Frequently Asked Questions
Tantra Immersion FAQs
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Both! Tantra is a type of yoga practice that grew out of an ancient tradition—yet yoga itself may not mean what you think.
Our Tantra Immersion teachings are rooted in the lineage of Hridaya Yoga, a deep and internal approach that unites the Spiritual Heart with the subtle energies of the body. Our techniques weave together the physical body, breath, emotions, heart, mind, and spiritual awareness, reflecting the essence of Tantra Yoga.
These Tantric practices are holistic, integrated, relaxing, and internalizing. They invite you to explore the nature of your experience while supporting gentle grounding practices, breath awareness, and inner connection. Through this integrated approach, you have the opportunity to settle into the True Nature of Your Being.
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Tantra, at its core, is a living recognition that all of existence is interconnected and alive with Divine energy. Tantra teaches that every aspect of life is an expression of Divine Consciousness—inherently sacred, real, and worthy of reverence. But most of all, all of these experiences can lead us to Liberation: recognizing ourselves as the Oneness of Consciousness that we are. Tantric practices say that the physical body is sacred, and through the body we can experience Divine energy, wholeness, and Pure Being — also known as pure awareness, pure love.
Advaita means non-dual, literally “not-two.” We refer to this as Oneness, the Consciousness that underlies all of existence.
Advaita Tantra is the direct recognition of the Oneness of all things through the manifestation (body, mind, heart) of being. Through the temple of the body, the creativity of the mind, and the fullness of our life experiences, we can gradually experience the Consciousness of Oneness more and more until it becomes our new “reality.”
Tantra is not a dogma. You don’t need any preliminary beliefs to begin. Instead, we invite practitioners to remain open to the more subtle dimensions of being—such as energy, sensation, and inner awareness—and to engage with the techniques passed down from the sages with genuine curiosity. Tantric paths do not see the world, the mind, or any aspect of life as an obstacle to awakening; everything is inherently sacred.
Rather than leaving the world to seek heaven, Tantra guides us to discover the Divine in our direct experience of the world as it already is. Messy, flawed, complex, painful--all the grit of our everyday lives is fodder for this realization: the ever-deepening experience of Oneness, the interconnectedness of all beings, and the nature of pure Being.
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Tantric yoga is an embodied spiritual path that weaves together the principles of both Yoga and Tantra. While Yoga and Tantra each have long lineages rooted in India, they approach awakening through different yet complementary methods. Alongside traditions like bhakti yoga and other classical yogic paths, Tantra offers practitioners a way of working with the body, breath, and awareness to cultivate deeper presence. Technically, all Tantra is a form of yoga practice, but not all Yoga is Tantra.
If you’d like to explore what tantra yoga is in a more experiential way, we invite you to join our Intro to Tantra workshop, where we introduce foundational concepts and practices in a supportive environment.
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We have many places to start.
Intro to Tantrais our brand new offering, which offers a little dip into the Classical teachings and practices of Tantra. This 3-hour online workshop will answer your burning questions about Tantra and give you a jumping off point to engage where you feel most called.
Weekly Tantra Sangha is a free weekly 1-hour drop-in class which includes connection and sharing, a short spiritual teaching and a liberatory practice (like breathwork, concentration, movement or meditation).
Anyone who is exploring tantra for beginners may want to join the weekly Tantra Sangha and/or our Intro to Tantra workshop, which we offer every 2–3 months. These gatherings—including our foundational tantra workshops—provide an accessible starting point and a supportive spiritual community for new practitioners.
The Tantra Immersion Yearlong Cohort is a great place if you’re ready to immerse yourself in spiritual community and practice. We meet weekly for an entire year, and each week learn a Tantric teaching and practice. While this might seem like a big commitment, the spiritual journey is a lifelong process. Committing to yourself and a community for a year will give you the solid foundation for a personal practice, a coherent spiritual philosophy, and an embodied life.
And, our continuing modules are best understood and integrated by those who have taken the TIYC, completed previous Tantra Immersion modules, attended a Hridaya Northwest silent retreat or meditation retreat, or have studied Hridaya Yoga.
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Our Silent Retreats are typically 4-day weekend silent meditation and yoga retreats designed to deepen your practice through stillness, presence, and guided teachings. These retreats complement the Tantra Immersion curriculum by offering a more internal, reflective environment in a traditional meditation retreat.
Cohort students are also invited to additional retreats Grace leads throughout the year. While each silent retreat is optional, they are strongly encouraged for all students, as they provide a powerful container for integrating Tantric practices at a deeper level.
