Internal Alchemy - Nei Dan (内丹) Explained - Part 1

In this video, Damo Mitchell gives a brief introduction to the practice of Nei Dan (内丹) or 'Internal Alchemy'. This is a major aspect of Daoist practice within many traditions and, as a practice, it is a mixture of seated work, breathing practice and mental exercise. In this talk, Damo discusses:
00:16 - What is Internal Alchemy?
21:22 - The Three Ingredients
28:58 - Refinement of Jing
40:21 - Refinement of Qi
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#Qigong #internalalchemy #damomitchell

[@AsaHershoff5]

One of the most articulate and important talks I’ve heard in my life. If every person involved with the Tibetan Buddhism in the West watched this video it would be The beginning of an utter transformation in the results they have been seeking sometimes for many decades. Thank you Damo.

[@bokenovskyjones]

Care to elaborate on that? I have been practicing Tibetan Buddhism for a while myself and have had a bit of an issue making progress past a certain point, and neigong has helped me to advance further, it seems.

[@Fereig]

@@bokenovskyjones the internal system of refinement known as "completion stage" in Vajrayana has many similarities to Nei Dan - in my own experience, an adept of the full system with all its nuances and subtleties is difficult to find, and more particularly someone willing to openly teach it to Westerners. There are many willing to teach in piecemeal, but unwilling to comment when you run into phenomena - mostly because they don't know the antedote themselves to correct the movement of the rLung/Qi. My guess is because they don't have a clear understanding of the hangups of the Western Mind and how that affects the subtle system. Damo's presentation above has given much more clarity on the process than I've ever encountered with teachers or in texts, and I am research scholar in this area of Vajrayana/Tantra. On that note, there is enough easily observable cross-over of the systems (Himalayan Region Tantra, Vajrayana/Bön, and Daoist Practices) to know there was exchange/borrowing from one another. My own experience has been the same - pieces I needed that I was not getting in Vajrayana, readily appeared in Nei Dan. Hope that helps! (PS HI @Asa Hershoff!)

[@mary-anncarleton7578]

Nearly cried when ya started to talk about the amrita fluid. When one was younger she had a grace, a calm inner peace that simply built a clean and clear trinity. As she aged she began to have energy leaks and energy out breaks. This past couple years has pushed mind body and spirit into a stranger's house, dark, unwanted and trapped. This came at a pivotal point as we continue to navigate through this timeframe and process that we are all having to go through on some level. May the spirit grow. May balance find its way. May all beings wake from the deep slumber. May compassion and light pierce thy heart. Peace be to all creatures great and small. Poet, Mary-Ann Carleton

[@patriciamorgan2501]

Very nice❤

[@shemusmcquillaide]

I'm only halfway through this talk, great overview, really puts all these vast areas of Taoist practice into perspective, wonderful nustshelling. As a Vajrayayna Buddhist practitioner in a couple of Nyingmapa lineages, I would add that indeed at the very high levels of Vajaryana practice, after one has essentially become one and the same with one's yidam (aspect of Buddha such as Vajrasattva, Tara, Hevajra, Chakrasamvara, Vajarayogini etc) one is initiated into Anuyoga which is prhaps kind of bridge between Dzogchen, the final fruition practices, or non-practices if you will leading direcctly to full-blown enlightenment or Mahamudra or Dzogchen. Anuyoga is a lot more like an alchemy or kundalini yoga in many lineages if not all of them, but theres not much info because of the strict secrecy. Initiates who discuss the practices with non-initiates are said to have completely deleted all of the results of all of their prior practice through many lifetimes and will attain nothing more than eternity in Vajra hell for having so much as having accidentally allowed non-initiates to glean even the slightest inklin regarding the system. That said the cat is out of the bag anyway, and the Kagyupas have the most well known system that is not so painfully secret anymore, the Six Yogas of Naropa, which while not technicallly Anu-Yoga is said to be Kagyupa anuyoga. I'm in sort of a weird position myself having been pretty intensely dedicated to the Kundalini Yoga practices as taught by Yogi Bahjan for over a decade. Some lamas really freak out when they learn this about me, they know that is essentially super high level Buddhist practices where few ever make it and here I am a beginner. hey can see I have accomplished something but they'd rather just yell at me about having become a madman and that I have to do purificatory practices day and night for decades for the damage I have done to myself. I don't eel that way at all, Kundalini yoga was immensely beneficial and I was deeply transformed and I continue transform my being based on what I saw was possible from Kundalini yoga.

[@kellharris2491]

Don't you find it weird how much they gatekeep. I know they worry about some people abusing gifts but honestly at times it feel alike they just want to hord all the secrets for themselves alone. Maybe that's why they are stuck in levels.

