Yantra Yoga

Yantra Yoga, the Buddhist parallel to the Hathayoga of the Hindu tradition, is a system of practice entailing bodily movements, breathing exercises and visualizations. Originally transmitted by the mahasiddhas of India and Oddiyana, its practice is nowadays found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism in relation to the Anuttaratantras, more generally known under the Tibetan term Trul Khor, whose Sanskrit equivalent is yantra.

The Union of the Sun and Moon Yantra Trul Khor (’Phrul ‘khor nyi zla kha sbyor), orally transmitted in Tibet in the 8th century by the great master Padmasambhava to the Tibetan translator and Dzogchen master Vairochana, can be considered the most ancient of all the systems of Yantra and its peculiarity is that it contains also numerous positions which are also found in the classic Yoga tradition.

Trul khor traditionally consists of 108 movements, including bodily movements (or dynamic asana), incantations (or mantra), breathwork, and visualizations, all timed to heart rhythms. The body postures (or asanas) of ancient Himalayan yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama’s summer temple of Lukhang. Trul khor is the fruitful distillation of the confluence of centuries of ancient Bön movements, Indian yogic traditions, and Chinese movement forms (that developed into disciplines such as Tai Chi Chuan and Taoist disciplines).

Himalayan physical yogas vary between lineages and the complexity of the practices are not disclosed until a deep level of samaya is realised by the practitioner.

Read more about Yantra Yoga in this great book: 

YANTRA YOGA: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement
by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, trans. by Adriano Clemente

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, one of the great living masters of Dzogchen and Tantra, started transmitting this profound Yoga in the seventies, and at that time wrote this commentary which is based on the oral explanations of some Tibetan yogins and siddhas of the twentieth century. All Western practitioners will benefit from the extraordinary instructions contained in this volume.

New Book Rewiev: Gampopa’s Mahamudra

Gampopa’s Mahamudra: Five Part Mahamudra of the Kagyus
by Lotsawa Tony Duff

Five-Part Mahamudra is a specific and effective way of entering reality. It was first taught by Lord Gampopa and became one of the main ways of practising Mahamudra in the Kagyu lineage. This book is a compendium of these teachings that accurately transmit the whole Five-Part Mahamudra system. It includes a complete commentary on the practice by one of the current lineage holders, Benchen Tenga Rinpoche. Tenga Rinpoche is one of the most senior teachers in the Karma Kagyu.

“All sentient beings have a mind and they also have an essence of that mind. For all of them, the confusion that they experience comes about only in their mind; for all of them, the essence of mind itself never changes, never becomes confused.” — from the commentary by Benchen Tenga Rinpoche

Tony Duff, author, translator and teacher, has practised extensively with Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions. He has been translating, teaching, and practising for thirty-five years.

You can order this book here.