My name is Lauren Renee Favreau.

I am the Founder and Doctor of Acupuncture of Rune.

The creation of this space marks my sixth year devoted to honing my craft in private practice. Before Rune’s inception, I was the Co-Founder of Empower Chiropractic & Acupuncture; a gem and cornerstone of my path as a clinician which laid the foundation for me to accumulate seasons of cherished experience providing the holistic offerings of Traditional East Asian Medicine to hundreds of dear clients across Southern and Central Maine. 

But now, I am wildly grateful to be in this new chapter and journey here at Rune with you all.

To both my beloved returning clients and those I am yet to meet, thank you for being here. 

But the story behind all of these chapters - behind the woman and practitioner I’ve become today goes back to my childhood in Briarcliff Manor, a village nestled within the brackish banks of the Lower Hudson River Valley. It’s a region shaped by winding dells which give rise to serrated palisades. Privy to shadows, it effused an alluring mystique all of its own; a spookiness practically saturated the soil, enchanting me since I was a little girl. 

I remember being enthralled with the musings of its history and folklore since I could walk: the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with The Headless Horseman, Rip Van Winkle...

Each evoked a wonder which matured into an affirmation to always seek out the magic around me, however it crossed my path. Or if not immediately present, to create my own magic through aligned thought and action.

I was the little girl who shrieked when the Scholastic Book Fair came around just so I could collect one more Goosebumps tale or whatever ghost story was newly released. I would spend hours building life-size fairy huts with sticks, stones, and vines foraged from the woods. Growing up in a hundred-year old historical home. I was inclined to what my mother called “Realming,” where I would have out-of-body experiences and visitations which frightened me until I could understand them. These experiences prompted my mother to introduce me to her circle of close intuitive friends and energy work from a young age. She went on to teach me the art of divination herself through Tarot as a way to lovingly encourage my body to remain tethered to my soul so I could engage with my intuition and safely apprehend the presences I sensed.

All the meanwhile, on a seemingly opposite end of the spectrum was another influential member of my family: my grandfather Dr. Edward Bottone, PhD, who in his prime became a prolific and world-renowned microbiologist. From his spearheading investigations and original  publications during the AIDS epidemic to being sought out by the Mayor of New York City to lead the Bioterrorism Task Force during 9-11, he was a brilliant man. He was a researcher, a beloved professor, and a creative writer. I would read his textbooks & essays, amazed by how he seamlessly intertwined science and art. What I mean is, he did not just describe different microbes at face-value. He personified them—bringing them to life in even the most academic of contexts. I always admired the lens with which he viewed the world: through his microscope, imagination, and prose.

My grandfather always took every opportunity to remind me and anyone in close-enough proximity for a conversation that since we share the same birthday of February 18th—dual souls born on Aquarius-Pisces cusp that I was “destined” (wagging his finger in the air for emphasis) to carry on his legacy in my own, unique way. When I ended up studying Political Science in college (a far cry from medicine and microbiology) I would wistfully shrug at his encouragement, not knowing how I could possibly intertwine science, medicine, and art in any way like he did. 

That was, until I found Acupuncture…

Before I became a practitioner of this medicine, I was a patient.

During my years at Marist College (a beautiful campus on the shores of the Hudson River, just an hour upstream from my childhood home) my health and life were, to my dismay, far from where I wanted them to be. 

Unpredictable mood swings and migraines kept me isolated from any sort of regular social life. I reached a point where instead of staying trapped in a spiral of heavy emotions, all I wanted was to feel at home in myself—in my body.

When I decided that it was time to feel better—that I was worthy of feeling better—was when my healing process began. 

It was from receiving Acupuncture during my last year of undergrad for depression, addiction, and migraines that I was mentored through my own healing process for the first time. I remember how through the stillness of treatments & conversations with my practitioner I was invited to look at how my past, circumstances, choices, mindset, and everyday habits were sources contribution to my pain (some obviously more beyond my control than others) but were the sources to feeling better—safer and at home in my own body — by facing it all.

Getting real, honest, and accountable where possible so I could move forward and pursue my potential. I learned that I could visit those places (a temporary salve can be found in dwelling if it soothes the soul) but I owed it to my body & health to not live there...

