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Learn about me & my missionAugust 6th, 2026 | Balance Out. Simplify. Bootstrap Your Mind. Lessons from Wudang, the Cradle of Daoism.
This text was fully written by a human.
A canceled flight rerouted through a Tashkent layover, then a week of tai chi and Daoist philosophy at the Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy — on why the answer to burnout is to balance out and simplify, not push harder.
Why Wudang? How To Bootstrap Your Mind?
I became deeply inspired by Daoism while creating my company’s flagship product, the Ontology of Value® Test.
One concept that strongly resonated with me is the Daoist principle of Wu Wei, often translated as “effortless action.” It does not mean doing nothing. It means acting in alignment with the natural flow of things — without unnecessary friction, force, or struggle.
In Daoism, life is not about endlessly rowing against the current. It is about learning how to sail: understanding the environment and recognizing the direction of the wind. Then you position yourself so that your energy creates maximum movement with minimum resistance.
I see a similar principle in human careers. Many people spend years forcing themselves into roles that drain them.
They do it because they follow external expectations rather than understanding their own nature. They compensate by working harder, pushing more. And burning out.
But what if the key is not to push harder — but to navigate better?
Bootstrap Your Mind.
Career building in times of AI feels like a game of chance. It’s almost like playing poker IRL.
So many ways to make an impact in the world and build a business. But it’s also so chaotic at the same time…
You’ve got to learn how to operate in uncertainty, make your bets, and choose a path. Otherwise, you’ll get frozen and never get anywhere.
I chose to analyze the job market, and then the AI revolution came. Along the way, I met with lots of demons and experienced a major distress.
My mind felt like the direct opposite of what it should be: instead of being a nourishing womb to my thoughts, it’s a hostile place.
Instead of a clean sky, it’s a trash bin full of garbage.
How can you be a leader when you are scared and distracted just like everyone else?
I felt that this was exactly the perfect time to take a step back and peace out. Namely, this was the very moment when everyone else is scared and frustrated.
I would call this “bootstrapping your mind” — you are in bad shape. So you go on a self-development trip despite feeling like you cannot afford it. You do it just to fix and clean that squeaking poor machine in your head, and start prospering better.
Masculine vs Feminine Energy.
I spent my youth in masculine energy, surrounded by men. First, that meant math-profiled classrooms in high school, then Physics and Math majors as an undergrad student.
Then I was surrounded by men again as a grad school student. All my bosses were men, and they treated me like another guy.
Results, results, results!!
But when I look back, I feel that all the best opportunities I have ever gotten were coming to me at rare moments. Those were the times I was spending in my feminine energy — out in nature, enjoying life, and laughing hard. I wasn’t caring too much about the future.
Those days when my mind was like a clear sky.
When my days were planned out to 60% or 80% of my capacity, not 100%.
When I was working and/or studying at my own pace, I still found time for a walk in a park every day. There was room for meetings with friends, watching movies, going to the sauna, walking in the forest, and so on.
This is when I used to feel healthiest, make the best decisions, and develop the most creative ideas. It’s also when I would encounter the best people and enjoy life the most.
Especially in this chaotic world, the ability to peace out, keep joy in your life. And connect to your intuitive mind matters enormously. Being picky and having good judgment are top values that can speedrocket your life and career.
So, I decided it was high time to somewhat find that balance again.
So, What Is Daoism, Actually?
Daoism was created by Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, “the Bible” of Daoism. In my opinion, he was one of the smartest humans of all time; how 5,000 years later, his quotes are still bangers. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, many scholars now doubt that a historical Laozi ever existed at all.
Some of my favorites:
“The Master does nothing, yet nothing is left undone.”
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
“Water is the softest thing. Yet it can penetrate mountains and earth.”
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Do not resist them; that only creates sorrow.”
And yes — the famous Daoist Yin-Yang symbol does not mean duality — it means change. Only change is constant, and we need to find balance on top of that ever-lasting change.
And why is “Daoism” Daoism? It took its noble name from the “Dao”; it literally means “the Way” or “the Path.”
