Have you ever been so conscious about whether or not people like you?
Have you tried adjusting your behaviour according to what you believe others will find acceptable?
Or have you ever felt like you are never good enough?
If you can relate to any or all of these, it means that you have tried having issues with self-confidence. But what is self-confidence and what makes it such a covetable trait?
Self-confidence involves acceptance and belief in oneself. It entails having a positive view of oneself and feeling good about yourself just as you are. We often see this trait in successful people – if there’s one thing the greatest people of all time share, it’s unadulterated self-confidence.
Sadly, some people are not as confident as they ought to be with themselves. However, it should not be taken against them as there are a number of factors – internal and external- that contribute to low self-confidence.
The good news is, there are also so many ways to improve self-confidence. One of them is Tantra. Being both a belief system and a practice, it has been adopted and interpreted in so many different ways which has led to the evolution of the concept over the years. In the many attempts to singularly conceptualize tantra, the common theme among these interpretations is how they all look at Tantra as primarily an internal spiritual work.
The word “Tantra” in Sanskrit means “to weave ”. As a Hindu and Buddhist concept, it denotes spiritual realization.
But how does tantra help with self-confidence?
As was stated, Tantra mainly deals with “work from within”. It is about honoring your body enough to fully know what holistically pleases it and what does not. It is about respecting your body, your energy, and your life. When you know your body inside out, it becomes easier to stabilize your energy, because by then, you would know what negatively or positively impacts your whole being. It is the level of self-realization and self-respect that you get from Tantra or tantric practice that helps you move from low to improved self-confidence.
Why don’t we paint a picture? But before we jump right in, it is important to know that situations vary for each one of us. But because we all have energy within us, Tantra will work.
Okay! Let’s say Ana is a type of girl with poor self-confidence and that is coming from her insecurity with her body. One day she comes across Tantra Yoga and tries it out. With Tantra or tantric practice, Ana gets to know her body, her energy, her mind -basically all of herself.
Ana will learn a core wisdom from Tantra – that her body is a life form served by a full spiritual energy deserving of respect. From this, Ana will then begin to honor her body, her energy, and her life. She will start to work on stabilizing her energy, focusing on what promotes her holistic wellness.
But what about her body insecurities?
Right! So whenever Ana sees her body in the mirror, she will not see flaws anymore. Instead, she will see a body that has been with her through best and the worst of times, an energy that has served her greatly and a life that is waiting to be lived at its best. To her, it no longer matters whether or not people will like her, as long as she likes herself.
This is where self-confidence comes in.