Womens' Tantra Events by Shakti

2011-12-22T11:05:00.003+02:00

Wild Women Skydancing

A Women's Tantra Retreat

8 - 11 March 2012
n!au ma farm, Little Karoo

direct the flow of energy in your body through meditation, movement and breath work
share the ecstasy and depth of the feminine with other women in dancing, chanting and story circles and
find your own skydance as it is in the naked truth of your being, this moment.

Skydancing is a deeply authentic expression of the wild woman in all of us. This teaching from woman to woman takes some doing in our current western mind set. Women have been brought up to believe that most or all of their sexual expression is wrong and must only be presented in an acceptable way according to the culture. Skydancing invites a great unlearning. In this unlearning our true being begins to emerge and we dance again. It happens when we let go, and allow what wants to dance through us.

In my work with Tantra, an ancient eastern tradition that follows sexual energy as a doorway to consciousness, I have learnt that sexual awakening is linked to the opening of the chakras or "energy wheels" (represented by the spirals on the front page image). When the opening of the chakras happens in the body, it literally feels like an energy snake that uncoils at the base of the body and rises up through the crown of the head. For me personally, this rising brings a soft ecstasy that ripples onto the farthest shores of my life… It also brings a deep contentment with existence.

Sexual energy becomes illuminated when the repressions that block us at each of the chakras or energy points in the body are lifted. These repressions are the result of our conditioning, our patterning and the scars that are left by our life experiences. I believe that it is possible to bring our repressions to awareness and release them by working in a sacred circle of women.

What happens on the retreat

My focus is on the awakening of consciousness, not on teaching technique or improving performance (though these things follow of their own accord). I use the following methods to evoke awareness:

We process body memories through acting and embodiment.
We deepen awareness of female sexuality through breath work and other Tantric techniques.
We reflect on our stories and vision our "this-here-now" realities through creating with the earth and writing.
We meditate and do guided visualizations to deepen our awareness of essence flowing through us.
We use sound, chanting, movements and dancing focused on a particular expression of our sexual energy to awaken the body to its inherent knowing.
We have strong interactions with nature and the elements to reconnect us to our being-of-the-earth, the origin of our sexual energy.

Bookings, costs and times

The cost of the weekend, which includes accommodation for three nights, is R2 750. Places are limited. A non-refundable deposit of R1 000 is required to secure your place and full payment is due by 1 March 2012 . Banking details:

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

Meals will be arranged amongst us.
We will assist with coordinating travel where possible.
Bookings: Book with ahriangaia@gmail.com

The retreat will start Thursday 6pm and end Sunday lunchtime.

"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, humanity will have discovered fire!" – Theilard de Chardin

2011-07-27T20:30:00.005+02:00

Woman Awake
A Retreat for Women

21 - 24 October 2011
N!au 'Ma, Little Karoo

Who is the retreat for?

This retreat is a follow-up on the Wild Woman/Skydancing retreat that I have presented at this location for several years. It is suitable to women who have either done a woman's retreat with me before, or have done significant personal or group work with me.

Retreat focus

In the Skydancing Retreat and Chakra Workshop that women have attended with me so far, we have encouraged the awakening of female sexual energy in the first to third chakras. This retreat is focusing on the awakening of the fourth to seventh chakra in women, and specifically, the directing of sexual energy or kundalini through these chakras.

Retreat themes

1. Wild at Heart

The heart chakra wakes up when we become willing to feel everything and still let our hearts remain open. Come take the space to feel your wild, uncontained heart, and to give it wings - let it fly - take it Skydancing!

2. Divine Will

Beyond the heat chakra, our personal will merges with divine will. The power that moves through us becomes cosmic rather than personal. Bring your sexual energy and come dance in the fields of the tao or the dharma.

3. Cosmic Senses

When our sexual energy wakes up through the third eye or sixth chakra, our intuition, spontaneity and extrasensory perception open up. Come let me guide you into this journey of delicious, mystical sensory discovery.

4. The One Self

The crown of our physical body's sexual experience is when our sexual energy moves through our crown chakras. This takes us into a deep and ecstatic experience of oneness with all that is.

What will we be doing?

blissdance
meditation
immersion in nature
landscape art
dialogue, women's circles and lots of sharing

Cost and Bookings

Cost is R2 750, which includes accommodation but not meals (we will share these amongst ourselves).

Bookings with Annwen Mazetti annwenmazetti@gmail.com

2011-06-16T09:45:00.003+02:00

Sky Dancing for Women

June 20 / 10am-6pm / Oakland (RSVP required) Cost $160
http://womenskydancing.eventbrite.com/

Skydancing is what happens when a woman drops into the full bliss of her sexual womanhood. Women's sexuality is a powerful gateway to liberation, and yet on that is not much understood in our world. Our sexuality has been conditioned to be masculine rather than feminine. Not that men want it so. In fact, man's deepest yearning is for woman to step into the fullness of her feminine sexuality.

Skydancing is an essential expression of the wild woman in all of us. When our energy is freed up, it awakens in the yoni (vagina) and spirals up through the body, taking us into an ecstatic dance of letting-go. This teaching from woman to woman takes some doing in our current western mindset. Women have been brought up to believe that most or all of their sexual expression is wrong and must only be presented in an acceptable way according to the culture.

The purpose of this workshop is to guide women into the opening, release and receptivity that turns our sexuality into a force of awakening. Some themes that may be covered in this workshop (depending on the requirements of the group):

* Awakening sexual energy
* Opening to desire
* Directing sexual energy
* The essential qualities of the feminine
* Sexuality, belonging and relationships
* Virgin, whore, women’s union
* Listening to yoni
* Connecting heart and sex

The methods we use are breathwork, subtle movement, dancing, conversation and enactment. As this energy is very alive in my body, I am able to transmit it to the women in the group. This transmission is one of the key methods that makes this workshop so powerful.