But it is not a road, a doctrine, or a set of rules. It is the fundamental principle, pattern, or flow of reality itself — the way the universe naturally unfolds.
The idea is that the Dao is something you can experience and align with, but never fully capture in words.
What Are the Core Principles of Daoism?
Let me introduce a few of the main Daoist principles — that will give you a picture of how they envision “a good life”:
⓵ The Dao (The Way).
The underlying natural order of the universe that everything follows, even though it cannot be fully described or defined.
⓶ Wu Wei (Effortless Action).
Act in alignment with circumstances so that outcomes emerge naturally without forcing or excessive control.
This rule follows directly from the idea of Dao:
A person aligned with the Dao does not passively do nothing. Rather, they understand the situation so deeply that their action becomes natural and efficient.
⓷ Ziran (Naturalness).
Live authentically and spontaneously, allowing actions and behaviors to arise naturally rather than through artificial constraints.
⓸ Yin–Yang (Dynamic Balance).
Opposing forces are complementary and interdependent, and harmony emerges from maintaining their balance.
⓹ Pu (Simplicity / The Uncarved Block).
Return to a state of simplicity and openness by minimizing unnecessary complexity and artificial desires.
⓺ Humility.
Strength comes from modesty and softness rather than dominance or the pursuit of recognition.
⓻ Compassion.
Act with kindness and empathy toward others as a core virtue guiding ethical behavior.
⑧ Non-Attachment.
Avoid rigid attachment to outcomes, status, or possessions in order to remain adaptable and free.
⓽ Harmony with Nature.
Observe and align with the patterns of nature, which reflect the most balanced and sustainable way of living.
⓵⓪ Relativity of Perspective.
Recognize that viewpoints are limited and reality is fluid, encouraging openness to multiple perspectives.
You can find a poetic introduction to Daoism by Master Gu himself HERE.
Why Does This Resonate With Me So Much?
Daoism, in its essence, is extremely simple and straightforward — one origin book, one author, no doctrine. There are no particular rituals and no godly deities to pray to. It’s pure philosophy of the art of good living, with no additional doctrine, no rituals, and no mythology.
For a simpleton like me — this is perfect. So little to remember!
Frankly, when I first heard of Daoism many, many years ago, I immediately felt connected to its central concepts. I even felt that deep inside, I was born a Daoist, despite being baptized as a Catholic Christian.
In fact, I don’t see these two as contradictory at all. I see the Godly nature of the Universe as dual. Similar to light that can manifest like a wave or like a particle, it can manifest as a deity.
Or, it can manifest as a force of nature. My Catholic side taps into deity; my Daoist side taps into the force of nature.
Why Is Daoism So Rare in the West?
However, one problem I spotted was that there is almost no Daoist practice in the Western Cultural Circle. Yes, there are temples, including quite a few in San Francisco. But they typically stay empty and lifeless, like museums or art galleries.
Why oh why, Mr Watts … Why did you bring Buddhism to the West and forget about Daoism?
Now, if you want to learn about Daoism the right way, you have no choice. You have to make it all the way to China.
And even in China, there are only roughly a million Daoists among over a billion citizens. They mostly live in the Wudang region away from metropolitan cities like Beijing.
According to the Pew Research Center (2023), fewer than 0.5% of Chinese adults formally identify as Daoist. You need to make an active effort to get there.
It bugs me why Daoism isn’t more popular around the world, especially now that we all struggle with overstimulation and mental health problems. Daoism IS the answer to many of the problems of the people of the West.
Looking for the Right Practice.
So, how did I end up in Wudang?
That is actually a very Daoist origin story for your encounter with Daoism itself: not something you planned, optimized, or searched for. Instead, it was something that appeared through the flow of events.
In the summer of 2025, while flying from Reno to San Francisco on my way back from Burning Man, I happened to sit next to a Chinese lady, Marcia. We ended up having a very interesting conversation.
She turned out to be a Daoist practitioner who goes to the mountains of Wudang, China, once a year to meet her master and work on herself.
Wudang Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site that excels as a site protective of traditional Chinese culture in general. It’s especially protective of Daoism.
