We create bliss in the lives of people seeking change and profound connection. We use safe and powerful techniques to transform body, awaken consciousness and open the heart to love.
History & Founder
The Cobra Breaths, the essence of Tantra Kriya Yoga, are a gift to mankind from Mahavatar Babaji Nagaraj, a master of yogic science in 4th century India.
For centuries Babaji worked behind the scenes as a source of inspiration and guidance to many past Kriya masters like Adi Shankaya, Kabir Das and, in more recent times, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sivananda and Jaradan. We read in Autobiography of a Yogi, that Lahiri Mahasaya received the whole of the Kriya Science and transmitted it to Sri Yukteswar.
Yukteswar had two prominent students, Paramahansa Yogananda and Sri Sheilaji, both of who were sent to the U.S. in the 1930s to teach Kriya Yoga. Yogananda was of a devotional nature and taught only the Bhakti path. His students were called kriyabans. Sheilaji was more intellectual and taught the Jyoti path of knowledge. He trained Sunyata’s first teacher, Swami Kriyananda, founder of the Kriya Temple in Chicago. Sivananda received the tantric aspect of Kriya Yoga from Babaji and transmitted it to his most prominent student, Satyananda, Sunyata’s primary teacher. In Tibet, Jaradan received and developed the Science of Ajapa.
The Kriya Science then was split into several aspects. Sunyata saw his task as pulling them back together.
Sunyata and Bodhi Avinasha were married and taught together for seven years. They co-authored the Tantric text Jewel in the Lotus. Before parting ways, Sunyata passed the lineage torch with his blessing to Bodhi Avinasha. Bodhi went on to develop the Ipsalu Method, with the Cobra Breath system as the primary practice. To this day, Ipsalu holds the lineage, and honors Babaji’s oral tradition, properly preparing each initiate and holding true to the Kriya science.
These techniques were refined into an effective formula by Bodhi Avinasha and Sunyata Saraswati in the 1980s. Through decades of exploration and experimentation, Bodhi has refined the Practices to make them even more effective. She makes mystical science accessible to today’s spiritual seeker.
Bodhi Avinasha, the founder of Ipsalu Tantra, is a lifelong spiritual seeker and student, experiencing a wide range of human development offerings in the Western world. As a sannyasin with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), a foremost Tantric Master, she underwent training in his unique blend of psychology and mysticism with transforming results.
Bodhi presents the art and science of Tantra Kriya Yoga with direct guidance from the Avatar Babaji Nagaraj. She has taught Tantra since 1986; touring throughout the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, France, Switzerland and Bulgaria – touching thousands of lives.
She is co-author of the internationally acclaimed Tantra text, “Jewel in the Lotus”, which has been translated into 14 languages and is the author of “The Ipsalu Formula: a Method for TantraBliss”, which builds on and completes the first book “Jewel in the Lotus”. Bodhi does not claim to be a guru, and in fact, discourages that reference. Her techniques and teachings enable us to become our own guru. She is a messenger who is guided in using subtle body energy as a medium for human growth on all levels.
Bodhi is now retired from teaching, but has prepared gifted teachers to continue offering Courses at various places around the world. In 2018 Bodhi passed the lineage torch to senior teacher Nayano, who is now the loving guide of Ipsalu.
Interview with Bodhi
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In my youth I had frequent mystical experiences, a sense of divine presence. Becoming sexually active created a shame that disconnected me from Source and left me in deep depression. I spent 14 intense years in various therapies trying to find myself. I did not have a spiritual guide through that time, but eventually figured out a process for myself which others could also follow, achieving the same cosmic re-connection in a much shorter period of time. We can now facilitate people through that journey in 2-3 years.
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A: In 1985 I met Sunyata Saraswati and for 7 years I was his apprentice and co-teacher. He was a master technician with extraordinary energy skills and encyclopedic knowledge from many spiritual paths, primarily Tantra Kriya Yoga. He had gathered the world’s most effective techniques and processes.
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While I appreciated the power of the Kriya techniques, I felt it lacked a way to dealwith emotions and open the heart, as I had learned with Osho. I created the Ipsalu version of Tantra Kriya Yoga, including the best of both traditions. For the next seven years I traveled and taught, experimented with and refined the process and developed the current sequence of courses. I continue to be amazed at the transformative results of this practice.