[@shemusmcquillaide]

I think as outsiders (non-Tibetans) we should respect where they are at with it all. Plus, there simpIy are not enough teachers to help all the people who would end up not being ready anyway in most cases. As renonwned Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu put it, Vajrayanists are not normal human beings, as normal human beings it is better we practice Dzogchen. And the longer I practice the more I am really a fan of Dzogchen first and formost, it is much more practical and geared for ordinary people despite it being so easy that it is extremely difficult, difficult to keep aware and present and not caught up in thoughts and plans and activities all the time. I would also add too that the Tibetans are more open about tantrayana than Hindus are, you really are going to be hard pressed to ever get initiated into Hindu tantra, though there is that one western guy, I forget his name at the moment, an American mountaineer, Buddhist scholar and academic who wrote some big seller books about penetrating a literal shangrila in Sikkim. I was quite surprised to hear him talk at great length about his foray into Hindu tantra, he has a video on KZbin somewhere about that. But who knows maybe at the end of the day it is about a Tibetan power elite who covets their practices. But it does not matter, Drikung Kagyu, Dzogchen Community and there are others who will pretty much get anyone going on the path who is interested.@@kellharris2491

[@JeffCaplan313]

Your series on the MCO was MOST EXCELLENT!!! Looking forward to the rest of this one.

[@Markus_Pis]

This is great. I have read some of the classics with commentaries (they are to me uncomprehensible without), but nobody explains the subject as clearly as you do. Can't wait for Part 2.

[@zdravkopopov33]

There is so much to watch on this channel, keep up the flow!

[@LotusNeiGong]

Glad you like it 🙏

[@skylovecraft2491]

I'm just starting to learn about Qi Gong. Thank you for you videos!😊💗🙏

[@ansonrathbone391]

Great presentation, Damo. Very helpful!

[@wesleysullivan8047]

great talk. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I've been interested in eastern alchemy, especially with regards to the concept of the harmonious infant. In the West the word Alchemy comes from the arabic al khemet (of egypt) or al-khamiya (of the science of egypt).

[@anthonydeutsch]

Thank you this is a really great intro.

[@qigong9885]

Great explanation and video Damo

[@murrik]

Cool overview of all things Chinese alchemy

[@clovismerovech6537]

So excellent and helpful. Many gratitudes 🙏💎

[@MasichInternalArts]

Great overview Damo!

[@LotusNeiGong]

🙏

[@elyzak333]

Giving you a nudge to go deeper into discussion on the importance of precepts, self-awareness, and changing the Xing in part 2, since you keep mentioning how crucial this is. Even if it might upset people. Since when has that ever discouraged you? 😉

[@noself7889]

As cool and informative this information is. Without a qualified teacher or tutorial it turns into just information. None the less I really enjoy learning the intellectual information. Thanks ☯️

[@WoWMalazar]

Very interesting talk. Do you recommend letting go techniques as described by David Hawkins or the Sedona Method to release trapped emotions before engaging in dan tien work or jing cultivation?

[@mirrorinsideout]

I'm curious about this as well

[@stewartthomas2642]

Love your stuff kick on love it

[@Seaileanu]

May I ask, when might the second part be available?

[@tao2sic]

Most in depth presentation I’ve seen/heard on this subject; very insightful. Question: If the Yang aspect is limited then won’t ejaculating before extraction deplete it? Also I have no place to find a teacher anywhere near me, any suggestions?

[@stephenjohnson7770]

Hi Damo, another great video. I have a few questions if you don’t mind? I have been studying Nei Gong for a few years now. I have felt an intense heat in my Lower DT and more recently the area has been vibrating (imagine the end of an electric toothbrush in the centre of my lower abdomen) that sensation then jumped to the base of my lower back and eventually after a few days started to rise. I rose up to the Ming men point but didn’t go any further. Are these sensations normal and should the energy (felt more solid as it travelled up spine, more like a golf ball) of completed a MCO? Is it possible to tear or rupture the DT and in relation to extracting the Yang element of Jing, how would this be effected if the practitioner had a vasectomy? Thanks 🙏

[@nonkonform1st]

LOL u didnt get a reply.

[@stephenjohnson7770]

@@nonkonform1st don’t need the reply on here. Study with LNG now and spoke to him on several occasions. 👍🏻

[@nonkonform1st]

@@stephenjohnson7770 Ah, alright then. Good!

[@markdeguzman6556]

What's your take on Neiye? Seems it's similar to Tao Te Ching but with more focus on Neidan.

[@LokeyeMC]

Bravo!

[@hannaolsson3445]

❤

[@yousifalblooshi8921]

Long time no see

[@stevesala101]

What role play the legs in the building of the field of the dan tien?When I guard the mind at the dan tien sometimes I feel yin chi coming up from the legs.

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

🙏

[@mary-anncarleton7578]

Breath work is delicious however, it does have its moments of intensity.