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Simply complete the application form linked on each course’s webpage. Once submitted, our Tantra Immersion team will reach out within a few days to connect with you about next steps. If you don’t hear from us within that time, please feel free to contact us directly.
Or, schedule a Discovery Call to chat about which tantra courses are in alignment for you at this time.
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NonDual refers to understanding that the duality we perceive in nature is actually a manifestation of an underlying divine unity. In other words, you are not separate from anything and everything that is. You are “THAT,” the endless ground of being.
Liberation practice focuses on freeing ourselves from conditioning and constraints that limit our ability to experience each moment with clarity and spiritual awareness.
NonDual Liberation Practice is the ongoing process of releasing the belief that we—or anything else—are separate from this divine unity. It invites us to recognize each experience as an expression of that unity, allowing us to rest more fully in pure awareness. All of our Tantric practices point us toward this inner knowing.
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Tantra Immersion School is for anyone who feels curious about or called to explore classical Tantra, bhakti yoga, tantric yoga, or traditional yoga philosophy. It’s a supportive place for those who want to live more fully from the heart, learn a little about Classical Tantra, deepen their spiritual practice, or study elements of Eastern philosophy through a grounded, embodied approach.
Our programs welcome individuals interested in learning and growing within a supportive spiritual community, as well as those who want to study classical Tantra through a nondual liberation lens rooted in the teachings of Hridaya Yoga. Whether you're completely new, exploring tantra for beginners, or an adept, this path is open to all who feel drawn to it. -
Tantric practices often begin with simple grounding practices and a moment of connection among participants. Sessions usually include both teachings and practices, like movement, breathing techniques, controlled breathing, or awareness meditation. These practices are intentionally designed to cultivate sensory awareness, gently attune you to the movements of kundalini energy, and awaken your intuitive awareness.
All of our practices are accessible yoga experiences—adaptable for all movements needs, body types, and abilities—so that each participant can engage in a way that feels supportive and naturally aligned with their body.Our Tantra Immersion Yearlong Cohort (TIYC) and Continuing Module classes are 2–3 hours long and include centering meditation, connection and sharing within our spiritual community, and a blend of spiritual teaching and guided practice. These sessions often include awareness meditation, gentle embodiment, and simple presence-based exercises.
Weekly Tantra Sangha is our weekly one-hour gathering, offering a shorter version of centering meditation along with community connection, spiritual teaching, and supportive practice. It’s a simple and meaningful way to stay engaged with the teachings between longer classes.
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Our Tantra modules run for 8–12 weeks and meet online once a week. Each module centers around a specific theme—such as Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, or Self-Compassion—and offers students the opportunity to explore that topic in depth while integrating embodied tantric practices that support awakening, insight, and greater spiritual awareness.
Some modules are offered as "Continuing Modules", best suited for those who have completed the Tantra Immersion Yearlong Cohort (TIYC) or participated in a previous or related program. Other modules are designated as "Open Modules", meaning anyone can join, regardless of their prior study or experience, making them accessible for those interested in tantra for beginners or deepening their understanding of tantra courses.
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No, there is no sexual touch or nudity. The Tantra Immersion is a nonsexual course which teaches a breadth and depth of Tantra practices including how to relate to our own holistic energies.
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Our regular Tantra courses meet primarily online, offering accessible weekly sessions from wherever you are. Our Silent Meditation Retreats are held in person in the Pacific Northwest, providing a retreat-style environment ideal for deeper stillness and integration.
During the Tantra Immersion Yearlong Cohort and the Tantra Immersion Facilitator Training, we also gather in person a few times each year for those who are able to travel and want to engage more fully in the communal aspects of the program.
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As much or as little as you like! Tantra and your tantra practice is both a way of life and a practical spiritual orientation. You’ll naturally commit the amount of time that feels meaningful for you, your community, your practice, and your connection to the teachings.
A simple place to begin is our 3-hour Intro to Tantra workshop or our weekly Tantra Sangha, especially if you’re exploring tantra for beginners. If you already know you want more, you might join one of our ongoing 8- or 12-week Tantra courses.
The Tantra Immersion Yearlong Cohort is a larger commitment, but many students find it to be a true launching point for living a more embodied Tantric practice and deepening their spiritual awareness.
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Yes. We strive to make our courses and practices as accessible as possible for all body types, learning styles, and emotional or mental needs. Many of our approaches—such as gentle embodiment, adaptive yoga, and supportive sensory-awareness practices—are designed to meet students where they are.