No nakedness is required and no direct sexual contact with others. It is entirely possible to wake up the beauty and power of your own sexuality through dropping into the bliss of your own experience - which is what we will be doing on this workshop.

To get a taste of how I work, read this article that was recently published in 24.com

Women's Workshop in Jhb 6 March

2011-02-16T22:22:00.001+02:00

Tantric Practice for Women
First Chakra Workshop: Loving your Body

Facilitated by Dakinis Wendy and Shakti

Date: Sunday 6th March

Time: 6 - 10pm

Cost: R550

Venue: Parktown, Johannesburg

The first chakra opens when we say yes to our bodies. This happens effortlessly when we drop our criticisms. In this workshop you will be guided through beautiful creative exercises that invite you to look in to your relationship with your body. Opening the first chakra guides you to your bliss, which is deeply connected to your sacred sexual energy and power as a woman.

Breathing and movement in the pelvic area help to ignite the spark of our real aliveness.

.

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 exploring awareness. It is a special calling in our lives as Dakinis to support women into the full flowering of where our sexuality can take us. The main elements of this workshop are:

• Discovering the unique qualities of female sexuality
• Opening to the flow of sexual energy/kundalini through meditation, dance and breath work
• Unblocking and integrating what prevents energy flow through us

Working with the chakras

Chakras are points of consciousness along the central energy channel in our bodies. We can experience the flow of energy with presence when the chakras open. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake uncoiling, originating with the first chakra, and culminating in full body bliss six chakras later. For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

Growing with other women

Attending women's Tantra workshops creates 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 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. The kinds of methods we use are:
Breath work
Guided meditations
Group discussions and sharing
Shamanic journeywork
Collaging, journaling and other creative expressions
Movement and dance

For booking contact Dakini Wendy on 082 369 5437

First Chakra Women's Workshops February and March

2011-02-07T22:31:00.005+02:00

Tantric Practice for Women

Starting this month, will again be presenting day workshops for women gradually taking you through all the main themes of this practice.

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

From this month, I will again be running an ongoing course on Tantra for women. The course will consist of regular day workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There are four of five themes per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of one or two of these themes dealing with specific elements of women’s sexuality related to that chakra.

You will benefit most from the 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.

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

February and March workshops
First Chakra: Being in This Womanly Body

Times: 9.00 am - 4.30pm
Cost: R700pp per workshop
Place: Fish Hoek (20 Feb), Phakalane Hout Bay (27 March)
Bookings: Shakti@shakti.co.za

Sunday 20 February: Body and Desire

Morning: Saying yes to the body

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 through beautiful creative exercises. We will also begin to experience how sexual energy moves in a woman’s body trough breathing working with the perineum and movement in the pelvic area. This is the beginning of the journey of waking up female sexual energy in your being.

Afternoon: Embracing desire

The flow of our sexual energy starts at the root or first chakra, which is the seat of our desire. In its primal form, this energy is raw sexual desire, our primary eroticism. In order to practice Tantra, it is essential that we first embrace our dragon fire – our capacity for desire. In my experience, women often suppress or deny this quality of our sexuality. In this workshop I invite you to a fun, safe exploration of your desire. With it with come a flourish of new life force available to you.

Sunday 27 March: The Cosmic Dance of Life and Death

Morning: Our cosmic sexuality

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 and breath meditation.

Afternoon: The dance of life and death

One of the main factors that block our flow in the first chakra is our survival fear. If you are staying in a relationship because you are afraid of not being able to provide a livelihood for yourself outside of it, this factor will impact on your first chakra sexual energy. At the root of it, all our survival fears relate to the fear of death. There is a beautiful Tantric meditation that helps us to accept and embrace the inevitable passing of things. This will be the focus of our workshop. As you come to accept death, you are ready to be fully alive.

2011-02-07T17:04:00.006+02:00

Wild Women Skydancing

A Women's Tantra Retreat

29 April - 2 May 2011
n!au ma farm, Little Karoo

direct the flow of energy in your body through meditation, movement and breath work
share the ecstasy and depth of the feminine with other women in dancing, chanting and story circles and
find your own skydance as it is in the naked truth of your being, this moment.

We process body memories through acting and embodiment.
We deepen awareness of female sexuality through breath work and other Tantric techniques.
We reflect on our stories and vision our "this-here-now" realities through creating with the earth and writing.
We meditate and do guided visualizations to deepen our awareness of essence flowing through us.
We use sound, chanting, movements and dancing focused on a particular expression of our sexual energy to awaken the body to its inherent knowing.
We have strong interactions with nature and the elements to reconnect us to our being-of-the-earth, the origin of our sexual energy.

Bookings, costs and times

The cost of the weekend, which includes accommodation for three nights, is R2 750. A deposit of R1 000 is required to secure your place and full payment is due by mid April. The retreat will be limited to 12 women. Banking details:

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

Meals will be arranged amongst us.
I will assist with coordinating travel where possible.
For enquiries contact Shakti at 0833010399 or Shakti@shakti.co.za

The retreat will start Friday 6pm and end Monday lunchtime.

Africa Burns

For those of you who are keen to go to Africa Burns Festival, why not go the first few days of the festival and drive straight from there to the retreat? The farm is a comfortable drive from the Africa Burns venue.