At its heart, Wudang Mountain is the cradle of Daoism. According to UNESCO, the Wudang Mountains’ ancient building complex was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1994 in recognition of its role as one of the historic centers of Taoism.
What Is Wudang Mountain Like?
It’s one giant, green mountain full of forests, with hundreds of temples, martial arts academies. And hotels hidden between the trees.
To a bare Western eye, they all look alike. And if you’ve never been to China, it feels a bit like exploring a video game.
There are also some interesting creatures hiding in the woods. No, not pandas but rather muntjacs, often called the barking deer.
These folks are small, noisy, and gallop through the woods in small groups like maniacs. They nearly gave me a stroke a few times.
Moreover, every temple, every hotel, and every house proudly hosts a population of fluffy cats. They are literally everywhere.
While Dharamshala of India is a fluffy dog heaven, Wudang is clearly the cat place. So if you are a cat person, you will get an orgasmic experience here.
That one chat with Marcia was fascinating, and she persuaded me to go try. Despite Chinese culture being a different standard and not as tourist-friendly as some other countries like India, she put that seed in my head. It then grew for the next few months until I finally decided to go.
And so my flight to Beijing got scheduled for Monday, March 2nd, 2026. Whoopsie.
Not an Easy Start: The Road to Wudang.
My Odyssey is full of feisty godly interventions, and it wasn’t any different here. I hadn’t even departed, and yet, fate came for me. A few hours before my scheduled flight, I got a notification that my flight was canceled due to the outbreak of war in Iran.
Indeed, I was expected to fly via Emirates, and those skies were unsafe — hence the cancellation. I was instructed by the flight operator to wait for updates, but after two days and nights spent at a hotel in Warsaw, it became clear to me that the chaos was only growing.
My flight operator did not intend to offer me another flight. So, I had to either resign or go with another option.
Spontaneously, I went with the only reasonably priced flight left… which went through Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a two-day layover.
It’s insane how many places you can see extra just because you are too poor to fly with temporarily overpriced direct flights. On this trip alone, I scored two new countries, Uzbekistan and Vietnam (more on that later).
What Do You Do With an Unplanned Layover in Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan experience turned out to be great (well, perhaps it’s material for another essay). It was beautiful and mysterious in the rain.
The streets of the city center were so empty that I felt like a character exploring the surroundings in an oriental video game — like Prince of Persia or Aladdin. Plus, I could live in a modestly priced hotel looking like an actual castle.
I also visited Davlat Tabiat, a creepy museum full of stuffed animals in dramatic poses (the locals seem to be proud of it! No wonder – I could stare at these expositions the whole day) and the most posh club in the city… only to learn that it’s Ramadan and I cannot find anything but expensive drinks in there.
Uzbekistanis are one of these nations that are poor but hopeful, hungry for success, and you can feel it. Modest but extremely hard-working grinders with smiles never leaving their faces.
I went ot the local marketplace. And it gave me the vibe of Hale Banacha, an infamous cheap marketplace in Warsaw twenty years ago. “You’ll get there, folks” – I thought to myself.
What a trip!
What Was It Like to Finally Land in China?
Anyway, I only felt true relief and joy once I successfully checked in in China. Since I was tired after an overnight flight, I took a 3-hour nap in a capsule at the Beijing airport. Then I moved on to board for Shiyan.
Airports in China are an experience in themselves.
Shockingly, no one at the airports spoke English — not even the airline staff. Unfortunately, that soon turned out to be a rule; English is a really scarce resource here.
And of course, when you set foot on Chinese soil, that’s when the Big Brother starts watching you right away. You get the Squid Game vibes right off the bat: there are cartoon cats, dogs, and pandas on the walls, smiling anime faces on all the snacks sold in vendor machines, and joyful music in the background ia la la … And then, right then and there: “hey, show us your passport, eyeballs, fingerprints…”
And obviously, no American apps and websites work here — you need a VPN to use your Internet properly. Then you suddenly realize the VPN you have is not good enough.
And without it, you cannot install a new VPN… It took me hours to open my email.
