In addition to private practice, Lara served as supervising licensed acupuncturist of St. Vincent's Hospital's Integrative Stress Management Program from 2004-2008, overseeing NADA specialists and utilizing auricular acupuncture on perhaps thousands throughout the five boroughs. She has, also, volunteered her services locally and in New Orleans in response to Hurricane Katrina.

 

Even if it were not required by the licensing board, with her passion for learning and awareness of the seemingly infinite mystery of the human body, Lara would ceaselessly continue in her studies. Her life and practice were indelibly enriched through many years of participating in the Alchemical Healing Mentorship Program with five element acupuncturist and author, Lorie Dechar and astrologer Benjamin Fox. Lara regularly attends continuing education courses, including Saam style acupuncture with Toby Daly,  acupuncture for pregnancy and labor, facial rejuvenation, orthopedics and NADA (National Acupuncture Detox Association) certification training at Lincoln Hospital Recovery Center in the Bronx, and has completed a 250 hour teacher training certification in Kundalini yoga. Lara was a bio-anthropology major at SUNY Albany and a music lover who played in a few local bands, before embarking on her current career path. A more visceral awareness of the body comes from practicing various forms of yoga for over 30 years with emphasis on Iyengar and Kundalini, some of the internal martial arts (qi gong, ba gua, tai chi), and middle eastern belly dance.