Andrew Arvid Knudsen
On April 27, 2023, Andrew Arvid Knudsen of Shelton passed away peacefully at the age of 86 with his loving family at his side. Andy was born in New Rochelle NY a son of the late Andrew Knudsen and Lillian (Ketchum) (Knudsen) Shields. Married the late Hazel (Lucy) (Knudsen) Ciccotti and raised 3 children.
Andy proudly served his country in the Army of the United States where he served overseas for 2 years in Germany. Andy worked in the restaurant business until his retirement. Everyone loved all his stories from growing up in City Point, New Haven, army training and his army tanks, working at the Tivoli restaurant, Quinnipiack Club and New Haven Country Club as well as his adventures on the golf course. Andy was a hardworking, and gentle kind man who loved animals and all animals were attracted to him. There are many pictures of him surrounded by family pets at numerous family get-togethers. He always adopted rescue pets; many were seniors, some needing special care or that were returned to shelters. He remained in his home of 60+ years that he raised his family in and was fondly known as “Uncle Buddy” in the neighborhood.
Andy is preceded in death by his sister Jeanne (Parsons) Puzycki; sister Barbara J. (Knudsen) (Wilber) Fischer; and brother David Knudsen.
He is survived by his cherished children, Jeffrey Knudsen (Michael Schwartz) of Boston, MA; Christine (Knudsen) Walker (Leonard Walker) of Shelton, CT; Melissa (Knudsen) Seften (David Seften) of Torrington, CT; and beloved grandchildren, Karli Walker of Morristown, AZ; Leah Walker of Oxford, CT; and Molly Walker of Watertown, CT. He also leaves many beloved nieces and nephews who were so involved in their Uncle Buddy’s life.
The family will hold a private service at a later date. In lieu of flowers please make donations to Shelton Animal Shelter or The Connecticut Humane Society.
WESTPORT — An emerging form of therapy has made its way to Connecticut.
The Harmonic Egg is a chamber that uses sound and light therapy to tap into the body’s natural ability to heal, resetting the autonomic nervous system in a 50-minute session, said Lisa Pak, owner of Hummingbird Healing Center, where it is located. Its the first of four of these eggs in the Northeast.
Though Pak can be the only person within a 40 mile radius with one of these, she hopes more healing studios add sound and light therapy, and even get their own Harmonic Eggs.
“It’s transformed my world, and I hope it transforms others,” she said of sound and light therapy.
According to the National Library of Medicine,
Owner Lisa Pak next to the Harmonic Egg at Hummingbird Healing Center in Westport last week.
the autonomic nervous system “regulates involuntary physiologic processes including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion and sexual arousal.”
The process to get a Harmonic Egg is not an easy one, Pak said. There are only about 130 worldwide.
After seeing a television segment with the inventor,
Pak said it inspired her to quit her job as an interior designer during COVID-19, as she already knew she wanted to leave the business and switch industries.
She went all the way to Colorado to interview for an egg, since they are not mass produced, and was selected to received one.
Pak said she received the egg in April 2022, had a soft opening in December and an official ribbon cutting on April 14.
The egg is about 11 feet wide and seven feet tall, Pak said. The user sits inside on a zero-gravity chair, with the lights and sounds customized depending on how many sessions the user has done.
“We live in these crazy modern times where we’re just always on the go,” Pak said.
The purpose of the egg is to allow users to deeply relax, entering a healing state. Pak said while sitting in it, each body performs its own healing, which is similar to what happens during yoga, acupuncture or Reiki.
Each of the soundtracks and light colors chosen are curated based on the patron and whatever they are going through physically and mentally, she said. It is similar to meditation with the user even get tucked in with a blanket, in case that person gets cold.
Pak said they typically recommend anywhere from three to 10 sessions, about once a week.
Pak said this type of healing can help with a number of issues such as anxiety, PTSD, insomnia and some auto-immune diseases.
Color and light therapy has been around for thousands of years, she added, so it is a return to ancient techniques. Gail Lynn, the Harmonic Egg’s inventor, wrote a book called “Unlocking the Ancient Secrets to Healing” about it.
Pak said the egg is “about as natural as you can get,” as it is made from wood, only including sound from two speakers and a subwoofer, LED lights and the chair.
She said she believes there is a movement for sound therapy, similar to how yoga came into popularity over the last 30 years or so.
In Europe, Pak said, there are sound studios similar to how there are yoga studios in the U.S., which she hopes becomes normalized.
Pak said she is even interested in collaborating with other studios to get them involved with sound and light therapy.
“I would really like people to be transformed through sound and light,” she said.
kayla.mutchler@ hearstmediact.com