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Neo-tantra

Last reviewed 2026-05-26.

Neo-tantra is the 20th-century Western reinterpretation of tantric practice — a synthesis of classical Indian concepts with modern psychology, sacred-sexuality work, breathwork, and embodied bodywork. Most of what is taught as "tantra" in Ireland today is neo-tantra in this sense.

Where it came from

Neo-tantra crystallised in the 1970s through Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), whose lectures reframed sexuality as a doorway into meditation. Subsequent teachers — Margot Anand (the SkyDancing school), Diana Richardson (slow sex), Charles Muir (Tantra: Sacred Loving), Daniel Odier, and many second-generation teachers since — built on that base and seeded most of the contemporary Western tantra teaching world.

What neo-tantra is built around

  • Embodiment. Neo-tantra treats the body, breath and felt-sense as the primary territory of practice.
  • Polarity. Masculine and feminine as energetic principles (irrespective of gender), and the work of consciously dancing between them.
  • Conscious intimacy. Slow, presence-based partnered work — eye contact, breath, deliberate touch.
  • Emotional release. Often woven in through breathwork (holotropic, conscious connected) or somatic methods.
  • Sacred sexuality. Where partnered sexual practice is part of the work, it is framed as meditation rather than performance — see sacred sexuality.

How it differs from classical tantra

Two key differences. First, classical tantra is a religious tradition with formal initiation; neo-tantra is a wellness / personal-growth practice with no required lineage. Second, classical tantra was overwhelmingly contemplative — sex was a marginal technique used by a small minority. Neo-tantra puts sex (or at least intimacy) closer to the centre.

This isn't a criticism of neo-tantra. It is a useful, contemporary practice that has helped many people. But it is honest to call it what it is rather than claiming a lineage it doesn't have.

What a neo-tantra workshop in Ireland typically looks like

Workshops range from one-evening introductions in Dublin to weekend immersions in Wicklow or West Cork to multi-day residential retreats. Most include:

  • Opening circle and intentions
  • Breathwork and movement to drop into the body
  • Partnered exercises — eye contact, breath synchronisation, conscious touch
  • Group ritual or ecstatic dance
  • Closing circle and integration

Nudity and sexual practice vary widely. Any teacher worth booking will tell you exactly what to expect before you pay. If they won't, walk away.

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