KOH PHANGAN – A British woman has been arrested by the island’s tourist police after she was found teaching what was advertised as “tantric yoga and sacred sexuality” to clients. Officers say she promoted her sessions on social media and charged an entry fee of 400 baht.
The operation followed instructions from Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuekaam, Commander of the Tourist Police Bureau, who has tightened action on crime and foreign labour compliance during major holiday periods. Koh Phangan Tourist Police detained the foreign national for working in a role that did not match her approved permit.
Pol Capt Winij Boonchit led the investigation and arrest team. They apprehended Ms Maria Shchetinina, 40, a British citizen, at a restaurant in Moo 8, Koh Phangan district, Surat Thani. She was charged as a foreign national working outside the scope of her authorised role, listed as a tantra yoga teacher.
Investigators acted on a tip-off backed by screenshots from Facebook. A user called “Maria Sky” had posted invitations in the Koh Phangan Conscious Community (For Real Edition) group, promoting “tantra yoga” sessions. The posts named the venue, set the time on Tuesdays from 16.30 to 18.00, and stated a fee of 400 baht. Complaints claimed the activities risked sexual indecency and were circulated on social platforms.
Police surveillance found that Ms Shchetinina had already hosted a class at the same venue on 17 October. On the day of the raid, officers found several motorbikes parked at the location and observed her teaching a group of foreigners. She sat instructing while clients knelt for meditation, with explanations of various postures. Officers moved in and made the arrest.
Checks of her passport and work permit showed a job title of Customer Relations Manager at a company that manages accommodation. Officers also seized items as evidence, including five ETHOS SHALA CLASS PASS tickets priced at ฿400 each, twelve flyers advertising tantra massage for couples, one notebook detailing lesson content on sacred sexuality in tantra yoga, and a promotional board bearing her photo with a QR code contact.
Ms Shchetinina admitted she offered tantra yoga classes as the instructor, demonstrating postures and guiding meditation. She confirmed she collected a 400 baht fee and shared a percentage with the venue.
Police say this conduct breaches the Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers because she worked as a tantra yoga teacher, which is not covered by her permit. She was taken to Koh Phangan Police Station for legal proceedings.
This arrest follows ongoing monitoring of foreign groups on Koh Phangan who promote yoga activities that police say carry a risk of sexual indecency and spread via social media.
On 24 March 2024, Koh Phangan Tourist Police arrested a Polish YouTuber for running similar “sex yoga” or tantra classes on the island. In the current case, officers learned of another planned course titled “Tantra Yoga – Sacred Sexuality”, advertised at 400 baht per person, pairing male and female participants.
An advanced package priced at 7,440 baht per couple was also mentioned. After reviewing the advertised content, which officers judged sexually inappropriate between men and women, the team gathered evidence, briefed superiors, and planned an inspection.
The action led to this arrest, aimed at preventing activities that could harm the island’s tourism image and cultural norms.
Tantra Yoga and Sacred Sexuality
Tantra Yoga is a deep spiritual path within Hinduism, later adopted in some forms of Buddhism, that sees the whole cosmos as an expression of divine energy. Rather than rejecting the world, it works with life as it is, body, senses, feelings, and desires, as means for awakening.
The Sanskrit roots are tan (to expand) and tra (to liberate), pointing to a method that expands awareness to reach liberation, or moksha.
The tradition took shape in India around the 5th to 7th centuries CE. Influential texts include the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, the Kularnava Tantra, and later Kaula and Shakta writings. Tantra challenges the strict dualism between pure and impure, spirit and matter.
It uses practice and discipline to reveal unity through ritual, meditation, mantra, and yantra. Some lineages also include sexual methods that aim to rouse Kundalini, the dormant spiritual power said to rest at the base of the spine.
Sacred sexuality is one stream within Tantra, often overstated in modern Western views. In this thread of practice, sexual union mirrors cosmic creation, the meeting of Shiva, consciousness, and Shakti, energy. The purpose is not indulgence; it is the softening of the ego and entry into expanded states of awareness.
