Lara no longer accepts insurance except for Motor vehicles, HSA and FSA cards.

Licensed Acupuncturist | Herbalist | Functional Nutrition Practitioner Founder, Wellness Bunkie @ PDX Acupuncture

Welcome to the Wellness Bunkie—a peaceful backyard retreat in Portland, Oregon, thoughtfully created to be a soft landing for women navigating the beautiful, messy, and often overwhelming terrain of perimenopause and beyond.

I’m Lara, a Licensed Acupuncturist, herbalist, cupping specialist, and Certified Functional Nutrition & Lifestyle Practitioner. With over 18+ years in practice, I bring a warm, highly personalized approach to care—blending Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cosmetic Acupuncture and microneedling, Functional Nutrition, Crystal Healing Sound Bowls and deep intuitive conversation to help you feel good on the inside and out.

My path to becoming a healer began in an unlikely place: a small fishing town in Alaska. I met a local healer whose kombucha-scented apothecary and powerful presence stirred something deep in me—and I’ve been studying the art of whole-person healing ever since. That journey has also included my own health challenges—long childhood illnesses that left me feeling alone and unseen, and a vow I made (before I even knew it) to help others never feel that way again.

The Wellness Bunkie is the realization of that vow. It’s a calm, safe place where your symptoms are taken seriously, your stories are heard, and your care is as layered and dynamic as you are.

I specialize in: • Musculoskeletal pain (especially when chronic illness is also in the mix) • Perimenopause + hormonal transitions • Autoimmune + digestive disorders • Hemiplegic migraines + stress-related symptoms • Motor vehicle accident recovery • Aesthetic and facial rejuvenation acupuncture

I also love working with young women navigating difficult periods or trauma histories, and I happily collaborate with other providers when your journey calls for extra support. As well as kids in my neighborhood that play sports and need more creative care than Western medicine can give them.

As a person who natural doesn’t sit still well, I have become an avid yogi, and recent lifter of things heavy, when I’m not with patients or mixing up herbal elixirs (check out my other project, SuperCube), you’ll find me on forest trails, swimming in the Gorge, or momming two tween boys. I believe that healing is deeply personal, often nonlinear, and always worth the work. And you don’t have to do it alone.

The Wellness Bunkie is open. Come as you are. Let’s get you feeling like you again.

(OR License #AC1068)

Lara no longer accepts insurance except for Motor vehicles, HSA and FSA cards. Licensed Acupunct... Read More