. As I heard those around me divulge their innermost thoughts, the atmosphere shifted, bringing a new level of intimacy between strangers.

Later guiding us up a spiral staircase to a simple white loft, draped with soft materials, Leonie asked us to make ourselves comfortable on the plump cushions scattered across the floor.

It was time to begin.

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What is tantric sex?

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, the founder of White Dakini explained that tantric sex is “a way of making love that is deeply connected on all levels, including the spiritual”.

“Whenever lovers make tantric love, it's an opportunity for them to essentially transcend the norm and reach elevated heights of bliss together,” she said.

“The ultimate goal of it is sacred union with the idea behind it that lovers come together and through deep connection to themselves and one another, they essentially move the energy at the base of their spine and guide it up through their energy pathway, all the way out through the crown.

“With both of them having done that, it merges their light and energy above their crowns and essentially brings them into oneness. That's what that sacred union is about. It's about really deep connection, surrender, trust, openness and courage.”

With that, tantric sex can also open the body up to different types of orgasm, as you go beyond the physical and “into the energetic”, creating deeper pleasure that can take you into a “trance-like state”.

“There can be rhythmic orgasms which essentially pulse through you like you're radiating pleasure,” Leonie explained. “And then you can have orgasms that explode in your base, like in the genitals area, and then that energy can move up into the solar plexus into the heart.

“Depending on where that orgasmic energy moves is how the sensations will manifest in different ways.”

Connecting with your senses

Back in the classroom, after having guided us through the tantra way of life and the importance of slowing down the brainwaves to reach a state of pure unity, Leonie asked us to really experience the tastes of some samples she’d laid out.

Mindful eating, she claimed, would help to connect us with our senses.

As the creamy camembert, blocks of dark chocolate and ripe red raspberries rolled across my mouth, bite by bite, I experienced eating in a way that I hadn’t before.

With my eyes closed, each taste bud was tantalised and every morsel savoured, with my mind fully present in the moment.

Senses now tingling, Leonie then handed around a pot of feathers. “A strong relationship with another, requires a strong relationship with yourself,” she said, before adding that self-pleasure doesn’t have to be about an orgasm.”

Using light, soft touches, we were instructed to brush the feature along the bare skin of our arms, legs and faces, allowing ourselves to feel.

“There is a whole lot going on under the armour,” Leonie said, as ripples of pleasure rolled up my arm.

Real demonstrations

As an introductory class, my lesson stopped short of anything juicer than the raspberries. But as Leonie explained, it was just the first step.

“I have another two workshops, designed for tantric massage of the whole body, for him and for her,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s a witness approach for the audience members to have a look.”

I pushed further, intrigued by what this “hands on approach” entailed with a real life person.

“I take the audience through them watching me give a tantric massage to a model,” Leonie answered. “I explain to them the whole process as I go, so through that process, they have the option to take notes and essentially learn by seeing what's unfolding.

“It’s also an opportunity to ask questions as we go, so they can get clarity on whatever is unfolding.”

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