"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, humanity will have discovered fire!" – Theilard de Chardin

2010-09-01T19:16:00.001+02:00

Third/ solar plexus chakra

The continuous course

I am running a series of courses for women on themes related to the main chakras or energy centers in the body along which sexual energy travels. Each theme is covered in a three hour workshop; you are welcome to attend any individual workshop as they are presented as loose standing experiences.

Third/solar plexus chakra

The third or solar plexus chakra is the center of our personal power. It is from here that we radiate our unique energy into the world. This center is dominated by the masculine energy flow through the chakras. It is the chakra that has been developing in the world over the last 2000 years - our individuation from the tribal mind, the development of reason, intellectual discernment, definition and duality. All women who have achieved in their own right have had to develop this center strongly - in many, if not most cases, to the detriment of our femininity. Often this development in us has been forced and not authentic; we have tried to be like men, and so deep down still struggle to embrace who we are and let our light shine powerfully in the world. It is essential for our evolution and our awakening that this chakra gets strong and alive in us as women. Sexually, a strong solar plexus chakra gives us the ability to choose our partners from a place of personal affinity rather than social conditioning or unconscious programming.

Upcoming Workshops

18 September: Sexuality, discernment and duality

The third chakra is the home of our analytical, defining and discerning abilities. While the world tends to place too much emphasis on these abilities, it is paradoxically also true that these skills are not clearly developed in most of us. The reason is that our discernment is clouded by unconscious processes and dualities. In this workshop, I will teach you techniques for developing crystal clear discernment and ways of integrating unconscious dualities.

25 September: Choosing from pure delight

Love and sexual attraction as experienced in the third chakra goes beyond our tribal impulse. If we respond from the third chakra, our romantic and sexual decisions are no longer dominated by the need to find acceptance. We choose from our own affinity and liking. This is an essential step on the spiritual journey. In this workshop, we will work on your ability and willingness to choose pure enjoyment and to trust your liking.

16 October: Men, lovemaking and our inner masculine

A central direction of Tantra is the integration of masculine and feminine in each of us. The third chakra is masculine dominant, and thus a good place to explore our relationship as women with men and the masculine inside ourselves. This morning will be an exploration of

men, male sexuality and relationships with men and
ways of meeting and developing a relationship with our inner masculine.

My colleague Stephen Tredrea (see stephentredrea.com) will join us for this workshop.

Venue:

The address is 54 Peak Rd Fish Hoek, Cape Town. and my home is the middle (not top) level of a three storied house.

Directions from Muizenberg/Kalk Bay: Travel through Kalk Bay towards Simonstown. Pass through the town of Fish Hoek. Fish Hoek Main Road ends in a T-junction with a circle. Turn right at this circle. You are now in Kommetjie Road. Then see below.

Directions from Noordhoek: At the Noordhoek traffic lights (just past Sun Valley shopping mall) turn right. At the T, turn right again. You are not on Kommetjie Road. Then see below.

Coming along Kommetjie Rd, turn up towards the mountain into Highway Rd (a big rd with a vet on the corner). Take second rd right, and then right again into Peak Rd. Park at the end of the tar road and walk a few metres back. Please do not park just before the driveway as this makes it difficult for my landlady (who is on the top floor) to come in and out. Walk down to the garages and turn left onto the path to my front door. Call me on 0833010399 if you need help finding me.

Times:

Workshops are from 10am - 1pm; with the option of staying for tea afterward.

Bookings:
Please contact me on shakti@shakti.co.za to book for a workshop. Your booking is confirmed when I receive proof of payment.

Cost:
The cost of each workshop is R350.

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

With love
Shakti

2010-08-18T22:23:00.003+02:00

Tantric Practice for Women
Third Chakra
Personal power, and what blocks it
28 August: 10 am - 1 pm
Fish Hoek, Cape Town

This is the introduction the third chakra, our center of personal power. In this workshop, we will use breathwork, sound, movement and visualization to connect with our personal power located in the third chakra. We will explore ways of engaging anger and frustration that can block the flow of energy in the third chakra. Our discussion will focus on sexual and relationship power dynamics, and ways of bringing more awareness into these.

Cost R350
Bookings: First, let me know if you wish to come to this event. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email me proof of payment:

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

Place:

The address is 54 Peak Rd Fish Hoek, and my home is the middle (not top) level of a three storied house. Coming along Kommetjie Rd, turn up towards the mountain into Highway Rd (a big rd with a vet on the corner). Take second rd right, and then right again into Peak Rd. Park at the end of the tar road and walk a few metres back. Please do not park just before the driveway as this makes it difficult for my landlady (who is on the top floor) to come in and out. Walk down to the garages and turn left onto the path to my front door. Call me on 0833010399 if you need help finding me.

Namaste

Shakti

2010-05-13T16:29:00.001+02:00

Listening to Yoni*
Women's Workshop Saturday 29 May 10 am - 1 pm
54 Peak Rd Fish Hoek

*Yoni is the Tantric word for the vulva. The yoni holds qualities of awareness that are so vital that Buddha called the yoni the gateway to nirvana (see picture above). And yet, many of us have grown up to be suspicious of the yoni. The word "cunt" is used as a derogatory term, and yet its original meaning, "kund", is that of the sacred container into which all the rivers of life flow. In this workshop, we will use movement, visualization, inner dialogue and breath work to access the wisdom and beauty that comes so us through our yonis.

