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When Andy Caponigro tells you to watch your breath, he means it, literally. The
master breath and bodywork therapist uses ancient breathing techniques to
aid the many people who arrive with a variety of ailments at his workshops
or at his office in Hadley, Massachusetts.
"The breath is the greatest of all natural wonders. Even more, it is the
greatest of all miracles. It not only provides direct access to some of the most
powerful healing energies in the universe, it also contains a master key to understanding
some of the deepest mysteries of human existence," says Caponigro, who has
taught doctors, therapists and other breathwork clinicians for more than 35 years.
A former concert guitarist, Andy came to his healing work quite by accident.
"While I was teaching music to my students, I found that some played
better than others because of their relative lack of anxiety and their
ability to concentrate well." he said. At that time he was studying
yoga and meditation for his own benefit but soon found that he was teaching
his breathing techniques to his music students to help them relax and
improve their focus. Andy found that by getting his students to breathe
better, their playing improved. The key was to help his students concentrate
more effectively on the music by lessening their tension and fear.
One day, a student asked Andy to work with his brother who was having
pain and headaches from a spinal tap that doctors had given him, but
which they couldn't relieve with medications. Although Andy was hesitant
because he was not a licensed practitioner, the student insisted. So
Andy saw the young man and taught him some breathing techniques to help
him with his pain. "The treatment worked
within ten minutes, and I charged him for the healing session as if it was a
regular music lesson,"
says Andy, who was now moving further away from his music and into a
new field—a new journey for his life.
That journey eventually took him to India where he studied yoga and learned
about Prana—the divine life force that makes it possible for us to breathe. With
time, he also learned about "Primordial Breathing,"
the breathwork of the Chinese sages that uses the powers of the spiritual
energy which they call Chi. Most importantly, he learned that the same
breathing techniques which the Eastern sages practiced to attain enlightenment,
were also useful for mastering fear, healing illnesses and increasing
longevity.
Andy would pass his new-found knowledge of breathing techniques on to
his students along with various kinds of bodywork therapies he learned
along the way. The more he learned, and the more of his work he shared
with his students, the more he found himself treating other professional
musicians who had strained their muscles from playing their instruments
in forced or cramped positions. Before long, Andy found himself not only
treating patients with diseases like arthritis, lupus, migraine headaches
and asthma, but also treating doctors and health practitioners who were
so stressed out that they too needed to learn how to "watch their
breath."
"In yoga it is said "Master of breath is master of life." Andy Caponigro is truly a master of breath. I would highly recommend other health care professionals to learn this work and teach it to their clients."-- Abbas Qutab, MD, founder, Elan Vital Medical Center
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