We are continually learning and improving, and we welcome open conversation about anything that feels challenging. Your feedback helps us ensure that the liberatory and accessible yoga practices we share can be supportive for everyone. -
Definitely. Our approach is very different from what you might encounter in a gym or traditional yoga studio. There are no expectations around strength, flexibility, or body type in our movement or meditation classes. Most practices are accessible to a wide range of bodies, and variations are always offered. Students are also welcome to opt out of any practice that doesn’t feel supportive for their body or mind.
Tantric yoga is inherently a liberatory practice. Each student is encouraged to fine-tune their individual experience in a way that feels aligned and freeing. We honor individual expression, intuitive movement, and the wisdom of your own body.
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Yes. Students are always welcome to connect outside of class and continue building relationships within our spiritual community. We also occasionally offer additional opportunities for connection—such as Authentic Relating Games, book groups, or other community-centered gatherings—to support deeper engagement and shared exploration.
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No. There is no sexual touch or nudity in any part of the program. The Tantra Immersion is a nonsexual course that teaches a wide range of tantric practices, including how to relate to your own holistic energies with awareness and care.
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We have a dedicated team of facilitators, mentors, and administrative support available to assist you. If you need help, please reach out to your module teachers—they’ll connect you with the person best suited to support you.
We also operate within the ASI Honor Code of Ethics for Organizations. If you’d like support around community accountability or mediation, you’re welcome to contact them directly.
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Classical Tantra is a philosophical system and experiential science focused on helping practitioners recognize and embody the sacredness inherent in all aspects of life. Classical tantric teachings focus on spiritual realization, subtle awareness, and embodied liberation. It is rooted in ancient Indian traditions, Hindu practices, and Eastern philosophy, and has connections to traditions such as Buddhist Tantra, Vajrayana Buddhism and other esoteric practices like deity yoga.
Neo-Tantra, by contrast, is a modern term used to distinguish contemporary, often Western, approaches that center around energy practices, breathwork, sacred sexuality and relational connection. While Neo-Tantra may draw inspiration from traditional terminology or some tantric practices, it cannot be fully traced back to classical Indian roots and is considered a separate, modern development.
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No, sitting on the floor is never required. Whenever we offer a sitting practice, you’re welcome to choose any position that feels comfortable and supportive for your body.
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Our Hatha Yoga practice—meaning the way we move the body while focusing our attention—is rooted in Hridaya Yoga, a meditative approach that guides practitioners into the Spiritual Heart through gentle energy and movement awareness. This yoga practice is accessible to all bodies and can be easily adapted for any injuries, conditions, or mobility needs through adaptive yoga variations.
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Comfortable, layered clothing is best. Choose clothes you can easily sit, move, and walk in. Bodies can get cooler during meditation and warmer during yoga sessions, so layers help you adjust throughout the practice.
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We work to make our programs as broadly accessible as we can. Our weekly Tantra Sangha is offered at no cost and we offer a sliding scale for all of our paid Tantra Immersion School modules. We also have full and partial scholarships available for any of our paid programs.
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Our unique facilitators and team work to accommodate as many learning styles as possible.
For visual learners, there are written materials and occasional slide presentations. For auditory learners, we translate our written materials into audio format, and each class teaching is recorded and available after classes. Our embodied practices, including Hridaya Hatha Yoga, is a kinesthetic learning practice in itself.
We encourage discussion at multiple points during classes for those that learn in an interpersonal way. Instructors and facilitators can arrange for office hours if questions surface that are not addressed during class. Most importantly, our team is here to help with accommodation needs as they arise.
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Yoga is for EVERY body. The Sanskrit word yoga translates as “to yoke” or “to unite” and doesn’t require a level of physical ability or flexibility. It points to creating deeper awareness and coherence throughout our physical, subtle, and spiritual bodies.
Tantric movement practice echoes our spiritual orientation that our bodies are Sacred and Divine. We can get glimpses of this while out for a walk, while lying down and bringing attention to a particular part of the body, or while moving the body in certain ways. Postures and movement techniques remind us to activate this ever-present Divine energy within.
During all our practices we strongly encourage each student to listen to and respect their body’s sensations and thresholds. We will offer modifications as we teach each movement and remind you that each practice is only an invitation, an inquiry into your true nature. There are no required practices and the energy activation and meditative attitude we are seeking can be awakened in ways that truly accommodate EVERY body.
