Charles Introduces Himself: I was born in Princeton, New Jersey, while my father was attending graduate school. After he finished, we moved to New York City, where at the age of two, I was enrolled in the Hunter College Day School. At age 5, we moved to the suburbs and I entered public kindergarten, already reading at 4th grade level. Public school was frustrating to me, as I was pushed into math and science, when my deeper interests were in the arts and philosophy. After public school, I attended several colleges and universities, ending up disappointed and unfulfilled. What I was seeking wasn’t there- a deeper understanding of self and human nature- so I turned in the direction of a more spiritual approach to life. This new direction led me to Arica Institute, an eclectic school of mysticism and meditation, where I was exposed to many approaches to awaken consciousness, including yoga- and taiji-based exercise, dietary practices, and many forms of meditation and mystical practice. I spent two exceptional years as part of the teaching group at the New York center. After leaving Arica, I took part in a new therapeutic group process that included elements of psychotherapy, gestalt, meditation, guided imagery and breath work to cleanse the emotional body. This was an experience that led to a deep opening for me as I came to an understanding of how one is conditioned so as to lose contact with one’s true nature. In the end, all of the therapists and about ¾ of the group participants began a long love affair of devotional work with the Indian master now known as Osho. I spent a year in the ashram in India experiencing more processes of awakening through meditation, which included rebirthing- what is now known as breath therapy. Osho died in 1990, while I was finishing my formal acupuncture studies. Some years later, the woman whom I would later marry introduced me to Toni Packer, a teacher who came out of the Zen tradition, but who, after being influenced by the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, moved into a simpler way of deepening one’s experience of the present moment- being silent. In deep silence, one tends to breathe less- more quietly and gently- leading to an expanded awareness of the moment. I finished acupuncture school in 1991, but continued my studies while practicing. In 2008, my practice expanded to include sophisticated software-based protocols for eliminating allergies and influencing symptoms associated with various breathing problems. This was a door into what was to come. In May of 2009, my wife saw a poster promoting an introduction to Buteyko, affecting asthma and allergies, and, thinking that this was competition for my work, called for information. We were invited to tea by Thomas and Sasha, and afterwards decided to take the Breathe-less and Lifestyles course. I would refer you to my testimonial on this web site to read about the profound effect Buteyko breath work has had on my health. As to my professional life, the effect has been no less profound. Here was a method that was healing people of systemic disorders that were often frustrating to me in my acupuncture practice. There’s a saying in Chinese Medicine that “The only true healing is self-healing”, and here were people learning a natural way of breathing, and healing themselves of asthma and other serious disorders. There was really no choice for me but to go deeper and to become a practitioner of the Buteyko Method. I discovered, as will those who choose to commit themselves to this work, that learning to reduce one’s breathing promotes healing on all levels of life- physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. I look forward to working with individuals who are ready and willing to make this investment, to commit the time and energy to changing their lives, as this method produces all the results that I have been looking for since I entered the world of healing as a practitioner. It really works. | 