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I was raised in a tight-knit church community, but found their beliefs untenable, and had to pull away. I deeply missed connection to community and began to search through a wide range of other possibilities. There are so many paths, each with its own unique frequency.
The Kriya Yoga tradition spoke powerfully to me, as did the Osho work, but I didn’t feel at home in either community. I realized the very mental Kriya work had powerful techniques, but no heart or sex or emotion , and the Osho work was heart based, sex positive and sensitive to emotions, but didn’t have the science Kriya offers. Putting these together allowed me to set up a different frequency, one that finally felt comfortable to me.
The people who resonate to that frequency, who feel like they have found in Ipsalu a spiritual family, continue to amaze me. It seems some of the brightest souls I have ever known are feeling an alignment with the energy this work produces.
This is an experiment to see if a community can come together and sustain itself without being in the shadow of a powerful and charismatic leader. There are people who look outward to find love, validation, guidance. People of that nature, or that place in their development, need the external support. And there are people who find within their own being a sense of who they are, what they are capable of, and what they have come here to do. It can be a lonely place. Those people enjoy finding each other.
Helping someone discover how to switch from outer dependence to inner freedom is the greatest service one can give, truly satisfying to the soul. That is what motivates those remarkable people who have become teachers in Ipsalu.
Passing the Torch
Nayano had determined 18 years ago to become a teacher of the four levels of Ipsalu courses. and has become the embodiment of the principles and practices of those courses. She has transformed herself into the next generation of the Ipsalu legacy. It is gratifying to me as a facilitator to see one who was student become a master teacher, surpassing what I was able to do, persevering through personal challenges. expanding into new regions, She now is (or has been) teaching in Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, England, France, Sweden, Germany & Croatia…also opening new regions in the USA.
In the seven years I worked with Sunyata, he was preparing me to carry on the work. After Sunyata and I went our separate ways, I continued to teach another 20 years. Sunyata had been called by his guru, Satyananda Saraswati of Bihar India, who was a student of Sivananda, a direct disciple of Babaji. Each generation of this lineage has been directed and guided by Babaji. Nayano has, by her selfless diligence and determination, earned her place in this line of succession.
It is interesting to note that Sunyata moved to her community for the last few years of his life. Clearly, he saw that she was to become the next leader of the Tantric Kriya Yoga tradition. Shortly after his death he got word to her to perform a ceremony to help him make his transition. Participants in that event were keenly aware of his presence there.
I am grateful to Nayano for the hope that this work will outlive me and the legacy will carry on, that more and more people will be able to experience the evolution of spiritual consciousness that the Ipsalu practice provides.
By Bodhi Avinasha ~ 2018
Our Organization
Ipsalu is an active expression of a heart-based paradigm. As individuals and a collective, we strive to live the values we share with our practitioners around the world. This can be challenging within the old constructs of how a business should be run, and what measures success. But we move forward in truth, trusting we will have all that we need to reach those who are called to this path. In order to shift the paradigm of humanity, we must shift it within ourselves.
This “Organization” is evolving into an “Organism” where each cell, in its unique way, supports the whole, and the whole supports each cell. In this synergy the whole is much more capable than the sum of its parts, more able to make a difference in the world.
We look for consensus. Each voice is important and given full expression. If a proposal is blocked by a dissenting vote, the conversation continues to refine the proposal until all are satisfied and agreement is reached.
Ipsalu Tantra International is a non-profit corporation (501c3) registered in California and conforming to legal requirements. It has elected officers and an annual meeting, and it answers to the Secretary of State. It is defined as an educational organization.
Vision Statement
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We have teachers around the world presenting regularly scheduled Coursesvat all levels. They are facilitators of transformation and community leaders. We celebrate them.
Teachers are well prepared, empowered, and confident, ensuring a consistently high standard of course delivery. Teachers feel supported by, and fully involved in the organization.
Teachers feel there is balance between compensation and the energy they expend.
Teachers embody the work. They maintain the integrity of Ipsalu principles and practices.
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ITI draws from ancient, esoteric wisdom and teaches practices that accelerate spiritual growth into a form suitable for practical, everyday use.
We present a liberating point of view, summarized in the Ipsalu Paradigm.