Cost: R350

Bookings: First, let Ahrian know if you wish to come to this event. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email me proof of payment:

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

Namaste
Shakti

2010-04-28T11:40:00.001+02:00

Virgin, whore and women's union: Women's workshop 8 May

Tantric practice for Women
Virgin, whore and women's union - debunking the old archetypes

Saturday 8 May 10 am - 1pm
54 Peak Rd Fish Hoek

The myths of patriarchy have brought a big divide in women's sexuality. Within most women today, there is a split between the virgin and the whore - the desire to be the one, the fear to be the other. Since the story was told that Eve bit the apple, we have struggled to believe as women that the sacred and the sexual can co-exist in us, that we can live and express the full power of our sexuality without losing our innocence, our purity. By bringing awareness to this dynamic in us, an a playful way, we can undo the split that has kept us back for so long, and change our relationship with each other from being critical to being supportive.

Come join me for three hours of fun enactment, role play and dancing.

This course is the first in a series exploring the second or sacral chakra, home of our sexuality and our sense of belonging.

Cost: R350

Bookings:Please book with Ahrian: ahrian@shakti.co.za at the latest the Wednesday before the workshop. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email us proof of payment:

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

This workshop forms part of a larger series; see details below

Tantric Practice for Women
Sacral Chakra Courses

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

From Februaryl this year, I have been running an ongoing course on Tantra for women. The course consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be three or four 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 consistently. However, the workshops are 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.)

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.

The Sacral Chakra

The second chakra is often called the sacral chakra. It is the home of our sexuality and our sense of belonging with other people. When the sacral chakra is open, healthy and luminous in us, we find a deep belonging in ourselves and in the world, without the neediness and co-dependency that often accompanies belonging. As we come to fully embrace, to treasure and to cultivate, the flowering beauty of our sexuality, then we have this flowering to share with others.

To find out more about me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. The website of the Advait Tantraschool, of which I am a member, is tantraschool.co.za.

Love
Shakti

2010-04-20T15:48:00.000+02:00

Tantric practice for Women
Virgin, whore and women's union - debunking the old archetypes

This Saturday 8 May 10 am - 1pm
54 Peak Rd Fish Hoek

Tantric Practice for Women
Sacral Chakra Courses

Tantric Practice for Women

Working with the chakras

A continuous course

From Februaryl this year, I have been running an ongoing course on Tantra for women. The course consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be three or four 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 consistently. However, the workshops are 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.)

Growing with other women

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 Sacral Chakra

2010-02-08T16:32:00.001+02:00

Tantra for Women
Celebrating Female Sensuality
Saturday 13 February 10am - 4pm

Good Vibrations Rivonia

Tantra, the art of sacred sexuality, regards women's sexuality as a gateway to bliss and awakening. However, in 2000 year of patriarchy we have forgotten the true power and beauty of our sexuality as women. This workshop is an opportunity to encounter and move through what is in the way of the full celebration of your sexuality as a woman. It is also an opportunity to explore how sexual energy, kundalini, moves thorugh a woman. Our bodies are designed differently from those of men. Because men are often our first sexual teachers, many women have come to believe that our bodies should move like men in love making. Also, modern living has conditioned us into living more in our masculine and regarding the feminine as weak and impotent. No wonder so few women get to touch the depths of delight available to the feminine. Through breath work, movement and role play, I will guide you into the delicious flow of female sexual energy - the pure power of creative life force - through your body.

A lovely sensual lunch is included
Cost: R800pp

The facilitator, Dr Shakti Malan

Shakti has a well established practice as Tantrika in Cape Town and teaches all around the country. She has a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology. For details on her background, the nature and extent of her work as well as upcoming events, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com.

Bookings: Book with Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. The venue is intimate and space is limited.

Venue:

Good Vibrations Health Sanctuary is at 9A, Eleventh Avenue
corner Homestead Road
Rivonia

The venue at Good Vibrations that we will be using is Synchronicity

Please tell friends who might be interested!

2009-09-23T08:07:00.002+02:00

3 October: Choosing from Pure Delight
10am - 1pm The Outer Robe Long Street

Love and sexual attraction as experienced in the third chakra goes beyond our tribal impulse. If we respond from the third chakra, our romantic and sexual decisions are no longer dominated by the need to find acceptance or approval from the social collectives we move in. We choose from our own affinity and liking. This is an essential step on the spiritual journey. Jung calls it Individuation.

In this workshop, we will work on your ability and willingness to choose from pure enjoyment and to trust your liking. Doing so, requires of you to take full responsibility for the choices you make - and paradoxically, also, to not take yourself so very seriously.

We will do a shamanic drum journey on this workshop and also use breath and dance to help open up to the flow of our personal liking.

Cost R350. Please book at least 24 hours in advance to ensure you get the necessary information.

Women's Tantra Retreat images and reflections

2009-08-27T20:52:00.004+02:00

Images and reflections from participants in last year's Uncoiling the Snake Women's Retreat at nau ma

" Still words of gratitude and deep thanks come oozing out... the
weekend with you and the other goddesses in N"auma has truly been a
transformative one, in deep still untold ways. "

This year:

Uncoiling the Snake Women's Tantra Retreat
22 - 26 October 2009
Nau Ma, Little Karoo

2009-08-27T20:51:00.000+02:00

Uncoiling the snake

A women's retreat by Shakti Malan

22 - 26 October 2009
n!au ma farm, Little Karoo

On female sexual energy

Sexual energy is a tremendous source of vitality and life force. When we own and live our sexual energy, we incarnate – we come to embody the goddess within. We wake up to the moment. Through our sexual flow as women, the worlds are birthed. And yet this potential lies dormant in so many of us. The snake, the kundalini, the origin of our embodied vitality, is there, at the base of the spine, but it slumbers, and it rarely gets touched.Until the wild woman in us wakes up to who she really is.

