Minke de Vos - Tao Tantric Arts for Women: Cultivating Sexual Energy, Love, and Spirit

Acknowledgments

I dedicate this book to the Tao,
the Divine Feminine,
and infinite creative possibilities.

I feel we urgently need these practices to awaken our natural healing energy. As we heal and love ourselves, we heal and love the world. The cultivation of energy has been a strong thread in my life, which continues to pull me through challenges and weave the manifestation of my life purpose.

I feel so inspired by the Divine Feminine and so supported by the Divine Masculine in this co-creation. Gratitude wells up in my heart for all those who gave their kind attention to making this book accessible to a broader community.

I am deeply grateful to Mantak Chia and all the Universal Healing Tao instructors who have contributed to bringing the Oriental Inner Alchemy secrets to the world.

I appreciate all the joy and wisdom from teaching with Michael Winn of Healing Tao USA. Great thanks for his big perspective in his brilliant foreword.

Thanks to my mother, Janke van der Kooi, for her belief in my unique gifts. Thanks to my father, Antoon de Vos, for his loving understanding of nature and for teaching me to draw.

Thanks to Christer Ekstrom, my ex-partner, for building up with me Silent Ground, a unique center that held long-term retreats dedicated to meditation, healing, and art.

The sacred union with my partner, Dave Gyurkovics, is a continual source of unconditional love, support, and joy, for which I am deeply grateful.

Thanks to Wendy Lang for teaching the Medical Qigong Training. This training has deepened my connection to the Divine for guidance and healing. The books by Professor Jerry Alan Johnson, about Chinese Medical Qigong therapy, have been a profound resource in my research of the esoteric meaning of ancient healing methods.

Thanks to Shashi Solluna for coteaching Tao Tantric Arts Teacher Training for Women with me. Her passion for deep exploration and the evolution of tantra has been very inspiring.

Thanks to Darshan Yoriko Takui for making some of the original illustrations, which inspired me to draw and create visual transmissions.

Thanks to Gary Wildeman, a comic book artist and drummer, who brought playfulness and precision to inking the illustrations and drawings. And to Dave Gyurkovics, whose skill of observation and touchup refined the final presentation.

I am so grateful to Stephanie Lafazanos for her eloquence and coherence in helping me to write the book. We enjoyed drawing on our internal research as teachers of Tao Tantric Arts. In our creative space, channeling of the Divine opened up and came through with ease and grace.

Thanks to Kenneth Wapner for his expert help with my book proposal and Jacob Larmour for prepping the manuscript. Great thanks to all those at Inner Traditions/Destiny Books for making this book as successful as it can be.

I would like to thank all the participants in our classes, workshops, and retreats over the years. I have learned so much from you! Everyones questions and enthusiasm have contributed to the momentum of this books emergence.

Thank you all for reading and practicing, as your loving attention keeps this books creative energy alive!

Introduction to Oriental Terminology

Terms in parentheses are alternate spellings.

Bells of Love: The breasts, which resound the feelings of the heart

Cauldron: A pot of transformation in our core, between the navel and thespine, about two finger-widths below the navel

Crystal Palace: The center of the brain, and the location of the master endocrine glands

Dantian (tan tien): An elixir field for brewing qian area like a ball of energy. There are three dantians: the upper dantian is located in the head; the middledantian is in the chest; and the lower dantian is in the lower abdomen.

Jade Fountain: Female sexual organs; our fountain of youth and spring of life

Jade Stalk: Penis

Qi (chi): pronounced chee; energy, life force, the breath of life that nourishes us

Qigong (Chi Kung): Energy cultivation, mastery of subtle energy; an Oriental breath therapy that may include meditation, breath work, and movement

Sexual Palace: In women, the Sexual Palace is the Ovarian Palacethe uterus.In men, it is the Sperm Palace, in the area of the prostate gland.

Tantra: A weaving of opposites, a transformation of spirit into matter, matter into spirit, or fear into love

Tao (Dao): The path of living in harmony with nature

Yoni: A Sanskrit word from the Yogic tradition that means womb, symbol of life, or sacred place (Vagina means sheath for a sword.)

Feminine transmission

Foreword

In my thirty years of teaching the Universal Healing Tao, I have worked with many dedicated practitioners, and Minke de Vos is one of those bright guiding lights. I met her in 1983 and was impressed by her spontaneous, powerful awakening of the energy channels and subtle states of being, which demonstrated her deep roots in the Tao.

Minke has taught with me in the Darkroom retreat, Healing Love workshops, and other international trainings. It was a pleasure experiencing her creative and harmonious way of teaching. Her joy and passion for practice is contagious. After she facilitated the women in the workshop, they returned glowing!

Sexual alchemy is a core Taoist practice, as sexual energy is the fuel for our development on all levels. The ancient roots for cultivating sexual energy are now taking root all over the world and instructors like Minke and her partner, David Gyurkovics, are making it available for people to learn these valuable practices internationally. Their retreats are seeding grounds for training skilled certified instructors to bring the energy arts into their communities.

The Taoist sexual arts are a growing field of interest for men and women. Through the integration of internal research and Western science, our understanding of the importance of creative life force is expanding. I am happy to introduce Minkes teachings to a growing body of women and men, who will greatly benefit from the practices.