Contact Improvisation Dance has again and again offered me an experiential cauldron to embody new pathways.  As movement patterns are a reflection of neural pathways, moving in unique, spontaneous and even chaotic forms shifts habitual ways of being in daily life. Some of the most fundamental understandings of how to dance intimately with life in a state of open-hearted surrender have been transmitted through CI and include:
I can lead and I can follow.  And, there’s a third option – the juiciest dances emerge…formless and form seamlessly flowing from cellular consciousness.
I have a right to have intimate connection with everyone, not exclusively with romantic partners.  This was radical for me early on but I leaned in because something deep in me recognized how intimacy with divine love demonstrates no boundaries of presence and love.
Repeatedly returning to presence in the body offers spaciousness and ease in the mind.
Attention to the minutia – slowing down and practicing small, simple movements with full bodied presence opens an entire realm of possibilities when you release practice and allow free form.  This is what we refer to in Tantra as Tapas and Spanda…you devote yourself to a specific practice or “restriction” for a certain period of time and by keeping out what you don’t want and focusing on something very specific, a spark within can occur that liberates energy.
Grazing and lingering – sometimes short interactions offer exactly what you need to create new possibilities and sometimes lingering in a dance provides a platform for curiosity to have full reign.  This reflects what I’ve realized in all kinds of relationships.  Sometimes a short engagement is enough to reframe a paradigm and sometimes we need to stay with a person for an extended period because the dynamic offers a prolonged experiment and growth for both.
Be with what is – CI is one of the only communities I’ve found where showing up authentically is held differently than normal social interactions.  If you need to lie on the side and snuggle or simply witness or you feel a primal need to rough house or a tenderness that seeks the slowest touch possible – you can explore whatever is arising because the entire practice is in meeting your partner where they are at this exact moment.
Adaptability and resilience – spontaneity can feel overwhelming in daily life, especially if you grew up like I did where productivity and planning are paramount.  CI offers a way to embody surrender in a safe space.  Surrender in this sense is truly being with what is as it is and having the body-mind capacity to meet that rather than resist it.     

In relationship
In intimacy
In every moment
I choose to be free
 
Accepting what is
In the perceived other and in me
Acknowledges the ever-evolving web
That encompasses all
And possesses nothing
 
Together we dance
To a unique yet resonant rhythm
Stoking desire to experience authentically now
Seeking neither validation nor love
 
Love and freedom cannot exist independently
The commitment is to Love
Which is inherently harmonic
 Needing nothing to emanate its full potency
 
As paths converge and diverge
I honor the devotion to Love
And envelop my beloveds
In a spaciousness beyond understanding
A surrender beyond reason
A love surpassing boundaries of right and wrong

​Tantra is embodied spirituality, which in its nature is ever-changing.  It’s a map to discover authentic expression.  It doesn’t say simply follow your bliss…because what you may sense as pleasurable if your system is off balance may be far out of alignment with your all-encompassing desires. 
Some of the principles we use as a way in to knowing ourselves on all levels and living from union between body and spirit include “Everything is an experiment”, “Tapas & Spanda” and “The healing power of pleasure”. Pleasure in and of itself is ephemeral and the capacity to sense moment to moment authentic desires is supported by the other two, which offer structure to facilitate freedom. 
When I approach everything as an experiment, there’s more play, room for error and curiosity in what I choose to engage with.  As I’m beginning with the premise of I don’t know what the results will be, I'm more attentive and gather the data as I explore. 
Tapas is a word that could mean container/containment or discipline, but I prefer to see it as devotion.  I choose something every month to devote my attention to.  It’s a way to notice how shifting habits pulls on all the threads in my being and presents the opportunity to reorient towards harmony.
In choosing a tapas two things are enormously important: choose something you’re truly curious about and something you honestly believe you can stay with throughout the time your devoting yourself to do the practice when you set your original intention.  From a lot of personal exploration with this I’ve realized that if I flake out and my will fades, my overall confidence in myself, my word and ability to remain true to what I authentically want to experience when confronted with temptations diminishes as well.  And, I also know that dependably engaging in what I said I would offers me a loving space that I cherish where I can truly drop into what I desire with no excuses about life being too busy or caving into habits that feel easier or more comfortable.
A couple months ago I devoted myself to do ovarian breathwork six days a week.  I didn’t realize how much I’d be challenged to remain faithful to this commitment.  I had to get up very early before classes and on days I was traveling a lot.  Through my devotion, I dropped deeply into sensing the paradox of how the ovary embodies beingness like nothing else in our anatomy and yet is simultaneously the seat of creative energy in the feminine body.  The relationship between two things that I believed were mutually exclusive transformed as I sat every day with how non-doing opens the portal to connect with the emanation from which all creation emerges.  
This concept is also related to how Tapas sparks Spanda, which may fortify your resolve to choose and stay with a Tapas. Spanda could be translated as spontaneity or play…it’s the free flow of movement that happens when your conditioned patterns surrender to what is right now.  It’s scary to a lot of people because it could invite you to behave in ways that don’t coincide with who you believe you are.  The interplay of Tapas and Spanda is creating a container that provides conditions to interrupt patterns you suspect may be interfering with unbound joy.   
Tantra is one of very few spiritual traditions that leave nothing outside the circle of "ok to experience".  This is one reason why people often have a misconception that Tantrikas are extremists or that Tantra is all about sex.  They sit on top of graves, engage in practices that take them to the edges of human consciousness and explore sensuality and sexuality in ways most can barely fathom.   There is no scripture saying follow these steps or this set of values.  The possibilities are infinite, which is attractive to some and terrifying to others. 
My personal experience of Tantra has offered me proposals of how to explore the layers of who I am from many different angles and allow the spiritual and mundane to express their truly interwoven (not separate) nature.  This is extremely helpful for anyone who is uncertain if their desires and decisions are truly emerging from an authentic source or if they’re surging from dissonant parts. 
The dynamic practices I invite people into when I’m facilitating Tantric events are based on these 3 main principles.  Erotic energy is life force energy in its most potent form.  Exploring erotic energy within a safe container may spark new pathways that invite flow where stagnation has resided.  And there is absolutely a strong belief in Tantra that experiencing pleasure simply to experience pleasure is a big part of where healing happens…no agendas or objectives.