Latihan: Temple of Sacred Surrender
There is a moment — just as the light is quickly fading— when you can feel your body anticipating something it doesn’t yet understand.
The breath begins to slow.
The edges of the room soften.
The mind looks for choreography… and finds none.
Latihan invites us to ask the question:
What happens when we remove the mirror?
When we remove the performance?
When we remove being seen?
The practice of Latihan is believed to have begun in ancient Indonesia many thousands of years ago as a form of body-based prayer and meditation. Devotees practiced this form of prayer by withdrawing all the external senses, save the interoceptive, the inner knowing. In the dark inner sanctum of the Self, movement may arise like headwaters, spontaneous and energy-led. The purpose of the movement in my view was to connect to the will of God through the body. To be summoned by the Divine, and to respond with movement.
This experience begins with guided breathwork to settle and attune the nervous system. From there, participants are invited into a sacred ritual practice of blindfolding.
Then we step off the mat, and into the Temple.
As our gaze turns inward, our present moment awareness shifts, and our bodies flow more deeply into the current of moving meditation. Amidst an immersive musical soundscape, we explore what breath wants to be breathed through us? What movement wants to move through us?
Without sight, awareness shifts. The body becomes less about form and more about sensation. Movement arises not from the mind, as cognition, but from the spirit, as inspiration.
This is not about finding a partner in the dark...
It is not about being alone. Nor is it about getting it right.
It is an invitation to remove a veil of illusion, and meet yourself without a mirror.
An exploration rooted in the principles of classical Tantra, this foundational Temple gathering explores embodied surrender, consent, and presence. Participants are guided clearly and respectfully. No partner is required. No previous experience with tantra is necessary. Sovereignty and choice are central to the container.
Some may find the practice expansive.
Some may find a growing edge.
Most will find it unexpectedly revelatory.
This is the first Temple of Sacred Surrender at House of RhythOM — a beginning. A threshold. A space to explore what lives beneath habit and choreography.
If you have ever been curious about who you are in the absence of being watched…
If you have wondered what it feels like to move from your source, from the headwaters of the Self instead of the expectation of others…
If you are ready to hear what only the soul can understand, and only the body can translate…
The Temple doors are open.
March 28 6-8pm
House of RhythOM, San Antonio
Limited capacity
Participation Agreement and Consent
Come as you are.
Leave with a deeper conversation unfolding inside you.
Natalie