When I arrived in Shiyan and took a taxi to my hotel, I could finally chill in the passenger seat. I was done with the inconveniences of travel this time around. And that’s when I finally felt the joy and excitement of my Chinese adventure.
Tai Chi: Why Is It Worth It?
The next morning, after spending a night at a ghost town of Shiyan (there was literally no one in the street at night, despite it being Saturday night), I was put on the bus to Wudang Mountain and went straight to my destination: the Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy.
It was a school of tai chi.
Why tai chi?
Well, Wudang Mountain has much to offer: Tai Chi, Qi-gong, Kung-fu, longevity practices — the menu is impressive.
My original plan was to embrace my panda alter ego and study kung fu, but because of the massive delay experienced on the way due to the war, that plan had to be turned into a plan B: tai chi. “Kung fu next time” — I thought to myself.
What Makes Tai Chi Different?
Tai Chi is sometimes called a martial art, but to me, it’s a form of meditation.
Focus, balance, precision, and natural flow of movement matter more than physical strength here.
And it’s a beneficial activity for everyone, at every age — I got two pairs of Tai Chi leather shoes so that I could train in the garden with my Mum after getting back to Poland.
Tai Chi, the “Wudang style,” comes in “forms” — a choreography of 8, 28, 33, or 108 moves. You can find an example of an 8-form performed by Master Gu here.
And I can tell you from experience: it looks easier than it is. You have to memorize the choreography of moves that don’t really make sense to your body.
And it’s a frustratingly slow process. Anyway, it’s rewarding.
And what is “chi”? “Chi” [also spelled qi or ki] is simply the Chinese word for “breath.” On the physical level, it is the raw air we breathe in and out, revitalizing us and keeping us alive.
“Tai chi” literally translates from Chinese as “supreme ultimate” (or “grand ultimate”), while its full traditional name, tai chi chuan (or taijiquan), means “supreme ultimate fist.” It is all about channeling your energy in a way that balances your mind and body. According to a 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, taiji practice produces a small-to-moderate but statistically significant reduction in perceived stress compared to no treatment.
Master Gu and His Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy.
And so, after almost a week spent since departure, I finally arrived at the famous Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy. The property was not located at the top of the Wudang Mountain, as you might infer from its website.
It was hidden on a slope positioned beautifully over a valley of tea plantations, in proximity to hotels and temples. And the outdoor training ground in the woods.
Master Gu is a unique individual in general. He was sober enough to choose studies in English literature. That makes him one of a few tai chi / martial arts teachers on the mountain who can speak English decently well.
He is of a tiny posture; in many ways, he gives me the vibe of Shifu, the Kung Fu master from Kung Fu Panda. And, he is equally charismatic.
He leads his school up the hill. But he also has a family down in the city, namely a wife and two daughters. Plus, he has a sweet sister who lives at the Academy and cooks for his students.
Plus, he had a group of volunteers staying around and teaching tai chi steps in his name. He made it all so convenient for himself! Ergo, a good Daoist.
Not Your Typical Guru
Gu is also a representative of Philosophical Daoism, which focuses on the natural flow of life. That’s opposed to Religious Daoism, which involves rituals, deities, and practices for spiritual longevity.
You can find many temples offering religious practices and rituals on the mountain. But Gu is not a fan, to say the least.
Gu is practical and does not go deep into philosophy, details of canonical Daoist lifestyle, or complex rituals. That also causes him some criticism, especially when it comes to online teachings where people cannot experience being at the Academy and expect detailed verbal information instead. When they hear simplistic rules for life instead of top-secret Illuminati-level hacks for life, they often end up disappointed.
He is an example of the person who is a late bloomer: going under the radar doing his unique craft for decades until a breakthrough changes his life.
And that breakthrough came in the pandemic, when a YouTuber, George Thompson, was passing by his school. He got locked down in the Academy.
Unable to get out, he started digging deep into tai chi and Daoist philosophy, and befriended Master Gu. That made him kind of famous, as he started recording movies introducing the Wudang ecosystem to the rest of the world.
And that’s how a gem got noticed.
