The Damo Mitchell Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Damo Mitchell in the forests of Sweden, chatting about the recent explosion of poor mental health which resulted from the Covid era. He looks at the nature of believing ones own mind as well as how extreme visualisation within the internal arts may contribute to a loss of sense of reality. 

The main section of the podcast talks about the difference between the paths of 'sensation' and 'cultivation', two roads that are presented to a practitioner when they first start out within an art such as Qigong. 

A podcast (as requested) on the topic of Baguazhang and the underlying principles of the system. Damo Mitchell discusses the similarities and differences between Baguazhang and Taijiquan. Further discussion then looks at the following principles of Baguazhang training:

- Yi and Qi

- The Baguazhang body

- Static postures

- Circle walking

- Common errors

The discussion covers the theory of developing the body prior to learning any of the forms of palm-changes which are usually what is demonstrated and what most people know as Baguazhgang. 

Chatting about the process of changing the body in Qigong. Damo is explaining how he views the moving exercises of any traditional Qigong system as being tools which are used to take the body through a series of transformational stages. The use of the Dan Tian and the palms is discussed along with the meaning of Yi Dao Qi Dao. 

Shkar Sharif is a martial artist from London. He teaches Tiger Crane style Gong Fu and Shuang Yang Taiji to his students from his full-time school in Islington. 

He sits down with Damo to discuss his training background, the San Zhan form/system, Sufism, Shuang Yang, the Dan Tian and Hermetics.

A short talk on the nature of teaching the mechanics of the inner arts (such as Qigong, Yoga and Meditation) versus claiming to be a spiritual teacher. The term 'spiritual teacher' is a term Damo does not apply to himself at all and increasingly is a term that he deems less relevant in the wider picture of spiritual cultivation. 

A follow-up to yesterdays podcast on a comment Damo made concerning the way that Qigong is turning into contemporary Yoga and starting to offer short term teacher training courses of a month, two months or even, horribly, 10 days or shorter! These teacher training certificated courses are being offered online even with no interaction between teacher and student. This is likely to lead to a number of problems, the same problems that have plagued the Yoga world for some time now. 

Just a debrief and sharing of thoughts after teaching a three day long foundations event in Perth, Australia. This talk may not be of interest to 'casual listeners' and more for those who are interested in the school, Damo's thoughts and our system of Qigong in particular. 

Damo primarily discusses the differences between his method of teaching and the more widely practiced forms of Qigong that he encounters when he teaches groups around the world. 

Damo chats with his good friend, Dr Cindy Engel about her book: Another Self - How Your Body Helps You Understand Others. They look at Cindy's experience as a therapist and especially her use of 'somatic empathy' as a tool and how it functions as a part of human awareness. The nature of understanding others through felt-knowing, visual phenomena during therapeutics and the complexities of utilising this in both life and practice are explored.

Cindy is a practitioner of the internal arts and a researcher of modern scientific understanding and her work, as well as her latest book seek to bridge these two worlds.

A short chat from a bland hotel on the principle of 'Shen Up, Qi Down'. This was a teaching Damo was given early on in his Qigong journey that summed up the division of the mind and the Qi, two of the poles of Yin and Yang.

Note that this is a fundamental principle that establishes the groundwork for more advanced mental qualities utilised within the world of the internal arts but an error that is common in beginners within these practices.

Damo Mitchell chatting with famed explorer and film-maker, Dr Lawrence Blair at his home in Bali. The discussion looks at Indonesian culture, mythology, religion and even UFO's! Dynamo Jack is discussed along with the connection between subtle energy and spiritual experience. 

For more information on Dr Lawrence Blair, please visit his website at: https://www.drlawrenceblair.com

We highly recommend watching the groundbreaking series, the Ring of Fire which can be found here: https://www.ringoffireseries.com. It is downloadable from Apple TV and other similar sources.