What is Tantra? And when you hear the word “tantra,” what comes to mind? If you’re anything like most people, the mental associations may not be all positive. It’s my feeling that tantra is simultaneously one of the most valuable, and worst-represented of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Tantra, and tantric yoga, offers us invaluable tools for embracing everyday life, and our lover, with greater passion, serenity, and acceptance. And Tantra isn’t just for granola-eating, Birkenstock -wearing, Burning Man aficionados–tantric principles can help just about anyone, particularly those in long-term relationships. I’ve been exploring Tantric principles and exercises for over a decade, but it’s only over the past six months that I’ve really started to dive deeper into Tantric yoga. And for students like me, if you Google “Tantra,” the results are not always encouraging. Thankfully, I’ve found a wonderful Tantric yoga school here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and a pair of wonderful teachers. My guest today is one of them. Uriel Yariv is an Israeli Tantric yoga teacher, and psychologist. Uriel is the co-founder of Mahasiddha Yoga here in Chiang Mai. He has spent the last 12 years in various parts of the world, teaching and studying yoga, Tantra and meditation and living in spiritual communities and retreat centers. I wanted to have Uriel on the podcast to “de-mystify” Tantra a bit, particularly for the uninitiated. We had a great conversation at the school here in Chiang Mai, discussing the origins of Tantra, the neo-Tantra movement, the Tantric principle of masculine/feminine polarity, the “dangers” of tantra, and much more. I hope you enjoy Part One of our conversation. Connect with Uriel at: * Mahasiddha Yoga in Chiang Mai, Thailand Please don’t forget: If you’re enjoying Humans in Love, and you’d like me to continue making new episodes, please be sure to subscribe to the show, and leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. (Or your podcast app of choice.) Thanks for listening.