After returning to the UK, Thompson recorded a video course with Gu. Together, they launched an online learning platform which is, to my knowledge, quite profitable.
I calculated that modest, tiny Master Gu, walking around his property in rags, might actually be a multimillionaire by now. He just keeps quiet about it.
Well, fortune comes to the prepared. Gu had been on the job for 25+ years at that point.
His Teaching Style: Balance Out, Simplify
What’s Gu’s teaching style? Well, his teachings are simple but powerful.
Just keep close to nature, work on the connection between your mind and body, stay grounded, and do proper breath work.
Then, you slowly but steadily become good at noticing patterns, balancing things out, cleaning your mind, and simplifying your life.
And, you become unflappable.
He is into simplifying things, even if that means simplifying rules for how to simplify things.
After listening to him for just one afternoon, I could tell that all his Daoist teachings can be reduced to just two rules: “balance out” and “simplify” (wu wei). It’s a very simple algebra for life with only two operations to pick from.
And isn’t that true!
In the vast majority of life problems, you optimize more than just one variable at a time. You might get more revenue, but at the cost of time, health, relationships, etc. They are not the problems of maximizing or minimizing something, but finding a balance (or optimizing a cost function that has multiple variables).
I can also say that Gu is super patient and has a strong work ethic. After all, every student coming to the school is clumsy while learning basic Tai Chi steps.
And yet, Gu diligently shows the draft, step by step. He treats all students equally.
A Few Moments With Gu
And he is charismatic.
On my first day, he took me to his office to have a chat. At some point, he smiled at me and said: “Natalia. I like your name.
Na-ta-lia. Your name is a poem.”
No one had ever said that to me before!
Then he took me to a stoned pavement on the road to his school to show me Tai Chi steps.
You must know that tai chi walking is not a simple walk; it’s much more than that; it’s more like creeping. You need to carry your center of mass low as if you were a tiger hunting in the woods. Let me tell you, it can feel cringy at first.
After lunch, Gu brought other students and me to a lecture hall to give us a lecture about the Tao. During the lecture, I tried to ask him an elaborate question.
And I think it took me ten minutes to even formulate it end to end. Gu looked at me with a bit of disgust and said: “You are too much in your mind, and not enough in your body.” … and then he moved on to the next topic.
The Day in the Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy.
The total capacity of the Academy was roughly 15-20 students but while I was there, there were about 7-8 of us. Most of the students came for longer periods — some of them for as long as three months. And yes, yes, you scored the Bingo card just right — most of the students were people of the West, primarily Gen Z and Millennials.
Our junior teacher, a dancer and tai chi champ, Ele from France, was staying for a year to help out with the training.
The archetype for the ideal day at the academy was this:
06:30-07:20 Morning Walk (Take out trash)
07:20-08:00 Standing Meditation (Zhan Zhuang), Energy Gathering, Body Regulation
08:00-08:30 Breakfast
08:30-08:55 Cleaning
09:00-11:00 Practice (Qigong/Martial Arts)
11:00-12:00 Free Time (or Guqin/Chinese Chess)
12:00-12:30 Lunch
13:00-14:30 Free Time (or Nap/Meditation)
14:30-16:00 Daoist Culture (Mon/Wed: Domestic | Tue/Thu: International)
16:00-17:50 Practice (Qigong/Martial Arts)
18:00-18:30 Dinner
18:40-19:40 Evening Walk
20:00-21:00 Daoist Tea Chat & Free Discussion (or Review)
…with Thursdays being free days.
It sounds like this is not an exercise-intensive programming, but given the weather was still cold (early spring after all) and I had jet lag, the intensity was just right.
The food cooked by Master Gu’s lovely sister was traditional Chinese cuisine, Daoist version — based on rice, cooked vegetables, with some chicken and fish, and occasionally sweets. Traditional Daoist diet is supposed to be exactly 20% meat, and I’d say this diet was faithfully Daoist.
Actually, Gu had to leave for Beijing for a few days while I was there, so I mostly had training with his assistants, but that was fine as they were young and eager to help out, and without Gu in the room, the whole experience felt like a summer camp.