Uncoiling the snake

In my work with Tantra, an ancient eastern tradition that follows sexual energy as a doorway to consciousness, I have learnt that sexual awakening is linked to the opening of the chakras or "energy wheels" (represented by the spirals on the front page image). When the opening of the chakras happens in the body, it literally feels like an energy snake that uncoils at the base of the body and rises up through the crown of the head. For me personally, this rising brings a soft ecstasy that ripples onto the farthest shores of my life… It also brings a deep contentment with existence.

Sexual energy becomes illuminated when the repressions that block us at each of the chakras or energy points in the body are lifted. These repressions are the result of our conditioning, our patterning and the scars that are left by our life experiences. I believe that it is possible to bring our repressions to awareness and release them by working in a sacred circle of women.

What happens on the retreat

My focus is on the awakening of consciousness, not on teaching technique or improving performance (though these things follow of their own accord). I use the following methods to evoke awareness:

We process body memories through acting and embodiment.
We deepen awareness of female sexuality through breath work and other Tantric techniques.
We reflect on our stories and vision our "this-here-now" realities through creating with the earth and writing.
We meditate and do guided visualizations to deepen our awareness of essence flowing through us.
We use sound, chanting, movements and dancing focused on a particular expression of our sexual energy to awaken the body to its inherent knowing.
We have strong interactions with nature and the elements to reconnect us to our being-of-the-earth, the origin of our sexual energy.

The facilitator, Shakti Malan

I have been running retreats and courses on the Sacred Feminine for many years. I have a Ph.D. (UCT) in social anthropology. For more on me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com

The venue

The farm n'au !ma, which is run in deep respect for nature as a place of retreat and ceremony, is situated between Montague and Ladysmith, at the foot of the Anysberg. Accommodation is provided in beautiful Karoo style houses with broad verandas, fireplaces, gas stoves and fridges. There is an exquisite kloof on the farm, and some delicious dams. The night sky of the Karoo is something to experience. The farm is about 4 – 5 hours from Cape Town, and 3 hours from George.

Bookings, costs and times

My facilitation fee is R1 600pp. Accommodation fees are by donation; the suggested fee is R160 per night. A deposit of R1 000 is required to secure your place and full payment is due by 14 October. The retreat will be limited to 12 women. Banking details:

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

Meals will be arranged amongst us.
I will assist with coordinating travel where possible.
For enquiries contact Shakti at 0833010399 or Shakti@shakti.co.za

The retreat will start Thursday 6pm and end Monday lunchtime.

"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, humanity will have discovered fire!" – Theilard de Chardin

Third chakra women's workshops

2009-08-27T07:47:00.000+02:00

Tantric Practice for Women
A Continuous Course

Third/ solar plexus chakra

The continuous course

I am running a series of courses for women on themes related to the main chakras or energy centers in the body along which sexual energy travels. Each theme is covered in a three hour workshop; you are welcome to attend any individual workshop as they are presented as loose standing experiences.

Third/solar plexus chakra

The third or solar plexus chakra is the center of our personal power. It is from here that we radiate our unique energy into the world. This center is dominated by the masculine energy flow through the chakras. It is the chakra that has been developing in the world over the last 2000 years - our individuation from the tribal mind, the development of reason, intellectual discernment, definition and duality. All women who have achieved in their own right have had to develop this center strongly - in many, if not most cases, to the detriment of our femininity. Often this development in us has been forced and not authentic; we have tried to be like men, and so deep down still struggle to embrace who we are and let our light shine powerfully in the world. It is essential for our evolution and our awakening that this chakra gets strong and alive in us as women. Sexually, a strong solar plexus chakra gives us the ability to choose our partners from a place of personal affinity rather than social conditioning or unconscious programming.

Workshops

29 August: Personal power, and what blocks it
1 - 4pm Jing An Studio De Smit St Green Point

In this workshop, we will use breathwork, sound, movement and visualization to connect with our personal power located in the third chakra. We will explore ways of engaging anger and frustration that can block the flow of energy in the third chakra. Our discussion will focus on sexual and relationship power dynamics, and ways of bringing more awareness into these.

19 September: Men
10am - 1pm The Outer Robe Long Street

A central direction of Tantra is the integration of masculine and feminine in each of us. The third chakra is masculine dominant, and thus a good place to explore our relationship as women with men and the masculine inside ourselves. This morning will be an exploration of

men, male sexuality and relationships with men and
ways of meeting and developing a relationship with our inner masculine.

My colleague Stephen Tredrea (see stephentredrea.com) will join us for this workshop.

3 October: Love and Affinity
10am - 1pm The Outer Robe Long Street

Love and sexual attraction as experienced in the third chakra goes beyond our tribal impulse. If we respond from the third chakra, our romantic and sexual decisions are no longer dominated by the need to find acceptance. We choose from our own affinity and liking. This is an essential step on the spiritual journey. In this workshop, we wil work on your ability and willingness to choose pure enjoyment and to trust your liking.

17 October: Sexuality, discernment and duality
10am - 1pm The Outer Robe Long Street

The third chakra is the home of our analytical, defining and discerning abilities. While the world tends to place too much emphasis on these abilities, it is paradoxically also true that these skills are not clearly developed in most of us. The reason is that our discernment is clouded by unconscious processes and dualities. In this workshop, I will teach you techniques for developing crystal clear discernment and ways of integrating unconscious dualities.

Venue:
Please note that only the first workshop is held in Jing An Studio - from September we are back in the lovely Outer Robe venue in Long Street.

