Yoga vs Tantra
Both tantra and kundalini yoga aim at awakening Shakti; both schools of spiritual practice are based on a common philosophy: Shaktism, which holds that the Divine Mother is the highest reality - so what is the difference between them?
The Ascent & the Descent:
Kundalini Yoga is often Ascetic and Upward-Focused. The goal is to wake up the Serpent Power and drive it out through the crown of the head (Sahasrara) to achieve liberation from the body.
Shakta Tantra is Embodied and Downward-Rooted. It views the body as a living manifestation of the Goddess. We don't just want to leave through the crown; we want to bring that cosmic power down to infuse the cells, the blood, and the emotions.
The similarities & the differences
Both schools view the human body as a living shrine, the repository of boundless energy, most of which remains dormant. This dormant energy is called kundalini shakti, and the relatively small amount of active energy is called prana.
Yogis of both paths use their active energy to try to awaken their dormant energy. Yogis of both paths have a positive view of the world—they view it as a manifestation of the divine force. Thus, everything that exists is divine, beautiful, and the source of joy. The inability to experience the presence of the Divine within or without is called ignorance and is the source of bondage. Overcoming this ignorance and experiencing the beautiful and blissful Divine in every aspect of life is called liberation. How they lead you to liberation is what distinguishes the two paths.
The path of Kundalini Yoga
Those on the path of kundalini yoga depend heavily on the techniques of hatha yoga, and in this context hatha yoga means the practices related to asana, pranayama, bandhas, and mudras. Aspirants following the path of kundalini yoga believe that the body itself is the best tool to awaken the dormant energy of kundalini (Shakti). They describe kundalini as a sleeping serpent. And because snakes are cold-blooded creatures, as the temperature drops, snakes become stiff and cannot move. That is what has happened to kundalini.
Those on the path of kundalini yoga say that this serpent is hiding within us in the fireplace called the muladhara (Root) chakra, but the fire here is almost extinguished—all that exists is layers of ash covering a still-glowing coal. Before you can awaken this serpent, they tell us, you have to blow away the layers of ash and allow the heat to radiate until it warms the serpent and the serpent begins to move. As it emerges from hibernation it becomes conscious of itself and its surroundings. And because it has just awakened from its long slumber, it is hungry. So it devours sloth, inertia, hopelessness, and all other forms of darkness and heaviness. The result is spiritual awakening.
The layers of ash are blown away in kundalini yoga by practicing vigorous pranayama, and the prerequisite for practicing pranayama is mastering asanas, especially the sitting postures. To strengthen and purify the nervous system you practice bandhas and mudras, advanced techniques developed in the tradition of hatha yoga. This method of awakening kundalini is purely physical and requires technical accuracy. If you are successful, you will experience a surge of energy along your spinal column. And if the body (heart, lungs, kidneys, endocrine glands, and the nervous system) is in good health, you will experience this movement of energy as blissful.
However, if your nervous system is blocked and your emotions are not stable, then this movement of energy may damage the nervous system or cause hallucinations. Even when you are physically and emotionally fit and do not experience any side effects from kundalini awakening, you still have a major task to accomplish, because this awakening causes you to become energetic. Your stamina and endurance will increase, and if you don’t have a good understanding of the higher dimensions of life, this energy will make you productive only at the physical level. Therefore the challenge in kundalini yoga is to learn how to channel that energy so that it becomes an instrument of spiritual awakening.
The path of Shakti & Tantra Yoga
"In hatha-based kundalini yoga there is a sense of victory; in tantra yoga there is a sense of surrender."
Tantric yogis also believe that the body is a living shrine. Even though the body’s potential is infinite, tantra recognizes that individual bodies have their own limitations. Very few people in the world are perfectly free from fatigue, disease, and a tendency to procrastinate. Most of us are confronted with obstacles in one form or another. Tantrics therefore attempt to make the best use of all available means and resources—both internal and external—to remove these obstacles and make the body and mind healthy, strong, and happy. In addition to employing the techniques of hatha yoga, tantric yogis also include the techniques of meditation, visualization, rituals, mantra recitation, and prayer.
Tantrics do not treat kundalini as mere energy; they view it as the Divine Mother herself, and from the beginning of their quest they cultivate an attitude of love and devotion toward kundalini shakti. They may do an intensive practice, but that practice is always accompanied by the sense of self-surrender. Unlike the practitioners of kundalini yoga, tantrics are gentle. They attempt to awaken kundalini (Shakti) like a hungry baby lovingly attempts to awaken its mother.