[@elyzak333]

How did I miss this? 😑

[@brennanlawson6108]

Is the rest of this available on your site or are they still being made? Great stuff

[@LotusNeiGong]

Actually.....I never got around to making the rest yet 😂 it’s been a busy six months. One day, when I get some time, I shall finish the set :)

[@brennanlawson6108]

@@LotusNeiGong looking forward to it! Planning on picking up your comprehensive nei gong book in the meantime, hopefully that'll keep me busy :)

[@ScottMarshallscotbot]

what is the favorite translation of the Tao Te Ching?

[@ShiroiTengu]

Damo has his own translation of the TTC, I've yet been able to figure out how to buy a copy though

[@Markus_Pis]

Thomas Cleary perhaps?

[@user-kp3hd9wr4w]

I think from the start, daoism has already have indian origin. maybe what do you mean is absorbing indian believe about higher being. And I think this is because they are integrating with daoism's branch sect, which talking more in divination and exorcism. This sect was started from a genius daoism woman that I dont know why, she was telling people about their future, I dont even know if it is really their future or it is actually general things. this woman is also predicting weather for fisherman to fish. until now she is still being prayed on as goddess in some places in china

[@theprmm]

Thank you. Is microcosmic kind of neigong?

[@LotusNeiGong]

It is a part of many, but not all, Nei Gong systems :)

[@syrinxb1962]

You are wonderful! I never heard someone explaining this in such resonance 🙏🤍🕊

[@seangarvey4766]

Where do you get your shirts?

[@LUshengFan]

Can you jump 10 feet high or get martial arts like in in movies or just get a good body better than a mma fighter Cause if its real im willing to devote my life to it (be your slave) Im 18 right now probably late but I do have talent of quickly learning and applying things which have caught my intrest

[@LokeyeMC]

Haha this comment cracks me up but I can see the truth in it too because I was asking the same question when I was 18, ready to be a slave so to speak, for the sake of cultivating the ability to throw fireballs. I'm 40 now, and I'll say this, if you do choose to take on this practice, you can actually upgrade the muscles in your body, through thickening the chi in your channels, so that your muscles change into tendons. Now of course they don't actually change into tendons. But in the muscle/tendon changing classic, they like to use that metaphor, because it really feels like your muscles are as solid as tendons. If I were to train for the MMA, knowing what I now know, I would certainly make neidan a part of my core practice. I can't imagine what could be more helpful, assuming the other aspects are in place, such as having trained in a fighting style to a competitive level. But I do believe neidan is what would take you to the next level of mastery, beyond your peers. Now as for jumping 10 feet high, I don't think that will happen literally, but if you achieve self-realization, the metaphor of it will make total sense to you and feel just as good. As for devoting your life to someone or becoming a slave, that also is not needed. For some, it can help to live a monastic lifestyle, which you could get by training with a teacher, but truthfully, you'll cap out on benefits after the first 30 - 60 minutes of daily practice, at least for the first year. And I train in the hustle and bustle of the city, so there is no need for me to even find peace and quiet. So you can easily cast ideas of slavery aside really as being a non-helpful notion, though it does sound sort of idyllic I'll admit, to have someone else make choices for us and monitor our progress. But instead, if you choose to practice nei-dan, I would suggest finding a teacher you resonate with and then just carve out 30 - 60 minutes a day for the first year to practice. I would judge the success of a teacher by whether their goal is to actually help to cultivate and activate the lower dan tien using Taoist methods, and if they have success doing so for others. Damo Mitchell is one such teacher who you can rely on, but I assume there are many out there. But even if you practice with Damo, he'll laugh at any mention of slavery. You really only need to devote 30 minutes a day at first, to a simple method. And once that method is complete, you can devote maybe an hour a day (if you can learn to sit into your kua), and eventually it could turn into 4 hours a day easily but now we're talking about several years down the road.

[@ErraticFaith]

External arts are very different from internal. There's almost nobody in the Wudang (Internal) sphere that can jump a flight of stairs, let alone 10 feet lol. However if you want to get close to it, train with one of the former Shaolin disciples. A friend of mine Elijah can get extremely high and he's purely external (with the sprinkle of Qigong) of course. Whilst the comment about transformation here is technically true, it will take you time and as a youngster - people flock to External more commonly for good reason. It's far FAR easier and equally as rewarding. Will the regimen here help you with MMA for example, honestly? No it won't. You need to have an incredible amount of physical power and endurance and it's simply to dependent on multiple disciplines. So you wouldn't have the money and the time (assuming your not rich) to branch them all. If you're looking for purely fancy tricks look at sports tricking, gymnastics and XMA.

[@demoply]

Are you speaking from experience?

[@Seaileanu]

He is.

[@grndragon7777777]

This is dense