Times:
Please note that only the first workshop is from 1pm to 4pm; from September workshops will be from 10am - 1pm again.

Bookings:
Please contact me on this address to book for a workshop and to receive directions.

Cost:
The cost of each workshop is R350.

2009-07-13T10:14:00.000+02:00

Sacral Chakra Women's Tantra Workshops
Safe to feel Sexual
Saturday 25 July 1 - 4pm

The second chacra which is in our sacral region, is where we feel our sense of safety in the world. It is the nest from whence we venture into relating. If we feel unsafe, we sense this as a contraction in the pits of our stomachs. As part of my ongoing series for women on the chakras, I am focusing our next women's workshop on sexuality and safety. I have been very aware recently that our ability as women to feel sexual - to allow ourselves to express our sensuality, and for that to be seen - is strongly influenced by whether we feel safe or not. For some women, feeling unsafe has become an unconscious habit that keeps us permanently closed. Some of us have had sexual experiences in the past that felt unsafe. Even if you generally feel safe, it is good to know that you will be able to respond appropriately if ever you did not feel safe.

In this workshop, we will focus on how we perceive men in our world, and how that gets reflected in the relationship between our inner masculine and feminine. Our inner masculine is the one who knows how to keep us safe; if we are in right relationship to him, we can walk through the world feeling safe, open and free in our sexuality.

Cost: R350

Bookings: First, let me know if you wish to come to this event. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email me proof of payment:

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

Place: Jing-an Studio, 1st Floor,Satbel centre ,2 De Smidt st (corner Main Road, just after Boardmans on the left),Green-Point

Namaste
Shakti

Pure Power Women's Day Workshop

2009-07-06T20:35:00.002+02:00

Pure Power
A Tantric Workshop for Women
Saturday 8 August 10am - 5pm

Since ancient times, mystical traditions have understood that women's sexual power is a gateway to transcendence and a source of unconditional love. Why is it then that women have been so reluctant to own and live the power of their sexuality? For many women, past experience and patriarchal conditioning has raised in us this fundamental fear: For a woman to be in her sexuality, she has to sacrifice her innocence. And sure, as we open to our sexuality, we shed our naivity - we come to experience. But opening to our sexuality also means coming to embody purity - becoming a vehicle for pure power to move through us.

Join me for a day workshop in which we will explore, through dance and enactment, the archetypes that have kept us stuck in old beliefs. We will then use breathwork, dance and ecstatic meditation to open to the full potential of feminine archetypes - to the many expressions of our pure power. What better way to celebrate Women's Day?

Cost: R650
Bookings: All women are welcome. Feel free to invite your friends. To book or inquire, contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. Shakti is a Tantra teacher with many year's experience of group work with women. For more on her work, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. She is a member of the Advait Tantaschool tantraschool.co.za

Yoni - how beautiful she is

2009-07-02T21:04:00.002+02:00

Listening to Yoni 11 July Workshop

2009-06-29T19:38:00.003+02:00

Listening to Yoni*
Women's Workshop Saturday 11 July 1 - 4pm
Green Point

Yoni is the Tantric word for the vulva. The yoni holds qualities of awareness that are so vital that Buddha called the yoni the gateway to nirvana (see picture above). And yet, many of us have grown up to be suspicious of the yoni. The word "cunt" is used as a derogatory term, and yet its original meaning, "kund", is that of the sacred container into which all the rivers of life flow. In this workshop, we will use movement, visualization, inner dialogue and breath work to access the wisdom and beauty that comes so us through our yonis.

Cost: R350

Bookings: First, let me know if you wish to come to this event. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email me proof of payment:

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

Place: Jing-an Studio, 1st Floor,Satbel centre ,2 De Smidt st (corner Main Road, just after Boardmans on the left),Green-Point

This workshop forms part of a larger series; see details below

Tantric Practice for Women
Sacral Chakra Courses
June and July 2009

Tantric Practice for Women

Working with the chakras

A continuous course

From April this year, I have been running an ongoing course on Tantra for women. The course consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be three or four 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 consistently. However, the workshops are 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.)

Growing with other women

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 Sacral Chakra

Time, place and cost

Dates: Saturdays 1 - 4pm
Place: Jing-an Studio, 1st Floor,Satbel centre ,2 De Smidt st,Green-Point
Cost: R350pp per workshop
To book a place on one or more of these workshops, fist let me know that you would like to come, and then deposit the workshop fee into the following account:

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

To find out more about me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. The website of the Advait Tantraschool, of which I am a member, is tantraschool.co.za.

Venue: Satbel building, c/o Green Point Main Road and De Smit Avenue (Just past Boardmans on the left.). Ring the bell for Dr Lin (Jing-an studio)

Love
Shakti

Sexuality and belonging Workshop 27 June

2009-06-18T14:40:00.002+02:00

Tantric practice for Women

Sexuality and belonging
Saturday 27 June 1 - 4pm

The sacral chakra is the energy center where we hold our relationships, our sense of belonging in the world. Our sexuality can be deeply affected by our relationships with those close to us - the family that we grew up, previous and current partners, and tribes or social collectives that we have identified with. In this workshop, we will use art and projection work to make conscious the webs of connections that have shaped our relationship with our sexuality. Then we will use breath work and meditation to drop what we no longer need and to find a deep belonging belonging in our own skins.

This course is the second in a series exploring the second or sacral chakra, home of our sexuality and our sense of belonging. The workshops are designed to be stand-alone events, so you can come to any one without having attended previous ones.

