Tantra Yoga and the Path of Embodied Spirituality
Podcast E41 Tantra Yoga and the Path of Embodied Spirituality with Harmony Hannigan
Unraveling the Self: The Five Plus One Layer Model in Tantra
In today’s world, tantra yoga is often misunderstood—either reduced to sexual practices or lumped in with fast-paced modern yoga. But the deeper reality is that true tantra yoga is a spiritual path rooted in embodiment, presence, and the sacred union of opposites.
In a recent episode of The Tantric Life Podcast, I had the privilege of exploring this profound approach to living with my guest Harmony Hannigan – an experienced teacher of tantra yoga, meditation, and breathwork, and a guide in the path of the Mahavidyas, the ten tantric goddesses. What unfolded was a rich and grounded conversation on what it means to live and embody tantra yoga in everyday life.
What Is Tantra Yoga, Really?
Tantra yoga isn’t about escapism or striving to transcend the body. It’s about deepening into it—feeling its energies, meeting its contractions, and using the body as a doorway to the divine. At its core, tantra yoga teaches that nothing is outside of the sacred—not even our discomfort, our shadows, or our triggers.
This approach is radically inclusive. It doesn’t split life into “spiritual” and “worldly” categories. Instead, it invites us to embrace all of life—our pleasure and pain, our light and darkness—with curiosity and reverence.
Embodied Spirituality: Beyond the Bliss Narrative
One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Harmony is that tantra yoga isn’t just about bliss. While pleasure is part of the journey, it’s not the goal. True embodiment includes the parts of us we often resist—our doubts, fears, and even boredom.
Harmony spoke beautifully about two pathways we can take when facing life’s challenges:
- The Shakti path (moving toward): saying yes to experience, breathing into it, and exploring its energy without getting lost in the story.
- The Shiva path (moving away): stepping into witness consciousness, allowing us to observe from stillness and detachment.
Both paths are valid, and tantra yoga invites us to integrate them—dancing between movement and stillness, sensation and space, form and formlessness.
The Tantric Life Podcast
Listen to the podcast episode of this topic on your preferred platform, here: E41 Tantra Yoga and Embodied Spirituality with Harmony Hannigan
The Role of Discipline and Devotion in Tantra Yoga
We also touched on an important tension many seekers face: the dance between structure and flow, discipline and surrender.
Tantra yoga honors both. There’s a need for self-honesty and discipline—not as rigid control, but as a commitment to return again and again to presence. At the same time, it requires fluidity and responsiveness—what Harmony called “listening to the pulse of Shakti.”
This balance is cultivated through regular practices like:
- Meditation: Not just as a mental stilling, but as a bodily presence.
- Breathwork: To awaken energy and access the body’s inner intelligence.
- Asana: Not for perfect alignment, but as a means to feel the subtle currents within.
Harmony offered a five-phase approach to asana in tantra yoga, which includes posture, breath, energetic focus, deconstruction, and observation—each phase serving as a gateway into deeper embodiment.
Working with the Goddess in Tantric Practice
One of the most powerful tools in tantra yoga is the use of archetypes, especially the tantric goddesses known as the Mahavidyas. Each represents a facet of consciousness and offers a mirror for our inner world—whether that’s fierce truth (like Tara), radical presence (like Bhairavi), or compassionate detachment (like Dhumavati).
Harmony’s Breathe the Goddess workshops explore these energies through breath, movement, and self-inquiry. I’ve personally experienced the potency of these practices and found them to be not only transformative, but deeply grounding and accessible.
In tantra yoga, goddess work isn’t about external worship alone—it’s about recognizing that what we project outward is already alive within us. The deity becomes a mirror, a guide, and an embodiment of energies we’re learning to integrate.
Tantra Yoga in Everyday Life
Perhaps the most powerful message from our conversation was this: Tantra yoga isn’t something you do on the mat or at a retreat—it’s something you live. It’s in how you breathe through a stressful conversation, how you listen to your body’s cues, how you hold space for your shadows and your light alike.
It’s about showing up for your life fully—not just the “spiritual” moments, but the messy, mundane, uncomfortable ones too.
Harmony reminded me that our everyday lives are the training ground. The sacred isn’t somewhere else—it’s here, in our sensations, in our relationships, in the pause between breaths.
Final Thoughts
If you’re curious about tantra yoga—not the commercialized version, but the deep, integrated spiritual path—I highly recommend tuning in to this episode. Harmony brings such clarity, presence, and depth to the conversation, and I think you’ll find her approach refreshingly grounded.
Whether you’re already on the path or just beginning, let this be a reminder that your body is sacred, your experience is valid, and the divine is not far away—it’s right here, waiting for you to notice.
To find out more about Harmony and her work visit her website: nayanayoga.com
You may also be interested in these other posts about Tantra…
The Nature of Self: A Tantrik Perspective
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