somananda.org

Not what they seem. Take care!

Somananda Tantra School have excellent marketing and a very good website, fronting a business that doesn’t quite measure up. ‘Too good to be true’ comes to mind! They make the bold claim that they (uniquely is implied) offer ‘authentic tantra’. Unfortunately, this is accompanied by frequently disparaging all other forms of yoga and tantra. It leaves an uneasy feeling. I’ve been lucky enough to have a top level Hatha Yoga teacher and the free video classes from Somananda come across as mundane and poorly taught. Their claim of authenticity is further eroded by the way they monetise Tantra’s association with sex. Whether this is for you depends on what you want. There are certainly other Tantra teachers and courses out there, much more transparent about their qualifications and experience, who are equally or better qualified to claim ‘authenticity’. These teachers also generally offer more holistic and inclusive Tantra courses.I’ve already mentioned Somananda Tantra School’s yoga classes. They have a YouTube Channel with a multitude of videos. Unfortunately, many of those by Somananda and Dharmananda, in particular, are made so opaque with obfuscation that they have little useful content. In at least one, Somananda shares conspiracy theories about what 5G mobile signals do to us. Baseless conspiracy theories cropped up again when, after waiting 14 months for a course I’d paid for, I was told at the last minute that I couldn’t go because I HAD been Covid vaccinated. According to Somananda T.S., all Covid-19 vaccines are in the “experimental” stage and Tantric massage is energetically strong and, with an experimental vaccine, may result in severe health issues. They went on to say that they may be able to accept vaccinated individuals once the world health authorities such as the FDA have more information and experience of the effects and side-effects of the Covid-19 vaccines…. but at this stage that is not yet possible. To understand the total absurdity of this - the statement was made at a time during the Covid-19 pandemic when 1.1 billion of the global population had already received a vaccination, also after the FDA, EMA, MHRA and many other regulatory bodies had each approved multiple different vaccines. At the same time, there was no information about Covid-19 or the vaccinations on Somananda’s website. Actually, no other Tantra organisation has voiced concern about Covid-19 vaccinations (Google search) or reported harm to practitioners. I would have liked to challenge this but Somananda T.S. has no complaints procedure and my email complaint went unanswered. Does Somananda really believe that Covid-19 doesn’t exist? The flip side of this is that the Somananda course is going ahead. Whether or not it is rational to pull together a multinational group of 20 to 30+ unvaccinated individuals, plus instructors, for 10 days of close, intimate contact (indoors) during a global pandemic (add in all their contacts on planes, in airports, during transit and from hotel or retreat staff) is debatable. I believe Somananda Tantra School are irresponsibly putting those going at a much greater risk of illness or death.

Date of experience: May 21, 2021