Cost: R350

Bookings: First, let me know if you wish to come to this event. Please pay the full course fee into the following account, and email me proof of payment:

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

Place: Jing-an Studio, 1st Floor,Satbel centre ,2 De Smidt st (corner Main Road, just after Boardmans on the left),Green-Point. Ring the bell for Dr Lan

2009-04-12T08:26:00.002+02:00

Embracing your Desire

Women's Workshop 18 April 10am - 1pm
The Outer Robe, Cape Town Central

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

Tantra Training for Women starting April 2009

2009-03-10T17:51:00.000+02:00

A great new journey for women… beginning April 2009

I have often been asked to provide more regular learning opportunities for women in Tantric practice. Here they come! Men, please send these on to your women friends. And women, please do the same. Course sessions start 4 April so start booking now!

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

From April this year, I will be running an ongoing course on Tantra for women. The course will consist of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be three or four 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.

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.

April/May workshops

Dates: Saturday mornings
Times: 10 am – 1pm
Place: The Outer Robe Bree Street Cape Town Central
Cost: R300pp per workshop

Saying yes to the body
Saturday 4 April 10am

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

Embracing desire
Saturday 18April 10 am

The flow of our sexual energy starts at the root or first chakra, which is the seat of our desire. In its primal form, this energy is raw sexual desire, our primary eroticism. In order to practice Tantra, it is essential that we first embrace our dragon fire – our capacity for desire. In my experience, women often suppress or deny this quality of our sexuality. In this workshop I invite you to a fun exploration of your eroticism. With it with come a flourish of new life force available to you.

Cosmic sexuality: connecting to the earth
Saturday 2 May 10am

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 and breath meditation.

Accepting your death Saturday 16 May 10am

One of the main factors that block our flow in the first chakra is our survival fear. If you are staying in a relationship because you are afraid of not being able to provide a livelihood for yourself outside of it, this factor will impact on your first chakra sexual energy. At the root of it, all our survival fears relate to the fear of death. There is a beautiful Tantric meditation that helps us to accept and embrace the inevitable passing of things. This will be the focus of our workshop. As you come to accept death, you are ready to be fully alive.

Bookings

To book your place on any/all of these workshops, contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399

Return to the Wild Woman

2008-08-29T21:07:00.003+02:00

Return to the Wild Woman

Tantra Retreat for Women

by Shakti and Shima

24 - 26 October Broederstroom, one hour from Johannesburg

28 - 30 November, Blue Hippo, Greyton

Within each one of us resides a wild, untamed spirit - the authentic woman. It is the place inside us that holds truth and essence. Over many thousands of years we have forgotten our power and refused our wildness. We are living in an era where Women walk free again . Tantra, the ancient art of sacred sexuality, believes that women will lead humanity into awakening. We will do this when we open up to the totality of who we are, and to the full flowering of our sexuality.

There is the inner and the outer aspect of truth. On the workshop you will first explore and meet the inner temple. In ancient times, women were initiated into the art of sacred sexuality in temples built for this purpose. In our times, the temple is inside each one of us. Our bodies are the temple of the wild, magnificent goddess waiting to be revealed.

From the place of inner temple we meet the tribe of women. A tribe of women, who are finding the courage to meet their sisters in truth, and drop the old suppressions.

Finally, we evoke an ancient ritual. This ritual of the old Tantra Temples, is of women dancing, without veils, without ideas, without beliefs, dancing essence.As we learn to listen to our bodies and dance their wild, ecstatic dances, we touch the great mystery of Woman.

Who will answer the call?

Do you have a passion and a desire to live and love with totality?

Do you long to deepen awareness of your sexuality as a woman?

Are you willing to stand naked in your authentic wildness?

Then come, hear the call of the wild self, the self that has never been captured. This is who you are.

This sacred work will be facilitated by two Tantra Dakinis, Shima and Shakti

Shima facilitates Tantra groups and individual and couple sessions in Johannesburg. Shakti runs a Tantra practice in Cape Town and has presented numerous retreats and workshops; see www.shakti.co.za.

Cost and bookings

The cost of the weekend, including facilitation, accommodation and meals, is R2 300 pp. We are expecting significant interest and places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment. For inquiries and bookings of the Broederstroom workshop, contact Shima: shima@shima.co.za 0845911211

For inquiries and bookings of the Greyton workshop, contact Shakti: shakti@shakti.co.za 0833010399

Women's Retreat in the Karoo 3 - 6 October 2008

2008-07-29T11:50:00.001+02:00

Uncoiling the snake

A women’s retreat by Shakti Malan

3 – 6 October 2008
n!au ma farm, Little Karoo

On female sexual energy

Sexual energy is a tremendous source of vitality and life force. When we own and live our sexual energy, we incarnate – we come to embody the goddess within. We wake up to the moment. Through our sexual flow as women, the worlds are birthed. And yet this potential lies dormant in so many of us. The snake, the kundalini, the origin of our embodied vitality, is there, at the base of the spine, but it slumbers, and it rarely gets touched.

Uncoiling the snake

In my work with Tantra, an ancient eastern tradition that follows sexual energy as a doorway to consciousness, I have learnt that sexual awakening is linked to the opening of the chakras or “energy wheels” (represented by the spirals on the front page image). When the opening of the chakras happens in the body, it literally feels like an energy snake that uncoils at the base of the body and rises up through the crown of the head. For me personally, this rising brings a soft ecstasy that ripples onto the farthest shores of my life… It also brings a deep contentment with existence.

Sexual energy becomes illuminated when the repressions that block us at each of the chakras or energy points in the body are lifted. These repressions are the result of our conditioning, our patterning and the scars that are left by our life experiences. I believe that it is possible to bring our repressions to awareness and release them by working in a sacred circle of women.