I remember being awe-struck at how after attending acupuncture consistently, I noticed a shift. I was changing.

Physically: my moods lifted, my cravings and compulsions to self-medicate ceased, my headaches even decreased in frequency and intensity until I learned how to manage and prevent them on my own. On an esoteric level, I remember witnessing my own thoughts through a newfound self-awareness: a shift towards non-judgement and compassion for where I was in my processing took the place of shame, resentment, and anger that I allowed to control me for too long. My willpower to choose another way, to choose myself — and the habits to nurture my growth strengthened. 

I finally began to take ownership of my life to rise above my own fog and chaos to move forward in life with clarity and direction. I attribute Acupuncture to allowing me to save myself: to return to myself in clearer, more intuitive, and embodied ways.

During the last semester of my senior year of college, my healing process inspired me to take, what I still refer to as “the sharpest right turn of my life.” I decided I was not going to pursue a career on track with anything related to my major. Instead, I chose to pursue my potential in a completely different direction: into healthcare by earning my Masters Degree in the Science of Acupuncture (MSA) at the Finger Lakes School for Acupuncture. 

As “crazy” and unsettling as that decision was, I can confidently say that I am grateful I listened to my gut and took the leap, figuring it out along the way. After college, I immersed myself in four years of Graduate School for my MSA, accumulating thousands of didactic and clinical skills hours to simultaneously learn the intricacies and application of Biomedical and East Asian Medicine. After two years of clinical rotations at out-patient centers and hospital settings, it was time to graduate. I became a Nationally Board Certified Acupuncturist through the NCCAOM and continued my education for a yearlong transitional extension to obtain by Doctorate of Acupuncture degree through Pacific College of Health & Science which allowed me to sharpen my advanced integrative diagnostic skill set in order to support as comprehensively as possible…

By 2017, I was immersed in my Doctorate program while practicing full-time in my first location, Empower Chiropractic & Acupuncture.

My time building and practicing at Empower marked the founding chapter of my professional life.

During this chapter, my affinity for learning about the interplay between physiology, psychology, and spirituality grew stronger.

Supporting those seeking to harmonize their Emotional - Spiritual and Physical wellbeing was at the crux of the care I offered for the reasons I sought out this medicine to begin with. My specialty became defined by the intersection of Pain Management and Emotional Health since it is well-known (and diagnostically regarded) in East Asian Medicine how pain and somatic memory manifest in the body. In other words, trapped emotions transmute into “visceral” physical reactions including pain while the presence of a physical injury and illness disrupts blood flow while impairing the functioning of certain organ systems leading to emotional imbalances. 

The more people I came to collaborate with across Maine, the more I realized how trauma, chronic stress, burnout, and unprocessed emotions, were the most common root causes to their health concerns. Given how multifaceted I regularly worked with those with a variety of health concerns from digestive distress, allergies, and post-viral syndrome, to thyroid dysfunctions, menstrual irregularities, and endometriosis, all while treating the root for sustainable relief. Contributing culprits that lurked behind the scenes included gut inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, pharmaceutical side effects & interactions, system inundation by environmental toxins, hormonal imbalances and more...

As years passed, remembering the essence of who I was became more palpable.

My callings and desires to reintegrate the parts of myself I had repressed grew louder. It was after moving into my first home that I experienced a spiritual homecoming of sorts. A homecoming that invited me to remember where I came from, to remember the yearnings of my childhood self—her wonder.

Coming of age in a region where spookiness saturated the soil, whose topography and lore were nothing short of enchanting, whose inhabitants lived for Halloween in a spirit that rivaled those living in Salem, Massachusetts—it shaped the way I see the world. I adopted a lens and proclivity for illuminating the more shadowy realms of existence that I carry with me to this day. It’s no coincidence why, for as long as I could express awe at the rhythms of nature, that Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. As a little girl, I possessed a natural inclination to celebrate the beautiful brilliance of decay. 

You see, Rune was born, in many ways, during the Fall in my own life: a shedding which ushered me on a journey to embrace the season of change. Nearly a decade of the life I knew, and all created from it, had been uprooted and left to wither beyond repair, and as hard as it was initially, it was necessary. a turning point which invited me to rebuild the foundations of my life from the ground up by my own hands.