Actually, one of the students turned out to be a professional poker player — which, in the absence of Master Gu, turned our evenings into a casino. Och well.
And, on the free day, we went for dinner in Shiyan city together, which was lovely.
I was lucky to get a room that was close enough to the router so that I could still use the Internet. I wasn’t in a position to truly disconnect from the outer world for so long. However, given the simple setting of the surroundings, outdoor practices out in nature, and conversations by the table and without a phone for a week, I could feel that my mind was resting properly
Chinese Culture.
Can you learn anything about Chinese culture if you only spend a week on the mountain? Certainly yes! This was enough time to notice that the Chinese are truly proud of their culture.
They take proper care of their national heritage. We visited the nearby Purple Cloud Temple with other students — what a marvel!
After leaving the Academy on my last day, I also made a lonely trip to the Golden Summit aka Jinding (3,077 asl) at the very top of the Wudang Mountain in a white inferno of heavy snow, where I saw perhaps three Western faces among thousands and thousands of Chinese flooding the castle for the whole day (which means I’m doing something right while traveling). Chinese love this place.
Besides, we cannot impact the afterlife, so no point thinking about it too much… BUT now that I made an offering to the gods at the peak of the Golden Summit, I felt well equipped. I think I officially licked all the godly butts now; from Biblical God, through Hindu, Buddhist Boddhisattvas, Daoist deities… — you name it.
Modern Chinese Life: Tech, Commerce, and Craft
Chinese have their own version of everything, from Google (i.e., Bing), through social media and online payment systems like PayPal or Stripe (all lumped into WeChat here), through Starbucks (here, known as Luckin Coffee) to Chinese chess. They compete with very Western concept or brand. I specifically wanted to learn Chinese chess to impress my Dad back in Europe, but I miserably failed; my peers spent an hour explaining the rules to me, and then it took me five or so moves to lose the game.
We also had a workshop in calligraphy, which was a beautiful experience. I cannot imagine how long you need to train to be as good at creating this artwork on a pergaminum. It must be a meditation technique in itself.
Chinese Government.
While chatting over tea at night, I couldn’t ask my fellow foreigners this: how do they feel about Big Brother?
In fact, the Chinese government is an evil so smart that you are starting to root for it. It’s like rooting for an intelligent villain in a feature movie. It is that creative at pulling out your data at every corner and quietly invigilating you.
For instance, if you pay for your Luckin Coffee with the WeChat app, it’s twice as cheap. That’s compared to paying for the same coffee at the counter.
You can even order literally standing in front of the counter — just give them your data. And you’ll get a 50% discount. Och, the government is plugged into your WeChat 24/7; I hope you know that.
I was quite shocked that Westerners living in China for 10+ years seemed not to bother too much about these practices and believed that the government “takes good care of its citizens” and “all this invigilation is for good.” They also argued that Western governments do the exact same to their residents, just more discreetly…
It’s bittersweet to hear that, as the same people were too afraid to even make a phone call to Europe or the US. They knew they would be invigilated and questioned for it by the local police.
I’d say more: they were so afraid to use the keyword “government” that every time we were talking, they were starting to whisper. I was like, “Why the hell do you whisper if we are here alone, high up the mountain?” “You never know.” – I heard in response.
Is Life Really Getting Better Here?
Westerners living here also claimed that the Chinese system is “socialism done the good way” while the American system is “capitalism done the wrong way.” In other words, an oligarchy. And, they claimed that the quality of life is quickly ramping up for everyone in China.
I was puzzled to hear this. I took a proper evening walk on my night in Shiyan, and I would swear I saw more poverty in Shiyan City than I had ever seen in the slums of Delhi.
The main street in the city looks presentable, like a classic shopping street. But if you step sideways, take a turn. And explore any of the adjacent narrow streets perpendicular to it, you will see deep poverty.
It feels insane to see all this dirt and all these buildings breaking apart and still believe that “life is good” for the locals. Smells like brainwashing if you ask me.
What Did I Gain From Being Here?
Why do I enjoy traveling in the first place? Because on travel, your life simplifies; for a moment you can forget all your projects and devote yourself to a single goal: your whole mission is to get from point A to point B.
