Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century »

Barbara Carrellas is an author, sex educator, and theater artist. Her pioneering  Urban Tantra® workshops were named best in New York City by TimeOut/New York magazine. She is also the cofounder of Erotic Awakening, a groundbreaking series of workshops that toured the United States and Australia. Barbara has been featured in several episodes of HBO’s Real Sex. She is also the author of Luxurious Loving: Tantric Inspirations for Passion and Pleasure, numerous articles and essays, and an audio series, The Pleasure Principle. Barbara lives in New York City with her partner, trailblazing gender theory author Kate Bornstein.

If you think sexual and spiritual bliss can'­t be found in today'­s fast-paced world, you haven'­t experienced Urban Tantra. With a juicy mix of erotic how-to and pleasure-centered spiritual wisdom, acclaimed sex educator Barbara Carrellas radically updates the ancient practice of Tantra for modern sexual explorers desiring to push past their edge in search of the great cosmic orgasm.With more than one hundred easy-to-follow techniques for expanded orgasmic states and solo and partner play (as well as more adventurous practices), this in-depth guide reveals the delicious worlds of ecstasy available to all, including:The Erotic Awakening Massage • Breath and Energy Orgasms • Twenty-Minute Tantra Evolutionary Selfloving • Sex and Healing • Tantric BDSMNo matter what your gender, sexual preference, or erotic tastes, URBAN TANTRA will expand your notions about pleasure and open you up to new heights of intimacy and sexual fulfillment.

Acknowledgments     xi
Foreword   Annie Sprinkle, PhD     xii
Prelude: The Temple of the Sacred Lap Dance, or Ecstasy Is Where You Find It     1
Introduction: What Is Tantra, Anyway?     7
Ten Myths About Tantra
A Quick-Start Guide
Tantra: The Basics     15
Why Ecstasy is Necessary     17
Pleasure vs. Ecstasy
Adrenaline is Not Ecstasy
XXXtasy is Not Ecstasy
So How Do We Find Real Ecstasy?
Be Here Now     22
Breathe
Change Your Mind
Do Some Affirmations
Focus and Imagine
Make no Judgments, Make no Comparisons, and Delete Your Need to Understand
Drop Your Expectations
Giving and Receiving
Know Thy Chakras, Know Thyself     36
The Seven Chakras
Sex and the Chakras
Wake Up Your Body, Calm Your Mind, and Free Your Spirit     48
The Basics of Breath
Four Conscious Breaths
Meditation
The Power of Silliness
Witnessing
The Exhilaration and Cathartic Meditations
How to Touch     60
The Resilient Edge of Resistance
The Resilient Edge of Resistance Applies to More Than Touch
Twenty-Minute Tantra     64
Conscious Quickies
Tantra for One: Unleashing Your Orgasmic Energy     67
Sexual Energy: What It Is and What to Do with It     69
Kundalini, Chi, and the Inner Flute
"Seeing" Sexual Energy
Dropping Into the Body
Let's Dance
Orgasm: The Totality ofPossibilities     81
What is Orgasm?
But Wait, There's More!
Orgasm Tips for Estrogen-Based Bodies
Orgasm Tips for Testosterone-Based Bodies
What About P-Spot Orgasms?
Orgasmic Sounds
The Universal Hum
Breath and Energy Orgasms     95
What's so Special About Breath and Energy Orgasms?
The Firebreath Orgasm
The Clench and Hold
Solo Tantra     111
Eye Gazing
The Microcosmic Orbit
Vibrate Those Chakras
Discover What Truly Turns You on
Try New Sensations
Take Yourself on a Tantric Date
Evolutionary Selfloving
Tantra for Two: A Tantric Ritual     123
Set the Stage     126
The Stage
Scenery
Lighting
Sound
Costumes
Props
Special Effects
Safer Sex
Chill Out and Warm Up     138
Chill Out
Warm Up
Come Together     142
The Pose of Recognition with Hand Balancing
The Pose of Giving and Receiving
The Garden of Sensual Delights
Rock and Roll     153
The Heart Connection
Back to Back
Spread the Energy Around
Yab Yum/Sitting Position
Sitting Open-Eyed Clench and Holds
Tantric Fucking
Afterglow     165
Toes to Third Eye
Heart-Foot-Hand
Grounding Hug
The Erotic Awakening Massage: An Introduction     165
The Erotic Awakening Massage Has Unlimited Possibilities
Sensual Massage
Conscious Receiving and Conscious Giving
How to Breathe
Whole-Hand Touching
Gender and the Erotic Awakening Massage
Orgasm and the Erotic Awakening Massage
The Erotic Awakening Massage for People with Pussies     176
Setting Up
Connecting
Starting with a Sensual Massage
The Vulva
The Clitoris
Spreading the Energy Around
Intravaginal Massage
Stop!
Rock and Roll
The Clench and Hold
Now What?
The Erotic Awakening Massage for People with Penises     190
Starting with a Sensual Massage
The Cock Strokes
The Clench and Hold
Afterglow
Tantra for the Adventurous     201
Tantric BDSM     203
The Needle Mudra
Five Myths About BDSM
Using Tantra to Enhance BDSM
How to Create the Tantric Ritual That's Perfect for You     213
The Erotic Playsheet
One of Those Days
Different Lives
P.S., Your Cat is Dead
Group Tantra     227
How to Throw a Great Ritual/Sex Party
Club Relate
Happy Birthday
An Erotic Rite
A Weekend in the Country
The Dark Heart
How to Try Group Sex Without Fracturing Your Relationship
Tantra: The Next Dimension     241
Sex Magic     243
Sex and Healing
Using Sex Magic to Relax and Relieve Stress
Using Sex Magic to Relieve Colds and Sinus Pain
Using Sex Magic to Relieve Pain and Fear
Using Sex Magic to Facilitate Childbirth
Using Sex Magic to Alleviate Back Pain
Using Sex Magic to Heal Sexual Wounds
Sex Magic and Compulsive Sex
Sex Magic in the Workplace
Sex Magic for World Peace, Part 1
Sex Magic for World Peace, Part 2
Sex and Death
References      259
Resources     263
Index     282
About the Author     288