I don't really have much time to write right now, but as many of you have been asking, I do want to just let you all know how things are going with Lisa's visit. What did I write at the end of Nidhana's visit..? "Well, it did work out. And how it worked out!" ...this is what I could write now too! Everything is going very well indeed. I am enjoying having a trained and widely experienced tantric massage therapist with me. Our sharing and verbal exchange seems to be never ending - always another question, a thoughtful comment or a new discussion opening.
It is also very relaxing to be able to share with someone who stems from the same tantric background as I do. There are vast differences in the kind of tantric massage being offered around the globe. I regularly get reports from people who have gained experience in a variety of countries including Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.A.....so I know what I am talking about. The German tradition is one of the earliest in the west - the first training school goes back to the late seventies in Berlin when the first Osho Sanyassins began returning from his Ashram in Puna, India. Lisa studied with this school and Andro, her teacher is one of the most radical one can think of. Her training was intense and deep.....just the first year consisted of four 10-day retreats in the school in Berlin, no watches, no phones, no contact to the outside. The living space was not the easiest with everyone sleeping on mattresses in one big room and the work was intense. And that was only the beginning!
The first tantric massage practice, Ananda, was opened in the eighties in Cologne by Martina Weiser, and needless to say, the first quality control organisation was formed in Germany by none other than Andro and Martina - and so it becomes clear that Tantra in Germany goes back quite a while. Every major town boasts a Tantra school and a number of tantric massage practices. I read recently that around 500,000 people practice Tantra in Germany. It is also interesting to realise that the oldest western tantrikers are now well into their sixties! I somehow find it comforting to know that my work is part of such a growing and vibrant movement.
With the roots of my own tantric training also in Germany, Lisa and I have much to talk about. As with Nidhana, it is once again, all about learning from each other, about an exchange of experience, about sharing and this on both professional as well as personal levels.....I think you can understand that I am lapping it all up. Lisa's massages are stunning and our 4-handed massages....well what can I say...we really love working together! With still 5 days to go in Cape Town before Lisa returns to Berlin, we both wish she could stay longer! She will return however. Already we are talking about her staying longer, making the trip really worth while, and during such a visit, we would share the work.
In the mean time, I am looking forward to a few weeks at home on the KZN South coast during July. I need to catch up on all sorts of things at my home before Nils Kreidner (from Dresden, Germany) arrives in August. That is however not the end of the European tantric trainers and massage therapists coming to visit Tantra Sacred Massage! In October Flora is coming for three weeks. She is from the Bodywork school I trained with in Wuppertal. She has the same tantric massage trainer as I do - so we will have lots to catch up on during her stay. Flora is originally from Poland but has been living in Germany for a long time....but more about her on the website later.
For now, Lisa and I look forward to seeing some advanced students as well as a couple of new students in Cape Town from later this week.
My warmest greetings to you all...
Leandra