It was an ending which emboldened me to seek out the brilliance behind its veil.

I chose to trust in the beauty of a new beginning…

This period of my life reminded me of a resonant quote by Carl Jung:

“In all chaos there is cosmos, in all disorder, a secret order.” 

So it is only fitting that now, as I emerge into this next chapter of my life, it feels exciting in its novelty yet at the same time it is oh so familiar. It feels like a homecoming and reclamation of sorts: a return to who I am so I can fully show up for those who feel called to work with me, and in the world as my true nature, callings, and embodied self. In being conceived on the cusp of the unknown, Rune captures the essence of the dimly-lit liminal realm between was was and what could be; it is a threshold of an doorway in itself marked by mystery. One that beckoned me to turn the knob and step within, asking that all I was I leave behind and everything I truly was to bring with me. 

Can you remember a time where life presented you to do the same? To leave everything you were behind, and everything that you are, carry with you? Shedding, discovering, adopting, reclaiming...Cycles of life with one being just as essential, giving way to ripening, for the next. Yet as I have come to believe, these facets capture stages of healing too. 

So as you are arriving to see…Rune is the culmination of the inspiration and illumination that came from a period of withering and darkness. It was by finally surrendering to what was and looked within.. ahead.. and to the stars.. I realized I was going to be okay. It was an invitation to trust in my ability to transform, to heal. Now it has become my mission and loving intention to guide those who walk through the doors of Rune to experience that which you seek: restoration, reintegration, and renewal. 

Rune is a space to get acquainted with what is stirring beneath the surface.

Can you give yourself permission to face change, loss, and resistance in order to emerge renewed and more deeply connected to who you are on the other side? Can you too, trust in the potential of decay to awaken to what lies within the walls of your body and heart? What treasures are buried within the depth of your one-of-a-kind soul? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Rune is a space that may resonate for you. If you are unsure, consider that there are nudges of your knowing all around. From the outside.. the other side.. from within.

My transition into this next chapter asked me to trust my intuition’s whispers and screams— my body’s symptoms and sensations. It was by sitting in my discomfort and distilling the truth of what was coming up for me that I was able to summon the courage to move forward in bold new ways that were more aligned with my own callings and purpose. 

I share this because I bless my past experiences. Each has enriched my capacity to compassionately conduct the kind of work that I do. It was, as it always has been, that by meeting myself at my own depths I can meet you - see you - listen to you - and walk alongside you at yours. I say walk alongside intentionally, because, even after years of offering Acupuncture, I am a firm believer that healing is not something that (solely) happens to you, but something you ultimately have to choose for yourself. It is a continuous cycle of *conscious* transformation: an intentional process of shedding and adopting. Shedding the things that hold you back - keep you from becoming - and in its place -  Adopting nourishing practices that resonate. It can be initiated through an experience, conversation, or therapy, But what comes next... What you do with the information you receive… What it awakens within you,..

That power to act lays in your hands. Even as a doctor of this medicine, I believe that true, lasting health goes beyond depending on any single modality or external source — and that includes me. 

Whether you arrive to Rune as your first or last resort, my intention is to empower you to evolve into your own most knowing guide, healer, and hero of your story. 

By holding a sacred space to receive you as you are and wherever you are in life’s journey, here are my wishes for you:

May Rune be a sanctuary to connect to your body as well, its messages, your instinct, intuition, and callings...

May you awaken to and trust in the essence of who you are, who you are becoming, and your power in the absence of others, the familiar…

May you courageously embark on your healing process, basking in the light and brighter moments when present while bravely—and patiently—wading forward through the murky waters and shadows when they arrive, as they will, for they are essential to one another and your growth... 

May you alchemize your experiences into wisdom, your strife into strength... 

May you trust in the phases of your life; in the potential of change brought by loss and decay, yet also that ushered by renewal and growth; for they too are one in the same. As above, so below. Mirrors. 

May you revel in the m a g i c of pursuing your potential. 

May Rune guide you, and all who enter, to realms of imagination, inspiration, and illumination so you may become the star of your own life. 

And so it is.

All of my blessings,

Lauren