Title: Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century Author: Barbara Carrellas Publisher: Ten Speed Press Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 287 Genres:: How-To Guide, Non-Fiction Reviewer: Layla Tichtchenko

Rating:

From deep within the melting pot that is New York City, Barbara Carrellas’ Urban Tantra unfolds like a sensuous silky veil of mystery. She is clearly confident in her sexuality and has mastered the art of seduction. Urban Tantra is a magnificent manual of marvel. She introduces Tantra, not as some practice shrouded in mystery and ritual, but as a practical addition to everyone’s life. Carrellas encourages the reader to explore their own body, their lovers and themselves. She presents erotic ecstasy not as a luxury but as a necessity.

Urban Tantra isn’t the stiff sex instruction book that many people are familiar with and hopefully it will become a modern day classic. There is something inexplicable and special about a writer who is as comfortable with discussing sexual ecstasy as Barbara Carrellas is. Her casual tone and irreverent ideology shine through from her tales of her younger days to her spiritual and sexual advancement in life. She identifies sex as sacred and not just something for couples and people looking for one night stands. Although, given the levels of intimacy involved with these tantric practices, they are not for the intimate phobic. From many of their in-depth descriptions these rituals can become quite involved and intense.

She has a unique and quirky take on Tantra. Barbara Carrellas decries the practice of stiff unyielding ritual and encourages people to find their own style and not be limited by routine. She uses her own quite erotic experiences as examples of the eroticism that Tantra entails. Although the section describing the use of making orgasmic sounds corresponding to the vibration of the chakras such as “oooh” and “aaah” seem a little bit absurd. And it’s not clear if she means for you to do this when you’re having sex or when you’re alone. But besides this, it is an outstanding combination of sexuality and spirituality for open-minded and advanced lovers ready to explore themselves and each other more deeply than they could imagine.