We’ve just returned from Bali after 11 extraordinary days with Margot Anand, founder of SkyDancing Tantra®, and the international SkyDancing community.
There were purification rituals beneath waterfalls, temple ceremonies, beautiful gardens, snorkeling through reefs filled with vibrant fish, laughter with old friends, and long conversations about life, love, awareness, and awakening.
Many times during the trip we thought, “We should write about this.”
And yet… we didn’t.
Projects paused. Emails were answered more slowly. Devices stayed tucked away more than usual.
Listening to our bodies, we simply couldn’t get ourselves to do anything that took us out of the experience.
Again and again, our bodies moved us toward rest, connection, friendship, beauty, slowness, and presence.
At first, part of us felt guilty about that. We are responsible people. We care deeply about our community and work. We like being responsive.
But there was another truth emerging underneath the guilt.
Behind every “no” was a deeper “yes.”
A yes to what nourishes us.
A yes to what restores us.
A yes to beauty.
A yes to connection.
A yes to being fully alive in the moment we were actually living.
So often, we override the body.
The mind says:
“Be productive.”
“Answer faster.”
“Push through.”
“Don’t disappoint anyone.”
“Keep going.”
Meanwhile, the body whispers:
“Slow down.”
“Stay with this moment.”
“Take in this sunset.”
“Be with your friends.”
“Breathe.”
In Tantra, learning to listen to the body is not indulgence — it is awareness.
The body constantly informs us how we are. It reveals tension, exhaustion, openness, fear, joy, contraction, and aliveness long before the mind catches up.
But many of us have become trained to mistrust these signals. We push past fatigue. We override discomfort. We numb ourselves with distraction, stimulation, scrolling, busyness, food, or endless doing.
Sometimes we even lose touch with what we genuinely want.
One of the profound teachings of SkyDancing Tantra is that awareness begins by listening.
Not only to our thoughts — but to our sensations, breath, energy, and deeper impulses.
When we pause long enough to listen honestly, we may discover that the “no” we fear disappointing others with is actually protecting something sacred.
A “no” to overextending ourselves may be a “yes” to health.
A “no” to constant productivity may be a “yes” to creativity.
A “no” to distraction may be a “yes” to intimacy.
A “no” to rushing may be a “yes” to actually experiencing our lives.
This doesn’t mean avoiding responsibility or acting without care. True listening includes discernment and compassion. But it does mean becoming more honest about what genuinely supports our nervous systems, relationships, and well-being.
Bali reminded us how healing it is to fully arrive in the present moment.
To savor a meal instead of multitasking through it.
To feel water on the skin.
To laugh deeply with friends.To watch a sunset without immediately reaching for a phone.To sit quietly beside someone you love.
These moments are not separate from intimacy.
They are intimacy.
And perhaps this is one of the deepest forms of Tantra:
Not escaping life, but learning how to fully inhabit it.