The opinion of other people, the style in which you’ll get there, and the distant future all don’t matter. The only thing that matters is here and now.
I’m good at physically suffering when I know it’s temporary: no sleep, little random stressors, uncertainty related to travel, varying weather — it’s all fine. The joy of doing one simple thing is worth it.
Now, I received a playbook for how to simplify my whole life.
More Internal Silence.
There are days when I miss my peaceful childhood spent with no Internet.
Your mind is your fortress, gatekeeper. Observing myself for a week, I realized how much garbage is still there to remove.
And I feel like my mind is a wild, uncompromised horse that kicks in every direction with no control. As Lao Tzu once said, „Whoever wants to master the world should master oneself.”
Well, easy to say in 2026. But I decided to try.
I had a call at the end of my stay. And I received a Mantra from Master Gu, which I can use whenever feeling disbalanced or unrest:
With a mind free from distraction and desire,
The true Qi will follow accordingly.
When the spirit is held inside,
How can illness ever arise?
2. Stay in Your Body.
As Master Gu said about me, I’m too much in my mind and too little in my body. 40 years going on with no sports, and with so little time spent in the green…
One of my peers at the Academy, Alex (who also happened to be a professional poker player), recommended this book to me: “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.
Tolle teaches that most people are overly identified with their thoughts, living almost entirely in their minds—replaying the past or anticipating the future. The book offers a simple but powerful shift: instead of trying to control thinking, redirect attention to the present moment through the body. By sensing the “inner body”—your breath, posture, and subtle physical sensations—you move from abstract thinking into direct experience.
This shift naturally quiets the mind, reduces overthinking, and creates a sense of grounded presence. In this state, action becomes more intuitive and aligned, less forced—echoing the Daoist idea of effortless action, or Wu Wei.
Some time after returning to Europe, I read the book. It was brilliant and helped me keep my mind short.
3. Emotional Intelligence.
I think this whole situation related to war was a good training ground to test my limits at accepting bad news and not letting anything get under my skin. I’m still not any close to stoic — but I’m one step closer.
And, while at the Academy, I experienced a small existential crisis. On my second day of training. I experienced some severe stomach problems that looked like stomach flu.
The whole day was spent in bed with a severe headache — that’s what happens to you when you have a stomach revolution. Unable to move, I couldn’t even get rid of the dirty sheets.
At that point, I felt like I was on the very bottom. I was asking myself: “What the hell are you doing here — at the age of 40, seeking no-one-knows-what in Chinese mountains, shitting yourself for the whole day?
How did it come to this?” I was blaming myself for my libertarian lifestyle, my addictions (and especially those like YouTube that steal a lot of time and attention), and for a general lack of character.
Coincidentally, on my night in Shiyan, I watched Mark Manson’s new YT movie “How To Change Your Entire Life In One Day” whose whole point was that, to change your life, you often need to fall to the very bottom first. And it has to be painful enough to make you hate yourself deeply. I think I just reached that point.
4. Practice to Live With.
You don’t leave Wudang Mountains without practice to live by. I learned a basic routine of 8 steps (as you can see in the movie below):
I have to say that practicing tai chi works for me as a form of meditation. Sitting in silence or guided meditation never worked for me — I had too many intrusive thoughts despite trying to focus. But meditation through light movement?
It’s brilliant. It’s perfect for the soft life I’m living. And what’s most important, when I need to focus on making the right sequence of moves, I forget abotu the outer world.
I was also learning the 5-animal qi-gong, Wudang Style while at the Academy. But in all honesty, I didn’t memorize the full routine.
5. The World’s Hardest Meditation.
What I also learned in Wudang, was a 20-minute standing meditation with arms raised, known as the Zhan Zhuang Qigong. There is no other instruction: the only playbook is: “don’t move.”
This one is tricky as it looks so innocent. It’s just a little but itchy inconvenience for a long time — not just starring at the wall like some YouTubers do, but standing in a slightly uncomfortable position. According to Goyal and colleagues (2014), meditation programs reliably reduce anxiety and psychological stress, if modestly.