Our Courses provide the tools people need to transform their lives, transcend their programming and empower personal breakthroughs. The practices teach people how to change base energy to a higher vibration for Kundalini awakening, how to move from reaction to response, from outer direction to inner Wisdom, ultimately to remember their connection to the Divine.
We ensure high ethical and legal standards. Of students beginning the Core Courses (Level 1-4) a high percentage stay with the practice to complete the series and gain the amazing benefits.
There is a rich and varied offering of Courses anchored by the Core Courses, with courses adapted to meet the needs of diverse groups – various cultures, sexual preferences, physical challenges, etc.
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Vibrant communities, interconnected spiritual families, span four continents; kindred spirits from diverse populations sharing a common experience and point of view.
ITI, through caring communication, provides support for people to form effectively functioning communities.
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ITI maintains a retreat center for transformational process, where all live in the spirit of Namaste, attracting people from around the world.
In addition to hosting Ipsalu events, it is used by other organizations for events with compatible visions.
Large enough to constitute a small village, there is short-term housing for those coming to learn and experience and long-term housing for community and staff.
The community is “off the grid” with green energy, organic farming and pure water supply. Heated pools and spa services are available together with alternative healing modalities.
A world-class multi-lingual library and training center is available for people who want to engage in a deeper study of tantric literature and practices.
The organization also oversees an urban community, both centers serving as templates for similar communities across the country and around the world.
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ITI has a strong presence in the world. It is well known to the general public as a mature organization, highly regarded for its integrity, and respected as a spiritual tantric path of transformation.
There is widespread esteem for, and appreciation of Ipsalu processes, mission and values as efficient, effective and safe agents of change.
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ITI is a prosperous organization, able to easily fulfill its mission. Our financial position is solid and robust.
Donations, courses and sales of ITI merchandise fund all operating expenses and expansion costs.
ITI Foundation is accumulating assets and bequests with a view to make the organization self-sustaining and fund other worthy endeavors.
ITI funds various scholarship and community programs, creating connections and opportunities.
Special projects are funded by major donors.
ITI has a full staff of employees who are well compensated. Officers and staff are reimbursed for their travel and accommodations for annual meetings.
Creators of various courses are well compensated for use of their intellectual property.
Core Values
A gathering of people, face to face or virtually, with a common intention to connect with spirit, becomes a place to unite a spiritual community. In Cobra Breath practice groups, individuals unite to generate high-frequency energy that uplifts and heals those individuals and others.
When groups practice around the world, the vibration penetrates the global energetic field, much as the merging of the light of several candles, which can illuminate even the darkest of spaces. As practitioners of Ipsalu Tantra and the Cobra Breath, each of us is a light, with the energy to positively enhance the world.
Our Ethics
Safety
We are deeply committed to the safety of course participants.The purpose of our courses is to provide a space where people feel safe and supported so they can remove their armoring and façade and discover a deeper part of themselves. This exploration and healing can only happen in an atmosphere of respect and honoring. Each Course begins with agreements including confidentiality and respecting boundaries.
Teachers are clear that they are not therapists. If someone’s process gets too strong, they know to refer that person to a professional. The courses deal with redirecting sexual/LifeForce energy, with suggestions of what to do in private regarding explicit sexual activity. No such activity is part of the courses.
Course participants are all adults, over age 21. Some of the breathing and relaxation techniques are helpful for younger people, but LifeForce energy should be undisturbed during their growth period.
Teacher Student Relationships
Every Teacher signs an Ethics Agreement limiting their interaction with the students. They agree to not become sexually involved. Rare subsequent connections must wait for a considerable cooling-off period
Teachers are required to be law-abiding, especially in matters relating to sex. Since genital contact for compensation is illegal in most of the United States, Teachers must agree not to perform those services, or to recommend the services of someone else.
To obtain certification, Teachers are required to affirm that they have not been prosecuted for sex-related crimes.
The Cosmic Cobra Breath series is the force that powers this process. It is an ancient tradition that they can be transmitted only by people prepared and authorized.
Out of respect for the power of these techniques, students must promise not to share them with others. The training and transformation provided in the Courses prepares the student’s mind and body to handle the new energies. Trying to practice without that background could prove harmful.