Tantra Healing Bodywork: Embodying presence through Touch
- Mani
- Aug 21
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 22
I gave an interview about Tantric Healing Bodywork some time ago. The interview touches on many topics which are the essence of this healing work on intimacy.
A few years have passed, during which I have embarked on various somatic studies in depths - notably in the lineages of Somatic Sex Educator , Craniosacral Biodynamics, and Body Mind Centering approaches. It has opened me up to another level of embodiment, personal healing, understanding and empowerment. The realizations are way beyond what I could fathom a few years ago. I will soon share how this process has been influencing my own journey and my offerings in accompanying and supporting my clients.
But before turning the page, I feel that this is an appropriate point of time to revisit the foundations that have informed my work up until that point. In spite of the time that has passed, and the evolution that has taken place at a personal level and at a professional level, these essential messages remain relevant.
This article is edited based on the transcripts of the interview. Some parts are streamlined while some other parts are further elaborated for the purpose of clarity.
What is Tantra Healing Bodywork?
Let's talk about Tantra
First of all, it is about presence. It is about being present in the body, with the awareness being present in the body. It's about being aware of everything that is happening within our body, as much as possible. Tantra is holistic.
It is also being fully present to know what you are thinking about. When you have some thoughts, or memories that come up, for example, then ask yourself, "how do you feel in the body?" What is happening at the same time in your body? We connect everything to the physical level. It is all intertwined, the mind and the body.
This embodied presence is a state where you are simultaneously aware of what is going on in your head, your emotions, and what is happening in your body, like sensations, breath, heartbeat, etc. They are all happening at the same time. They are all changing at the same time.
Being Tantric, that means to be able to connect to all these within yourself. It is the prerequisite for us to be able to connect to one another, to other people, to the environment. To the extent that you can connect to that is within you, you can connect to other people.
The body is the holy grail. It is tangible. By being anchored in the body, we do not simply fly away with the abstract, like energy, visions, etc. We need to embrace that as well like, that we can have the astral experience, but we do not forget about the body. It is linking it up.
Bodywork for Embodiment and Somatic Awareness
This bodywork is a process for learning to embody. It is a process to build somatic awareness. It is coming into the body, exploring through the body, accepting the body, listening to the body, and responding to the body, including sexuality. Often, in other modalities, sexuality remains a taboo - with full respect of all the different ways and the good work they do. However, sexuality is almost always excluded, or sidelined. It may be for any reasons. Not good reasons nor bad reasons. No judgement here.
So, there is something unique about Tantra Healing Bodywork. It is an invitation to open to everything, to embrace everything, but not hold on to anything. Holding on is when someone says “I want to achieve full body orgasm”, “my end goal is multi-orgasmic”, or “I want to lasting as long as I can in my erections”. Perhaps it is related to masculinity's “doing” energy. It is good to have this energy, of course. However, when we are too attached to an idea, then the idea itself becomes the obstacle, it becomes limiting. That “holding on” prevents us from sensing and experiencing what is happening in real time, inside every cell that we have - the sensations, the energy, that which is flowing, which is alive, the vital energies.
Healing is a Process
There is no destination. It is the process of reconnecting, accepting, letting go, or letting it be. That is healing. And this connection can always go deeper. There is no goal. There is no end.
The goal is in the future. I want to achieve something. I want to have multiple orgasms, or I want to stay for a very long time in an orgasmic state. My focus is no longer about what is happening right now. It becomes an idea of counting time, lasting 10, 20, or 30 minutes. You lost the connection to yourself. You lost the connection to your partner.
Tantric Healing Bodywork is about bringing people into the present moment again. Reconnecting to yourself, reconnecting to your partner. Reconnecting to what is happening right now, not just in the mind, but also in the body and emotions. And this work is done through the touch.
Embodying Presence Through Touch
Power of Touch
Touch is a very powerful thing. When there is a touch, there is a multiplication of the bio-energetic field. It is tangible. It is possible to notice it in various sensations. I could feel it in my hands as it is happening.
Or in a more simple and direct way, the touch helps you focus your attention. Following the touch, you know you do not fly away. Like, “hey, come back here”. It is like a laser point indicating where we are and where we want to put our attention. And then ask, "how does it feel here?". That is a single point of awareness. It is simple, but not easy to stay focused over a sustained amount of time. It is even harder to remain relaxed throughout the process.
On the other hand, sometimes a single point of touch may evoke responses in sensations that can happen everywhere in the body. For example, while touching the hip, the toe might have some response. When you are aware of those multiple responses, you are truly present in your whole body.
All these responses are information. They are the signals through which the body speaks to us. So we listen to it.
A Journey into the Body
Through this bodywork journey, we can notice challenges and specific problems the body is encountering or holding. The body is like a map that informs us on past experience, traumas, or other specific characteristic.
A lot of modalities or philosophies says that the organs are holding emotions. For example, the liver may store rage and anger, the kidney may hold fear, pancreas is about anxiety, etc. In my experience, these hypothesized correlations are actually palpable. As I give touch on the body on a client, sensations arise on my hands and in my body, then I received simultaneous feedback from the client that he/she has certain emotions. Sometimes, the client’s body makes some jerking motions, while I sense something concurrently in my body. I also sense the micro-vibrations that is different from other parts of the body. These are some examples.
Chakras, Energy Centers, Meridians
The pelvis is a very dense place. According to the Chakras system, the pelvis is about security, sexuality and creative energy. There is the Root Chakra and the Sacral Chakra. This is also very noticeable with the touch and with the response of the persons. The spine is also an important place as the intensity of vibrations are all very perceptible.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the heart meridian goes out to the hands. You can see the response, when you touch the chest of a client, then their hands are moving, as if in a release or dissipation motion. And then, they felt lighter after the energy left the body. Or when you touch the heart center, tears come. It is a place holding grief. It is also a place of love. There is a mix there. We need to sieve through it. We need to cleanse it.
A lot of traditional wisdom and systems are good reference. We can certainly read about them, but when I experience it in my body, and when I see it in my clients, I feel that is something real.
Embark on your own healing journey
Feeling this resonates with you? Or simply wanting to know more about this healing process?
Acknowledgement: Interview by Nutri Yoga Life, 2022
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