The Purpose of the Breath and Postural Practice

Damo Mitchell is an author, teacher, and student of the internal arts of Asia including Tai Chi and Daoist Inner Alchemy. Damo recounts his childhood of fear, inadequacy, and martial arts. And recalls how his rage, born from childhood trauma, was healed by the direct energetic intervention of a Daoist master. Damo shares his adventures throughout Asia, seeking authentic teachings of inner spiritual alchemy and internal martial arts, baiting teachers into fights to test their skills, and eventually discovering hidden lineages of spiritual and energetic transmission. Damo also explains the Taoist theory of the Dan Tien, why this crucial idea is so often misunderstood even by advanced practitioners of spiritual alchemy, and reveals his own encounters with paranormal powers such as electrokinesis and pyrokinesis. …

 Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep174-daoist-inner-alchemy-damo-mitchell 
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:57 - From martial arts to inner alchemy 03:35 - Childhood fear and inadequacy 05:39 - The limits of martial arts for personal growth 08:20 - The pros and cons of martial arts 09:51 - UFC vs traditional martial arts 11:53 - Practical combat vs spiritual development 14:48 - The problem with Chinese martial arts 17:14 - Confusion of the purpose of training 20:37 - Geoff Thompson and radical combat effectiveness as a spiritual portal 23:16 - Damo’s rage stemming from childhood trauma 25:38 - Early meditative experiences 27:49 - Damo’s childhood meditation system 29:36 - Two types of practitioner 31:00 - Leaving school and travelling to Asia 33:03 - Dead ends when seeking teachers 34:12 - Secrecy in Chinese arts 35:10 - Reflecting on the dead ends 37:34 - Baiting teachers into fights 38:25 - How Damo found real siddhi and internal power 40:41 - The truth about Fa Jin 43:34 - How a controversial master healed Damo’s rage and trauma 48:27 - Damo analyses his chi healing 50:10 - Damo’s life fell apart 52:03 - Full engagement with the spiritual path 53:27 - Calibrating breakthrough experiences 55:14 - Damo on the Self 59:23 - Daoist inner alchemy 01:03:35 - Damo’s inner alchemy journey 01:07:05 - Misconceptions about the dan tien 01:09:20 - Building and filling the dan tien 01:11:04 - Breath work in inner alchemy 01:13:52 - Optimising efficiency 01:14:40 - Enlightenment in Daoism vs Buddhism 01:18:03 - Immortality in Daoism 01:19:34 - Meeting immortals 01:21:15 - Siddhi as evidence of progress 01:22:39 - Electrokinesis and pyrokinesis siddhi 01:24:45 - The importance of morality 01:27:43 - How Damo’s teacher challenges his morality 01:29:35 - How to improve one’s morality and conduct 01:34:03 - Sex and Daoism 01:38:31 - Learning Chinese … To find out more about Damo Mitchell, visit: - https://damomitchell.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James