A groundbreaking, 7 Session course (full course includes intro)

with Christopher Tompkins and Shiva Rea

 

In March 2016, Christopher Tompkins discovered that the verses comprising the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a post-Tantric compilation considered to be the foundational text for modern yoga, were taken from two chapters of the Varahi (‘vaah-raah-hee’) Tantra, a medieval Goddess-based Tantra which presented Haṭhayoga as a devotional practice prescribed for householders, women, and all social classes — features later removed or distorted in the HYP, which sought to transform Haṭhayoga into a male renunciant practice focused on preserving the seminal power of male practitioners.

For the first time in this online course, students will be able to learn original teachings, meditations, and practices on Hatha Yoga from the Varahi Tantra, the source text of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, as recently discovered by Christopher Tompkins.

“The Great Shakti is led from Shiva (in the crown chakra) down through the left (ida nadi) channel, to be engaged in the sequence of ‘forceful’ (hatha-kramya) practices. She who embraces the sun and moon breaths together is the Power of Life itself.”

– Varahi Tantra

Featuring –

An Introduction to core practices of Hatha Yoga as taught in Varahi Tantra, including–

• The role of bhakti (devotion) in Yoga practice the original accent on the Divine feminine in Hatha Yoga

• Lost Sequencing of Hatha Yoga Practice – Incorporation of Namaskāra flow / Vinyāsa practice, choreographed with mantras and āsanas

• The sequencing of core Hatha practices, known today through the HYP, which presents them without their original sequencing

• The transformative power of mantras – the missing core element of ‘Hatha Yoga’

• The life-affirming ‘descent’ of the coiled power (Kuṇḍalinī) and the return of the Goddess

• How activating Kundalini was originally choreographed with seed mantras, and how these were applied to the Chakras

• Three-part Pranayama practice innovated by the Tantrics, applied to Namaskāra movement

• Mantrayoga, Hathayoga, Layayoga – how the three ‘parts’ of Tantric Yoga were applied in the sequence of one’s daily Yoga practice

Seven Sessions; each will feature-

• A 10 minute invocation & translation practice via audio download or vimeo

• A 30 minute – visual teaching via audio download or via vimeo

• Seven 30 Minute Key Tantric Realizations/Concepts via audio download or vimeo

• Seven meditation and/or movement meditation sadhana based upon the practices revealed in each session.

Practices filmed in Varnasi, Khajuraho, Kailashanata Temple and by the ocean and available via audio or video with Shiva Rea, global vinyasa teacher who has been dedicated to the realization and revival of namaskar and prostration practice within yoga.