Adam Mizner & Damo Mitchell chatting about various aspects of Yang Taijiquan...

Damo Mitchell talking on one of the most requested podcasts which is an episode on the subject of Xingyiquan. It's quite a niche subject, so maybe not of interest to many, but this talk looks at the core principles of Dan Tian development and the Liu He or 'Six Harmonies' in Xingyiquan and the San Ti standing posture. The episode concludes with a discussion of the true meaning of the style's name: 'Form Intention Boxing'

In a slightly more serious (sometimes) podcast episode, Adam Mizner and Damo Mitchell discuss some of the hate that comes their way. Damo reads out an online article which paints himself and Adam as s3xually deviant, criminal cult leaders and the two of them respond.

Being in the public brings a lot of hatred these days and the two shine a light on the kind of attacks which are an almost daily part of their teaching lives.

Trigger warning: If sensitive, you should know that some dark topics are discussed.

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.