It sounds and looks easy… but it’s darn hard, and your mind soon becomes your enemy: when you stand like that, immobile like a stone, all the monsters come out on your head.
“Why are you doing this? Idiotic, what are you trying to prove? Put down your arms, you stupid.
You are neither working on your business, nor your private life, nor resting — complete waste of your time. Och your forehead needs scratching!”
But hey, you need to persevere. You cannot look behind your back while going through hell.
I would try that in the sauna — that would add the whole next level of hell!
Conclusions: This is Yet Another Collective Intelligence Hubspot.
Wudang is yet another “collective intelligence mountain” with its own culture, its own food chain (yes, local spiritual leaders compete for supremacy) — which gives me a reminiscence of the local economy at Kilimanjaro, except people come here to work on their minds and lifestyles rather than to do sports.
While being here, I thought about collective intelligence hubs more broadly. It’s not random people who get attracted to a place like this and create a hivemind. But rather, it’s typically the Maslow’s Theory Z people.
People of all passports, and varying ambitions and goals (following the Blue Ocean strategy, non-competitive toward each other),
There is a price to pay for the inconvenience (San Francisco: chaos in the streets, high living costs; Kilimanjaro: cold nights, anti-malaria meds causing skin sunburns, Dharamshala: brutally cold winters and hot summers, diet hard to adjust to for a Westerner; Burning Man: dust getting everywhere, extremely high temperatures, and occasional thunderstorms, etc.),
The real price to pay for belonging to such a hub is a misunderstanding of your local environments. These hubs are clusters of misfits.
I believe there should be a separate passport for us.
I even thought to myself that my ideal lifestyle would be to stick to an orbit rather than a single location, and to circulate among these collective intelligence hubs: make San Francisco the home base, make a trip to 1-3 hubs in Southeast Asia every spring, and another trip to Burning Man every late summer.
… But With High Barriers to Entry.
Practicalities of coming to Wudang for a tai chi course? As a tourist, you don’t need a visa for up to a 30-day stay, but you definitely need a good VPN (don’t listen to online ads — LetsVPN has the best coverage in China; it’s the only one that’s not patchy and all foreigners use it here). And, you have to know YOU WILL be observed closely.
Costs for the tai chi course? Master Gu charges €700 or $800 per week (no extra costs for food and lodging); you can stay as long as you like.
Sounds straightforward… but if you travel to China dreaming of magic waterfalls, koi fish, dragons, all that magic… You might get disappointed.
Not only is tourism in China expensive, but it is also not a typical tourist attraction. Wudang Mountain is prepared for Chinese tourists more than for foreigners.
As mentioned before, no one speaks English here — and I truly mean “no one.” I don’t mean “some people stutter in English” — if you try chatting with 100 people at the bus station, likely no one speaks even basic English. So, if you are lost, you are truly lost.
People are also not in “smiling” mode. If you are a foreigner, they simply don’t trust you, feel uncomfortable around you.
And speak to you in a somber or nervous way. I would say their basic emotions are “proud” and “paranoid.”
And, there are barely any foreigners in the crowd. As mentioned before, among thousands of people on the top of the Golden Summit, I saw three Western faces, not more. So, if you choose to come here, you can prepare to interact with your peers from the same temple or school, primarily.
Was It Worth It?
I’d say this: I didn’t feel particularly welcome in there. If not for the fact that I came to China for Wudang and for Master Gu’s teachings, it wouldn’t have been worth it. And if you want to avoid stressors and have a proper vacation, this is definitely not the place.
But hey, it was so worth it! After coming back to Poland, I continued the habit of practicing tai chi in the mornings, this time with my Mum in our garden.
And then, when traveling to San Francisco again, I started climbing skyscrapers and practicing tai chi in there, on the rooftops. Highly recommended.
About This Article
Please cite as:
Bielczyk, N. (2026, August 6th). Balance Out. Simplify. Bootstrap Your Mind. Lessons from Wudang, the Cradle of Daoism. Retrieved from: https://nataliabielczyk.com/daoism-lessons-from-wudang/
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