I’ve been teaching yoga for 45 years and have known Joe for at least 25 years of those. I first met Joe in the early 90s when he attended one of my workshops, soon after the publication of my second book. Since that time, we’ve shared in each other’s journeys. Joe is the quintessential renaissance man. He’s a painter, writer, consummate yogi, and true seeker. In 2008, for instance, while Ana and I were leading a Kundalini Yoga workshop at Omega Institute in New York, Joe was attending a Visionary Artist Intensive led by Alex and Allyson Grey.
Joe has truly embodied these teachings in his lifetime journey. Joseph has a driving passion to get at the truth of things. His interest in yoga led him on a quest to clarify for himself the essence of the priceless teachings of yoga. He has studied in India and for most of his adult life has immersed himself in committed yogic practice. Joe and I are kindred spirits who are not afraid to do an end-run around dogma to arrive at what’s real and true.
I was living in New York City, in Lower Manhattan, when 9/11 happened. I was scheduled to teach a workshop for Joe in Maryland, but I felt an obligation to stay in New York and do volunteer work. Joe agreed, without hesitation. Only later did I learn he had to intercede on my behalf with the owner of the studio, who was furious and vowed never to book us ever again.
These days, mainstream medicine has a medication for every syndrome and a syndrome for every tingle. This is not a sustainable approach. We all need to get back to basics to restore some sanity to the proceedings–and what could be more doable than something we’re already doing, namely breathing!
It may be what us yogis have long suspected: Breath is the best medicine of all. The Saints and Sages of the Ages in their wisdom knew that desperate times called for desperate measures and that nothing is more immediate, direct, powerful, and purifying than conscious breathing.
Joe’s approach in this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. What Ana and I especially appreciate about Joe’s teaching and writing is that he doesn’t succumb to “yoga speak;” he shares his personal journey in a way that is truly authentic. In his Prologue, Joe describes his harrowing experience of being robbed at gunpoint; he attributes his survival that day to his decades of breath-centered practices, as provided in this book. His writing is creative, accurate, inspired, and fun; he brings an artistic vision to his path and practice that perfectly complements his commitment to scientific rigor.
Based on our experience, we can guarantee that if you make a commitment to the methods Joe shares, you will be healthier, happier, more creative, more courageous, more expansive, and more energized. May Joe’s great work, a veritable breath bible, be the resonator that oscillates this important message around the world.
-Ravi Singh and Ana Brett, authors of The Kundalini Yoga Book – Life in the Vast Lane