You always thought Tantric sex was only for hippies? Not true. Let us show you what a difference it could make to your life.

Don't giggle about the word Tantra, although it does sound rather funny I know. It describes the only religion that elevates sex to a divine experience, and how funny and cool is that? But the sex bit aside, what do you know about Tantra? Probably not much, except you have heard that Sting is a devotee and makes jiggy all night with lucky old Trudie.

In fact, there's way more to this ancient Eastern philosophy than sexual marathons. There's the whole inter- connectedness with the universe side of things, for instance. Then there's that interesting business of learning to charge your body with a cosmic life force, which sounds difficult. As does the importance of using Tantric principles to unleash your innate sensual spirituality.

Come Again

Okay, so Tantra is one of those mystical subjects that's rather hard to explain. That said there's at least one vital strand of Tantric teaching that everyone should be able to understand. Through sex, we can discover aspects of ourselves that have remained dormant or suppressed. Sex, however, is not just about arousal and climax under Tantric law and, believe us, it has absolutely nothing to do with ejaculation (ejaculation is actively discouraged). Sex Tantra-style is about being disinhibited. It's about applying yoga-like breathing and meditation to your lovemaking. It's about making your union with your partner one of perfect harmony. Yes, and it's also about steadily ploughing your way through the Kama Sutra, the world's oldest and most explicit sex manual. Throw in a bit of Eastern chanting, and Tantric sex (disciples assure us) becomes an act of pure bliss.

How to get started

First you're required to put aside a certain amount of time every day to 'reconnect' with your partner. You may use this time to lie in bed facing your lover, sharing breathing exercises, or you may prefer simply to touch your lover or run him/her a bath or offer him/her a long, sensual massage. Or the two of you might even partake in a spot of sex. Whichever way you choose to spend this quality time, the point of the exercise is to generate sexual energy. It's a ritual that's supposed to be particularly helpful to women who struggle to find satisfaction from regular, non-Tantric sex because their minds tend to wander to other unrelated matters. These sessions are said to train a woman to be ready and eager for sex at a moment's notice, and to remain focused. And there's something in these daily episodes for her lover, too - it improves his stamina, so he can last for a whole lot longer. But there is a downside… a guy must never ejaculate during these reconnection sessions, as the aim is to heighten sexual energy, not to expend it.

Anticipation

Two other vital components of Tantric sex are prolonged lovemaking and orgasm. Under the rules of Tantra, the longer you can hover in an aroused state, the more vital energy you can absorb and radiate. What's more, the greater the number of orgasms you can attain during a session of lovemaking, the better. And it's not just women who are encouraged to climax time and again - blokes are invited along for an orgasmic rollercoaster ride, too. To many it will come as a surprise that a man has the capacity for multiple orgasms, but he does. The secret is for him to climax without ejaculating. This is physically possible because climax and ejaculation are two different bodily functions, and while they usually occur simultaneously, orgasm is not dependent on ejaculation.

Practice makes perfect

It is a fact that it takes lots of practice for a guy to ejaculate over and over. Firstly he needs to learn to control his pubococcygeus (PC) muscle, which roots his penis to his body. Once he has learnt how to contract this muscle at will, he will be capable of taking himself to the brink of orgasm, squeezing hard, then climaxing without spilling ejaculating. So there it is, Tantric sex in a nutshell. To summarise, it's all about learning to slow down. Once you've learnt the Tantric ropes, sex stops being an act that you're simply doing - something that perhaps you feel a little detached from, like you're observing yourself from a distance - and you become more absorbed in the act of making love, fully Ôin the moment'. As a result, sex becomes a more serene, spiritual experience.

Well, why not give it a try? What have you got to lose?