There is this juicy ground where the fields of (neo-)tantra and kink overlap. An all-inclusive space where polarity has nothing to do with gender, but all with power, intention and consent. This fiery mix of playfulness and mindfulness may just bring you that little nudge of empowerment and surrender you have been looking for, or that inspiration and creativity you always felt was in you…

This workshop includes opportunities to:

• Learn the basic principles of Tantra, BDSM, and how both practices can overlap and strengthen each other.
• Give/receive a tantric full body massage.
• Experiencing the yes, no, and space in between in your body, and letting that guide you.
• Awaken your intuitive powers to deepen your play.
• Getting to know, and integrate, the principles of Impeccable Consent (based on the Wheel of Consent, kinky ethics and a whole lot of life experience).
• Important ingredients to create a scene.
• Use your body as the most sensual tool for play.
• Getting/improving skills in using different toys of impact (hands and small floggers) and using them in a Tantric way.
• Getting imprints of interactions with different people, what they awaken and bring up in you, and what you can learn from all that.
• High-Quality Holding.
• Taking/being taken on a deep, personal journey.
• And get to know amazing like-minded people in the best way! We usually host a very diverse crowd that is of mixed ages, gender, experience levels, and backgrounds.

Why combine conscious kink and principles of (neo-)tantra?

Conscious kink is the path of explicit polarity. In daily love making the roles of giving vs. taking (or leading vs. following, guiding vs. surrendering) can be blurry, ending in that nobody really can focus on what is happening. Kink can support us bringing back that juicy polarity. Consciously designed kinky scenes are amazing for trauma healing, embracing inner power, as well as connecting to parts of us that scare us (both as the dominant or submissive) – but keep us away from fully embracing ourselves and our power as long as we don’t fully do so.

Tantra is the path that embraces *everything* that is present *now* without judgment. It’s an ever-ongoing unfolding of the deepest surrender possible to life itself. Tantra inspires me to open up deeper to myself (i.e. life), zoom out of the suffering, and return to a state of flow, happiness and bliss easier every day (except, well, some days).

Combining kink and tantra can lead to interactions that overflow in presence, safety and acceptance on one hand, and playfulness, edge, and ecstasy on the other. 

We will use methodologies like meditation, breathwork, dance, sharing, touch, consent-based practices, kinky practices involving Domination/submission dynamics, and optional impact play (hands and small floggers). 

The weekend consists of exercises that you can do on your own, in two’s, or in larger groups. There will be sharings in smaller groups and in the whole group. Towards the end of the weekend there is a play party: a contained amount of time where you get to practice what you’ve learned freely with our support and guidance.

This is a red workshop: nudity is welcomed in certain exercises and during the play party (but never needed or obligatory). The option for sexual interactions is limited to the play party part of the weekend. The play party will have different zones for different activities, where the option for sexual is just one flavour.

What if you are nervous about the play party? Don’t worry! A lot of folks are. And a lot of folks come out of a play party saying things like ‘this was so much fun! Playing here felt so innocent. And watching all these people play, my gosh, so yummy!’. Remember that there is nothing you have to do. To watch, dance, cuddle, meditate, read a book or have a lovely chat is just fine!

About the Tantra I teach

There are many flavours of tantra. The tantra I teach can be considered ‘eclectic neo-tantra’: tantra that is a mixture of different lineages and styles of tantra, brought to you through the lens of a white, queer, Dutch person socialized as a woman.

There were great masters who brought the original tantra to the western world. I haven’t learned from these masters directly but from their students (or their student’s students). Some of these lineages: Osho/Bhagwan Rashneesh, Chogyam Rinpoche, Crazy Wisdom, Tao Tantra, and Kashmiri Shaivism.

From these lineages come masters with lots of wisdom, but also lineages that are often not free from abusive practices. That’s why I weave neuroscience and a lot of consent practices into my teachings.

※

This event welcomes folks from all walks of life. We are LGBTQIIA+ informed (Wilrieke and most of her team identify as such), slut-friendly, trauma-informed, and non-monogamy informed. White folks are overrepresented in our team and life experiences are coloured through that lens. We do come from different social backgrounds and have different life experiences when it comes to health, wealth, neurodiversity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

We welcome disabled folks and have good experiences with you participating in our events and sessions. Some of our venues include stairs or other challenges, but usually, we have a very helpful team of assistants who lovingly support, e.g. by carrying you, your wheelchair up and down stairs, hold doors for you, or assist in other ways. If you have a person that supports you in daily activities that you need to bring for your care, they can of course come with you without buying a ticket. Please reach out if you have special needs, and we will discuss how we can support you. In case we cannot comfort your needs, we will honestly let you know.

The specific venue of this weekend is located on the ground floor of a building. There is an accessible bathroom. There is a height difference to enter the venue that may cause problems for wheelchairs – we can support you here.

This event is for you if:

• you are curious about kink and BDSM, and look for a great way to start your journey
• you know the basics of kink and BDSM, but you want to deepen your skills
• you like (neo-)tantra, and you are looking for something more
• you want to broaden your display of sexy skills
• you want to feel more secure about yourself and learn how to step up for yourself (hint: kink is my favourite tool for this!)

