Q: Are these the correct definitions of Tantra: is it about total communication between couples that allows them to give and received deeper pleasure. It is a 5,000 year old spiritual practice that grew out of Hinduism and Buddhism with the belief that followers should focus on the here-and-now, and experience every part of life to the fullest --including sexual gratification?

Dawn: Tantra is a spiritual practice that dates back over 5,000 years. Tantra blossomed, as a kind of spiritual revolution, from ancient Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. This revolution centered around the sensuality of life, taking the more puritanical practices of the old Hinduism and Buddhism to a place of greater aliveness through the inclusion of sexual practices and the admittance of women onto the path. Tantra began to be seen as the path of pleasure, and the sexual union between man and woman as the highest meditation possible. Today, many couples experience the rewards of this millennia old practice of Tantra as these meditations and lovemaking techniques lead them to deeper intimacy and greatly increased sexual pleasure.

Q: Would you say then that Tantric lovemaking is about partners being naked in every sense of the word--it's not only a physical connection, but a spiritual one as well, with the goal being mutual pleasure that lasts as long as you'd like it to?

Dawn: Tantric lovemaking opens the partners to one another on every level; sexually, intimately and spiritually . . . yes . . . making them naked and beautifully vulnerable. It's in this state that couples are able to really experience the passion of being fully seen and met and they find the desire and capacity to extend the connection into hours of loving, creating a deep sense of bliss between them.

Q: Is it true that flexibility is one of the fundamentals of Tantric sex? If one is tense, is it possible for him/her to hamper their full orgasm?

Dawn: Yes, flexibility is key to the practice of Tantra. When we are tense, can we feel pleasure? Not very well! But after a soothing massage or a revitalizing yoga class we DO feel more open to pleasure? Yes! When the body is rigid due to stress and self-consciousness we inhibit the natural flow of sexual pleasure and greatly decrease the full-body, full-being orgasm potential.

Q: Is a good method of keeping a man nimble to have him glide the tip of my penis over the woman's body like a paintbrush?

Dawn: This is a new one to me, or at least I don't remember talking about it with Dana! I must admit it sounds like loads of fun. Any playfulness and creativity infused into lovemaking is a very, very good thing! These type of practices help to reduce performance anxiety and greatly increase intimacy between partners.

Q: Is it true that in Tantra, you are supposed to savor those smaller twinges of pleasure rather than putting the goal towards holding on until you reach a crescendo--only to orgasm and be done? With the smaller twinges is it possible to experience and let go of one and then feel erotic energy move throughout the entire body?

Dawn: Tantra encourages us to enjoy the journey, the destination may surprise you! The focus in Tantric lovemaking is on opening to deeper andm deeper sensations of pleasure and connection. If we rush to a goal of orgasm there's a good chance we've missed some VERY exciting side-roads along the way. The excitement would be referred to as "waves" of pleasure, ratherm than "twinges". These waves are like smoldering embers, the more air (breath) you give them, the hotter they become!

Q: In Tantra, is one supposed to focus on their breath during sex to keep the mind from wandering? Is it true that if this is done, the person will become more receptive to everything they are feeling? Is this the correct way to breathe: through the nose, imagine pulling the life force all the way down to the genitals, then exhale through the mouth?

Dawn: Breath is another key to Tantric practice. Pranayama (breathing practice) assists the partners in remaining focused on sexual and emotional feelings during lovemaking. Increased ability to feel these feelings with your partner during sex is the difference between "good" sex and "amazing" sex. The way I teach the Tantric Pranayama is breathing through the mouth(have you ever had a really great orgasm while you were breathing through the nose?!) and relaxing enough to allow the breath to reach all the way into the deep belly, into the genitals.

Q: Is it true that in Tantra it is important to use all five of the senses? For example: listen to music, smell each other's fragrances, eat food off each other, etc.?

Dawn: The Tantric practice is focused on the five senses as ways for us to experience life and pleasure fully. Our senses are how we bring the outside world inside and experience it - how we bring our lover inside on every level and feel them. Tantric lovers will often entice one another with sensual delights such as scented baths, delicious foods and beautiful body adornments as a way to increase sexual sensitivity and "amp-up" arousal.

Q: Is there a Tibetan lovemaking posture called yab-yum? This is the position: the woman sits on his lap, face-to face, with her legs wrapped around him. Is it true that this position can align the energy centers from the head, to the base?

Dawn: Yab Yum is the sexual union asana of Tantric lovemaking. Yab Yum aligns all of the lovers pleasure centers, the chakras, making it possible for them to share every sensation totally, and to align on a spiritual level during lovemaking.

Q: Can you review the following Tantric words and let me know if they are correct in spelling and definition: Nadis - energy channels between the brain and genitals that need to be connected?

Dawn: Nadis are energy channels that run throughout the entire body. When these channels are open and activated through Tantric practice we experience orgasm as full-body waves of pleasure that can originate from anywhere in the body.

Q: Is Shiva - male energy and Shakti - female energy?

Dawn: Yes. these two are fine . . .

Q: Namaste - tantric lovers say it before lovemaking to express "we are one" (I thought this had a different meaning -- in yoga/hindi namaste means the light in me bows to the light in you...?

Dawn: Both are correct . . . Namaste means, "The divine in me honors and blesses the divine in you, in truth, we are one, the I AM". The way they are defined above, you wouldn't need to capitalize any of them . . . if you were to use Shiva and Shakti as the Hindu god and goddess, then these two would be capitalized . . . as the energies, they are not capitalized.

Q: Is it true that in Tantra, it is important to get rid of any mental roadblocks that interfere with the natural sexual flow? And that examples of ways to do this could be keeping a sexual journal, taking a relaxing bath and giving oneself a loving massage, or by challenging a negative block form the past that may creep up during sex with focusing on pleasure. Does this sound OK to you?

Dawn: You're correct in stating that Tantra is a practice of moving beyond the mind . . . releasing old patterns and fears held there that may be in the way of natural sexual flow. When we are thinking we are not feeling and, if we are not feeling, we are not in our natural sexual flow. The Tantric practice teaches us many ways of being present so that we can experience lovemaking without the judgments, fears and anxieties of the mind interfering. If a person is having difficulty remaining present and in their natural sexual flow there are many techniques they can try . journaling about times when they DID feel

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