What happens on a course

My focus is on the awakening of consciousness, not in teaching technique or improving performance (though these things follow of their own accord). I use the following methods to evoke awareness:

∑ We process body memories through acting and embodiment.
∑ We deepen awareness of female sexuality through breath work and other Tantric techniques.
∑ We reflect on our stories and vision our “this-here-now” realities through creating with the earth and writing.
∑ We meditate and do guided visualizations to deepen our awareness of essence flowing through us.
∑ We use sound, chanting, movements and dancing focused on a particular expression of our sexual energy to awaken the body to its inherent knowing.
∑ We have strong interactions with nature and the elements to reconnect us to our being-of-the-earth, the origin of our sexual energy.

The chakras

My own sensing of female sexuality is that it is intricately connected to the webs of our lives… or sexuality touches everything we are, and all the layers of our existence affect how we flow with our sexual energy. The chakras offer one possible map through these layers. On the retreat, we will be working with opening blockages in chakras as they reveal in any of the participants.

WOMAN EARTHED (first or root chakra)

The first or root chakra is literally like an energy root that grounds us. This is where our sexual energy originates. In this course, we open to the pulsating power of the earth that rises up through us and initiates our own flow. This retreat is really about incarnating, about deciding to be in this body, here, now, fully. It is about claiming the potent gift of our sexuality.

WOMAN WELL LOVED (second or spleen chakra)

The second chakra opens our ability to receive love and nourishment from the other. The other first comes to us as our tribes (family and ancestry) and then as our lovers. In this course, we explore how both our sexual ideals and our repressions have been shaped by our tribal loyalties. We also unravel how our love relationships have created our sense of who we are in sex and love. Through awareness, we bring healing and the possibility that we may feel well loved, always.

WOMAN I AM (third or power chakra)

The third chakra facilitates our individual power in the world. In today’s world, so much of our experience of our own sexuality is entangled in issues of power. In this course, we will do some acting out of the energies of domination and suppression in our lives. By embodying, we bring awareness and reclaim our personal power in sexual expression.

WOMAN HEART FULL (fourth or heart chakra)

The bliss of sexual energy really becomes evident once it reaches the heart chakra. In this course, we hold in tenderness the stories of our hearts touched by love and passion, and we nurture them through creativity and sharing. And then we celebrate the beauty of the heart willing to stand naked and to tremble in the glory of sun and moon. When the heart is open, it fills up, and it flows over, irresistibly.

WOMAN THE GODDESS EXPRESSED (fifth or throat chakra)

The throat chakra opens our higher creative energy and our alignment with divine will. In this course, we take responsibility for our lives and express what we want. And at the same time, we surrender our will to the goddess within. In this course we look at what is that we are expressing through our sexuality.

WOMAN AWARE (sixth or third eye chakra)

The sixth chakra opens our intuition and higher extrasensory abilities. It brings extraordinary refinement to sexual experience. In this course, we use movement, body tracking, meditation, breath work and visualization to find what blocks the transcendent awareness held in our sexual energy, and to open up the blocks.

WOMAN I AM THAT (seventh or crown chakra)

The seventh or crown chakra takes sexual energy into merging with all that is. To say I Am That is to claim your divinity. To claim your divinity is to see that you are one with all that is. This is the ultimate goal of tantra – a total dissolution of the sense of a personal self and the awakening to the cosmic Self.

The facilitator, Shakti Malan

I have been running retreats and courses on the Sacred Feminine for many years. I have a Ph.D. (UCT) in social anthropology. My website is www.shakti.co.za. Swami Advait Rahasya has initiated me into the mysteries of Tantra (see www.sacredsex.co.za)

The venue

The farm n’au !ma, which is run in deep respect for nature as a place of retreat and ceremony, is situated between Montague and Ladysmith, at the foot of the Anysberg. Accommodation is provided in beautiful Karoo style houses with broad verandas, fireplaces, gas stoves and fridges. There is an exquisite kloof on the farm, and some delicious dams. The night sky of the Karoo is something to experience. We will be there in late spring, when the veld is bedecked with flowers! The farm is about 4 – 5 hours from Cape Town, and 3 hours from George.

Bookings, costs and times

The cost for the long weekend (including accommodation) is R2 100 pp. A deposit of R1 200 is required to secure your place and full payment is due by 4 September. The retreat will be limited to 12 women. Previous retreats have been booked out 6 months in advance, so book now to avoid disappointment. Banking details:

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

Meals will be arranged amongst us.
I will assist with coordinating travel where possible.
For enquiries contact Shakti at 0833010399 or Shakti@shakti.co.za

The retreat will start Friday lunchtime and end Monday lunchtime.

“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, humanity will have discovered fire!” – Theilard de Chardin

Womens' Tantra Events by Shakti

Sky Dancing for Women

Women's Workshop in Jhb 6 March

First Chakra Women's Workshops February and March

Virgin, whore and women's union: Women's workshop 8 May

Women's Tantra Retreat images and reflections

Third chakra women's workshops

Sacral Chakra Women's Tantra WorkshopsSafe to feel SexualSaturday 25 July 1 - 4pm

Pure Power Women's Day Workshop

Yoni - how beautiful she is

Listening to Yoni 11 July Workshop

Sexuality and belonging Workshop 27 June

Tantra Training for Women starting April 2009

Return to the Wild Woman

Women's Retreat in the Karoo 3 - 6 October 2008

Sacral Chakra Women's Tantra Workshops
Safe to feel Sexual
Saturday 25 July 1 - 4pm