You don’t need prior experience to enter this workshop, although some experience with workshops in the realms of tantra, consent, cuddling, etc can be helpful. We do ask you to be comfortable enough with nudity and sexual interactions in the room.

If you wish to gain some prior experience we have workshops that offer a great preface to this workshop:

• Exploring Tantra 
• Kinky Tantra Intro
• (Tantric) Cuddle Workshops
• Pink Play Party

Check our calendar here for upcoming events!

You can come alone (many people do), with your partner/s or friend/s. Couples may choose to stay together if that feels the most important for them. This event welcomes all levels of play. Some experience with workshops in intimacy (tantra, kink, cuddling, massage) is recommended.

This event is NOT for you if:

• you are not willing to accept another person’s ‘no’
• we actively stand for inclusion. This means that in the event no racism, discrimination, misogyny, ableism, or shaming of bodies, sexualities, gender etc are tolerated. If this is something you cannot commit to, this is not your community.
• we accept all political viewpoints and personal opinions, but we also actively stand against the spread of misinformation and disinformation. If you are looking for places to share your viewpoints on vaccine shedding, this is not your community.
• we MAY ask for a covid quick test, vaccine, or another way to minimise the risk of spreading covid at this event. If this is principally against your values, you may want to reconsider signing up.
• you are looking for easy sex. You won’t find it here.

What the weekend looks like:

This weekend is designed as a full-on deep dive into the world of kink. The first day is an intensive day. After a welcome and introductions, we start playing with tuning into your body as an Inner Navigation System. Always get to know where the breaks are before we speed up! We will play with the polarities of holding and being held, Domination and surrender, leading and following.

On the second day, we will take time sharing about our experiences and learn from each other. Then we will bring some new elements into your play. The second part of this day is designed as a Play Party where you can practice with amazing people, supported by Wilrieke and her amazing team. If you want to practice specific things, ask questions (we love to geek out!), have us look over your shoulder, or dance and integrate – there’s space for it all!

Timings:

Saturday: 10.00h – 18.00h (doors open at 9.30h)

Sunday: 11.00h – 19.00h

What is a play party?

A play party is a co-created space of endless exploration based on your own desires and boundaries. Within that playground, there are endless possibilities!

Co-creation means that we start together in a circle. There are agreements (like confidentiality, respecting relationship agreements, taking care of your own wellbeing, and a few more) that we share and, if you want to stay for the rest of the event, agree to by raising your hand.

There are some introduction games that change every time, but include tuning in to today’s desires and boundaries. We may share our mildest and wildest desires as well as our fears. There will be heart-opening exercises, and reminders of how our YES, NO and MAYBE’s feel in our bodies before we smoothly transition into free play.

There’s no focus on sexuality, you don’t have to do anything. A play party simply means that, unlike in most parts of our lives, éverything is welcome – also sexuality. We will remind you that drinking a cup of tea while being a witness is as perfect an experience as doing sexy things you never did before is. We will also remind you that sometimes these play parties are happenings beyond our wildest dreams, and sometimes they trigger the freak out of us, we feel stuck and excluded, not knowing what to do. This is amazing too, as now you have an opportunity, if you want to, to reach out for support to be with what is coming up, and maybe break your patterns and release your trauma.

A play party has no expectations or requirements. It is a space to be expressed and celebrated, to explore! You are welcome with all that you bring and who you are – in this moment.

About Wilrieke Sophia:

Wilrieke Sophia (they/them) is a sex & intimacy educator, conscious kink facilitator, intimacy activist, TEDx speaker, writer, and founder of Exploring Deeper and Cuddle Workshops International. They identify as queer, sex-positive, polyamorous and kinky. Wilrieke is based near Amsterdam, The Netherlands where they openly combine being a mother of three daughters with their work.

The main focus of their work is empowerment through self-knowledge and understanding, radical self-inclusion, the embodied experiencing of boundaries and desires, and an extensive practice of consent – all based on a foundation of trauma awareness and neuroscience, embedded in experiential spaces based on intimacy practices. Wilrieke hosts sex-positive retreats, play parties, teacher training, and festivals. In several projects with colleagues, Wilrieke creates workshops and materials on accountability, abuse and power dynamics in the intimacy and wellness communities.

About Exploring Deeper:

We all need touch. Here at Exploring Deeper we believe that satisfying intimacy needs to be available for everyone. To have that intimacy, a person needs to feel safe and secure in their own body. We need to know our boundaries and desires, and we need to know how to communicate them. How does a person change their life? By doing things differently, and then repeating that new way. When it comes to intimacy, our current society does not provide us with the means, tools, and place to practice our intimacy skills.

Exploring Deeper aims to create those spaces. Laboratories for exploring intimacy – deeper. We do that by creating events, sessions, materials, and professional training. All our products and services are based on the pillars of solidarity and inclusion. This means our events are meant to be a welcoming place to you, independent of race, gender, age (though 18+), sexual orientation, relationship style, being neurodivergent or neurotypical, being disabled or non-disabled, or looks.

