In 1996, I was only twelve years old when I watched Tales From The Crypt.

A naked man and woman were sitting back to back and chanting “OM” in a cozy bedroom with silk bed sheets. I didn’t quite understand what it was about but I memorized that tantra equals sex and a type of sex without physical contact.

So when I joined a school of tantra to heal from sexual trauma years ago, I thought I would learn how to make love without physical contact.

And I was pretty embarrassed to learn that tantra is not about sex!

99% of the tantric teachings have nothing to do with sex!

Today I’ve become a traditional tantra teacher and practitioner, but I still see people believing the same thing about tantra.

They reach out to me, hoping to have sex, a form of sexual service or a sensual massage. They confuse tantra with the Kamasutra, for example.

Apart from their Indian origins, these two things have nothing to do with one another! It’s as if you would say that the Chinese and Japanese are the same people…

STOP! This is not Tantra.

I do not want you to feel embarrassed when reaching out for some types of services related to tantra.

I also want to promote respect for the Indian culture to whom tantra holds a different meaning. I despise cultural appropriation, especially when it is distorted from its original meaning in order to make money.

It is also not supporting tantra teachers like me who teach classical tantra.

Anybody using the word tantra to sell some type of sex service is not helping spread awareness. It is actually against tantric values, which is to bring more consciousness to this world.

So, what tantra really is?

Tantra is a spiritual practice.

In India, tantra refers to any doctrine or cult that is not part of the Vedas. The Vedas is the Bible of Hinduism. At the opposite, tantra is articulated in the scriptures called “The Tantras,” revealed in India between the 5th and 9th centuries.

These scriptures are also called Agama, the revelations. Eighteen scriptures that teach a spiritual path, a set of practices and tools to expand our field of consciousness.

The mission of the Tantras is to eradicate the suffering caused by a wrong understanding of our nature. It abolishes the hierarchical caste system and other diet requirement existing in India for example. Can you imagine the revolution it was? Tantrists had to hide as they were not welcomed by the majority of Indian society.

At present, there is no universally accepted definition of tantra, but we know that the word is a combination of two Sanskrit words that means a tool for expansion and liberation.