Gay Men, Tantra & the Power of Touch | Interview with DaddyGuru

In this episode, Tom sits down with DaddyGuru, to explore tantra, spirituality, erotic maturity, and healing for gay men. Drawing from his book, You Are the Love of Your Life, Daddy Guru shares how his own journey led him to tantric yoga and to creating retreats focused on self-awareness, connection, and healing.
They discuss kundalini energy, the inner child, and the importance of reconnecting with the parts of ourselves that may have been shaped by trauma, shame, or societal expectations. Daddy Guru explains why intimacy begins with ourselves and how understanding our own energy, boundaries, and vulnerability can change the way we connect with others.
The conversation also explores the role of touch in healing. Daddy Guru describes his retreats, which combine breathwork, meditation, sensuality, and structured touch exercises to help participants become more present in their bodies and experience connection without pressure to perform.
Throughout the episode, Tom and Daddy Guru consider how spirituality and psychology can work together in healing. His central message is that we are already whole—and that by embracing both our light and our shadow, reconnecting with our inner child, and learning to love ourselves, we can create more nourishing relationships with others.
About DaddyGuru:
John Kristopher Thomsen — known to his students and clients as DaddyGuru — is a Canadian Tantric teacher, intimacy healer, and spiritual guide based at Casa Kāma, his spiritual finca and healing sanctuary in western Costa Rica. In 1984, at the age of 20, he came out of the closet at the height of the AIDS epidemic and has spent the last 42 years navigating the full terrain of gay male life — including surviving both physical and sexual abuse, a 28-year marriage that ultimately came apart under the weight of unrealistic erotic expectations within gay culture, and an awakening at a Tantra retreat in Spain that changed the direction of his life forever. Today he works with gay men navigating the gap between erotic freedom and real intimacy, drawing on Tantra, somatic awareness, and inner child work. He's the author of the new book You Are the Love of Your Life, which serves as the foundation of his healing practice and what he teaches.
Connect with DaddyGuru:
Website: theDaddyGuru.comhttp://thedaddyguru.com
Book: amazon.com/dp/B0H6HJ9LSM
Instagram: theDaddyGuru
YouTube Channel: theDaddyGuru
TikTok: theDaddyGuru
Connect with Tom:
Website: queerrelationshipinstitute.com
Instagram: @queerrelationshipinstitute
Get his book: a.co/d/0gtUEAC5
Get your FREE set of relationship discussion cards for gay men: queerrelationshipinstitute.com/cards