


"If you want to change the world, change the way you see the world."
-Joseph
Joyful Images Photography
MEET JOSEPH HIRT
Joseph Hirt is a yoga teacher, a three-time Black belt martial artist (Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, Sunmudo) and a long time practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu, the ancient Japanese art of harmonizing the life energy within the body.
He also specializes in Energy Balancing techniques, Physio-Synthesis (Inner Muscle Balancing) and Posture.
In addition to years of training in both the U.S. and a Korean Monastery, Joseph has also learned life concepts from his past careers as an airplane mechanic, a district coordinator for seized properties, an auctioneer, an inventor, and the owner of a retail store.
However, Joseph’s life is perhaps best understood as a series of stories. We invite you to explore below and get to know Joseph in his own voice.
Roll over the square images below for stories from Joseph’s life path…
“It was a really small, conservative town and I had long hair like a hippie. So when I got off my shift, all the intoxicated laborers in the town would search me out and beat me up. It’s really bad when you start getting bruised on your bruises. I became inspired to pursue martial arts.
“When I got back to Los Angeles, I started studying with various teachers. I eventually ended up in the Black Karate Federation (BKF), where I studied for 16 years. It was an all-black organization, but I was accepted by the Grand Master and eventually earned Black belts.”
“But I found that through breathing in a certain way, I could enter into a tranquil state of mind. It felt like I was in a bubble where everything was isolated. And it made all that running very possible. That was where I discovered that breath can lead you into something other than just keeping you alive.”
“I didn’t plan anything. I just put some gear on my bike and I went! I slept wherever, just winging it the whole way. And I had a really great time. I learned that if you have a natural sense of curiosity, that leads to taking adventures. And taking adventures leads to trusting life.”
“One night, an airplane crashed at the airport. I ran over and saw that the pilot had run off, leaving behind a plane full of drugs. A few minutes later, the D.E.A. Drug Enforcement showed up. The D.E.A. officers arranged for me to keep the airplane in my hangar after they stripped it for evidence.
“That lead to several years of becoming a custodian for seized property. After awhile, I got connected with a company that handled seized property and took a job as district coordinator for L.A. County. And that’s how I ended up in the corporate world.”
“After a lot of physical therapy, I finally decided to go back to what I knew: yoga, vegan food, meditation, martial arts and running. And I immediately started to feel better.
“I was offered an executive position and it was an incredible offer – a lot of money, pension, and benefits. But my happiness was more important to me than my wealth, and I knew that I wasn’t happy in a corporate lifestyle. So I turned it down.
“One of the reasons that the Divine gave me this corporate experience is so that I could relate to people in this position and understand this perspective on life.”
“When you are up there at the podium in front of 3,000 people, they call it chanting. I had to keep track of the bidders, what number item I was on, how much each item costs… all while encouraging people to spend more and maintaining excellent pronunciation. I learned about control of breath, posture, clarity. It reminded me of the martial arts.
“I was able to chant for a good three hours – longer than most people. After I would do an auction, my body would have a vibration in it for three days afterwards because I was using my diaphragm so much. That vibration was the Kundalini energy.”
“I couldn’t walk for months. I couldn’t lie down, stand, walk, lie on my belly, lie on my back, or sit in a chair. The only position that didn’t cause me to have severe pain was sitting cross-legged in a meditation position. So I spent basically three months straight meditating. And you know what? It worked! I learned how to fix backs.”
“I trained with him for years and was invited to study at his monastery in Korea. I became his first American Black belt in the martial art form, Sunmudo.”
“I realized how important it is not to tell people something, just because it might be what they want to hear. If you speak from the heart, you avoid complications like resentment, anger, irritation, frustration. That all goes away and you are left with one thing: the truth.”