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Yes! Yoga is for EVERY body. If you practice in a way that supports your actual body, then our physical, energetic, emotional, and mental practices will deepen your awareness over time. In many cases, the movement practices can gradually increase the range of motion in joints that are tight or injured – if you go slowly and at a pace that supports you. Please share any injuries and physical accommodation needs with your facilitators so that we can cue suggestions to support you.
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Yes. Yoga is for EVERY body. It’s no secret that Western yoga and Tantra practice has been branded as exclusively white, thin-bodied, and able-bodied. This appropriation is immersed in white supremacy culture, and which reinforces fatphobia and ableism. At Tantra Immersion School, we address these oppressive structures explicitly, as well as the resistance, fear and stigmas that often surround our current yoga and Tantra cultures.
Tantra Immersion School is committed to accessibility and to bringing Tantric yoga to diverse liberation seekers. We truly welcome ALL bodies and frame all of our practices with an awareness of physical and mental modifications. We’ll share what has worked for other practitioners, and for our teaching team, and invite folks to share their experiences as well. In this way, we strive to break down barriers to accessing these powerful liberation practices.
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Hridaya meditation does not require visualization as it is an embodied practice that invites you to notice what is showing up in your body, your thoughts and your emotions – to be with what is from the place of the Spiritual Heart. No need to have any picture in your mind!
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No. Anyone can learn to meditate, and we all learn differently. Hridaya meditation invites us to notice what’s happening in the body and mind, no matter how it shows up. We bring self-compassion to every practice session and a desire to honestly acknowledge and accept our experiences, while being curious what inner conditions we’d like to shift.
Tantric meditation is not about emptying your mind with the expectation of quiet or stillness. The invitation is to watch and witness whatever arises and create space between what is arising and who is noticing it arise.
This can feel like a daunting invitation in the beginning (or for the first few years). But for most, there is a sense of relief in becoming aware not just of the content of our mind, but also of the observer of our mind. Over time, a sense of inner stillness can be more consistently found which brings self-trust and self-compassion.
We offer many short mindfulness practices as well that can be used in everyday life to cultivate this sense of witnessing. With our wide range of practices, each participant can discover which modalities are most supportive for them.
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There is no requirement to close the eyes, and facilitators are happy to offer variations and modifications for your particular body and mind. We understand in Tantra Immersion School that practice is not one-size-fits-all! Our meditations can be practiced with a soft gaze, with eyes open and resting on a fixed spot. The eyes can also open and close, which can help us develop more comfort with both.
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One of our community agreements is to take care of yourself and your body. It’s very common these days to feel adverse to more digital time in our days. And yet, being online makes our community accessible to millions of people. Virtual spiritual practice and community connection is so new to our culture and, understandably, it does not fit everyone’s needs. Our school holds most courses and gatherings online so that we can reach folks around the world.
Our facilitators are here to explore options to help you find ways to engage that feel nourishing.
If you have specific accommodation needs, please reach out to discuss how we might be able to support you. Modifications could include:
a 1:1 check-in before, during or after a class
Having cameras on or off as needed
Staying for most of a gathering but stepping away if you feel drained by being online
Joining with a phone connection and walking or moving your body during the teaching portions of class.
We also offer opportunities to gather in-person, including quarterly local gatherings in the Yearlong Cohort, and several annual Silent Meditation Retreats in the Northwestern U.S.
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The practices in Tantra Immersion School are designed to slow us down. We orient in every gathering to listen inward and attend to our bodies, emotions and minds, noticing what’s in our hearts with self-compassion. And we also remind each other that our individual experiences are often amplified in a collective global experience, that we are not alone and can share what’s alive, what’s hurting, what’s joyful, what’s confusing with our trusted community.
We aspire to create a grounded, embodied, calm, slow, heart-centered environment in all of our gatherings. While we acknowledge our school environment is not for everyone, we strive to increase accessibility strategies every year. This includes actively undoing patriarchal and white supremacy culture norms.
Many who are drawn to the spiritual path are highly sensitive, deep feelers, empaths, and/or neuro-diverse, and, sadly, may have been left out of the conversation about accessibility in spirituality and liberation communities.
How we offer general and specific accommodations is a regular part of our leadership conversation – including our own personal experiences in similar communities. If you are finding a particular aspect of class challenging or would like to bring an accommodation need or idea to our attention, we strongly encourage you to do so by talking with a facilitator or team member.