We acknowledge everyone is learning and may make mistakes in addressing others, ourselves included. Making mistakes is welcomed in our workshops. Intentionally causing harm by discrimination, racism, misogyny, shaming, bullying, spreading disinformation etc is not tolerated. As a team, we are actively speaking up against these issues, and repeated misconduct will lead to removing the person causing harm from the workshop and potentially withholding access to future events.

A few words on team ethics:

Integrity and creating a safer space is super important to us, the team of Exploring Deeper. You, the participants, are not our personal dating pool. There are power dynamics that can be juicy, but also abusive.

Members of our team, regardless of their role (which may be facilitator, assistant, co-facilitator, helper or participant) will not individually date people they meet in the workshop. They will not have any form of fluid exchange with participants.

We might support you in your exercises or provide a service during the play party (we’re always keen on helping you improve your spanking skills for example!). If we have pre-existing partners or lovers in the workshop, we will disclose that at the opening of the workshop when appropriate.

If you are curious about our Guidelines for Team Members, feel free to check the full document out here.

Some practicalities

In the week before the event, you will receive an email with detailed information for this training. Make sure you sign up with an email address that you use. Check your spam filter if you did not receive an email seven days before the event.

LOCATION

The weekend takes place in Amsterdam at De Ruimte at the Weesperzijde 79A.

The location is behind a gate on the street. This is what it looks like.

Reaching the venue:

CAR – Use www.routenet.nl to plan your route. Maybe carpooling feels like an option for you; feel free to post your request in de event on Facebook.

PARKING – Parking is expensive in the area. You may need to park your car a few streets away. Check www.prettigparkeren.nl. A cheaper option is the P+R. www.bereikbaaramsterdam.nl gives more information about this.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT – From Amsterdam Amstel Station it is a 15 min walk. From both Amsterdam CS and Amsterdam Amstel metro 51-53-54, stop Wibautstraat is closeby. Use www.9292ov.nl to plan your trip.

WHAT DO I EAT?

We will provide tea, water, and some chocolate. Bring lunch, and feel free to bring snacks to share!

WHAT DO I WEAR?

Wear what makes you feel comfortable during the workshops. Bring some layers, as you might get hot or cold. If you feel like dressing up, e.g. for the play party – bring some options to play with!

HOW MUCH IS IT?

You find that info in the ticket shop. There is a limited amount of budget tickets, meant for people with limited financial resources. We trust you to choose the ticket that fits your situation.

WHY GENDERED TICKETS?

We want to include everyone, whatever your gender or identification is. That means there’s space for everyone, without one group getting overrepresented. Therefore there are tickets for people who identify themselves as male, female and other.

(We realize that there are many gender identities outside the binary norms. For practical reasons, we have summarized them as a category ‘other’ on the ticket sales pages. We apologize to anyone who does not feel represented by this category.)

Please only buy a ticket that represents your gender – and not any other ticket. Sold out = sold out.

WHAT DOES THE COLOUR CODE OF THIS EVENT MEAN?

We use a system of colours to explain what happens in an event with regards to sexuality:

• White: clothes stay on, there is no sexuality or nudity. (e.g. cuddle workshops.)
• Pink: partial nudity is allowed but genitals stay covered. Sensual play is possible. (e.g. energy sex workshops, exploring tantra and pink play parties.)
• Red: full nudïty and sexual interactions are possible (e.g. exploring kink, kinky tantra, red play parties.)

WHAT IF I CAN’T COME ANYMORE?

There are administration costs involved, but refunds are possible within certain timeframes. You are free to sell your ticket to someone else. We don’t mediate in selling tickets. Please respect the gender of the ticket, and in case we send pre/aftercare emails, forward them to the person you sold your ticket to. Check all details in our terms and conditions.

WHAT IF TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT?

You can ask for a ticket in the FB-event. 

WHAT IF I DON’T FEEL LIKE TOUCHING SOMEONE?

Then you don’t. We will never push you to do anything, nor to do anything with anyone. You can come, decide to keep all your clothes on and not touch anyone – and that’s perfect. You can also always sit out an exercise.

HOW ACCESSIBLE IS THIS VENUE?

The workshop takes place on ground level. There are no stairs, but there is a high step at the entrance that is not very wheelchair accessible without support. We can provide assistance here.

There is an accessible bathroom.

With a special permit from the Amsterdam Municipality cars for disabled people park for free on the street in front of the building. You can find information about this permit here.

※

COVID: Check our COVID-19 protocols here, and make sure you understand our cancellation policy. We may ask for a self-test of max 24hr old for this event.

Ticket holders will be informed prior to the event through email. Always check your SPAM folder. If you have signed out for Wilrieke’s emails, these emails won’t reach you. Reach out to Wilrieke if you did not get any information five days before the event.

For this workshop, Exploring Deeper’s Terms and Conditions apply.

To stay updated about workshops, events, and to read Wilrieke’s blog (with hundreds of articles and videos about topics like non-monogamy, sexuality and dealing with insecurities), check www.exploringdeeper.com and sign up for our newsletter!

TICKETS >>>