Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Kirby.
Hi Alexandra, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I always feel a little hyperbolic when I tell people I’ve wanted to be a massage therapist since I was a kid, but it’s true. Along with the usual childhood aspirations of being a veterinarian, I had an equal passion and desire for bodywork. I used to offer shoulder and foot massages to my family when we watched TV at night, I was fascinated with anatomy and how the body worked-flipping through encyclopedias and anatomy books for hours. As a teenager working in a restaurant, you could regularly find me giving hand and shoulder massages in the kitchen or at the service stand; I often worked on myself and friends in my free time; studied reflexology, psychosomatics and the emotional-physical manifestation of pain in the body. Exploring the intricacies and complexities of the human body- physical, subtle, mental and emotional- has been a lifelong passion of mine.
At the root of all of my interests growing up, was a desire to understand myself and others better, and a passion for bringing ease, peace and healing to as many people as I could. This took me down a multitude of potential paths- in college I wanted to get into humanitarian aid and mental health- both fields that I think are critically important and still advocate for. Then, for a period of time, I pursued those endeavors- I spent my early twenties working in a residential facility for at-risk youth with mental health and substance abuse issues, which was one of the most fulfilling and heart-opening experiences I have had. I heavily researched opportunities for local and international jobs working in the aid world, and was sure that was where my life was taking me. But in it’s way, the universe kept bringing me back to massage and I decided to take the official leap into the world of bodywork in 2015.
I made the move from Colorado to Austin in my early twenties and attended A New Beginning School of Massage here in the spring of 2015. After graduation, I accepted my first job as an LMT at Mantis Massage (a local female-owned and run deep-tissue clinic) and worked there for about a year and a half before stepping into running my own business. I always knew, even prior to going to massage school that I wanted to provide in-home mobile massage services. Back when I had lived in Colorado, I had an LMT friend who came to my house to give me a massage and my first experience of at-home massage was a life changer. It was amazing being able to roll off of the massage table and into an epsom salt bath at home, vs hopping in my car and battling traffic, forcibly pulling me out of the cocoon of relaxation I had just been wrapped in. I knew I wanted to be able to provide the same experience for others.
In 2018, I decided to put my energy and focus into really trying to build up a mobile massage business. It started slow, mostly just friends and referrals from friends in the earlier part of the year, but as the year progressed it started to gain traction, and I started to see my potential for growth. In the fall of 2018, a friend of mine connected me to another local LMT and I was given the opportunity to acquire West Austin Massage and merge it with my growing private business. The timing of this opportunity and the ease and synchronicity with which it all unfolded was truly a gift. By the end of 2018, I was a business owner and working independently for the first time in my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, it’s had it’s ups and downs in the last decade and being an entrepreneur is not always easy. Sometimes it’s hard to be the one building, steering and maintaining the ship all at once-often times while trying to read an unfamiliar or incomplete map. Some years have been abundant and others have been uncomfortably tight. Some decisions I’ve made have brought success, others have brought lessons. But, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I have learned so much about myself and what it means to run a business. I have made innumerable connections with beautiful people in and around Austin. And I never take for granted that my job on a daily basis is to improve people’s lives, facilitate healing and pain-relief, and educate people on how to best support themselves and their bodies. I feel incredibly lucky to do what I do!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a mobile massage therapist providing in-home/in-office services in Austin and the surrounding area. I offer a variety of modalities, but would place myself under the umbrella of deep-tissue massage and integrative bodywork.
During a session, I will pull tools from a variety of modalities to best fit my individual client’s needs.
Along with restorative and relaxation techniques, I provide a combination of:
TPT (trigger point therapy)
MFR (myofascial release)
ART (active release technique)
PRT (positional release therapy)
Cupping (dynamic and static)
Guasha
As well as pulling from training in Thai, Shiatsu, Sport Therapy and Reiki.
My work has led to a countless incredible opportunities and memories, from working back stage at ACL and SXSW over the years, to working with the cast and crew of shows recorded in town for HBO. I have had the honor of working with a variety of internationally-touring Grammy-award winning musicians, as well as Emmy, Grammy and Oscar-nominated actors and directors. And as much as those star-studded experiences have been exciting, I am also just as grateful to be able to work with local athletes pre- and post-competition, as I am to work with rehab and pain-management clients young and old.
In the last year and a half, I have also stepped into teaching and facilitating movement and bodywork-focused workshops, which has been a fun new opportunity for expansion!
I will be co-facilitating a Partner Thai Massage workshop with Josh Nunn at Kuya the evening of June 4th, if you’re curious to dip your toes into the bodywork world! Thai is a great beginner modality, as it is usually done fully clothed and without oil- you can think of it as a more hands-on version of a partner yoga practice.
I am also so happy to be offering a somatic journey workshop called Re-Partnering with Self at Casa de Luz on June 28th, with my dear friend and colleague, Kate Holmes. The somatic world is a space we have collectively spent many years diving into and exploring, and it feels so exciting to finally be bringing it to a communal space. I feel our connections to our bodies and being able to tune into the wealth of information they have to provide is so important for everyone, now more than ever.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Hmmm, a specific one doesn’t immediately spring to mind. But, I grew up on a farm with horses and my favorite feeling and memory from that time is galloping bareback through the pastures on my horse, Copper Wind. He was a retired barrel horse that hadn’t always been treated kindly, so he was unbelievably fast but slow to trust others. We were unbelievably close and I learned so much from him growing up. Nothing could beat that feeling of racing through the fields just me and him. The feeling of harmony and synchronicity between the both of us, the sensation of freedom and joy as the wind tangled my hair, and a level of absolute presence in the moment. In connection with myself, with him and with the world around me, suspended in time. There’s nothing that will ever be able to match that for me.
Pricing:
- Integrative Massage – $150 an hour
- Cupping/Guasha – $150 an hour (can alsobe added to massage in 15 minute increments)
- Teaching – $200 an hour
- Events Massage – contact for details
- Destination Massage – contact for details
Contact Info:
- Website: https://westaustinmassage.com
- Instagram: @westaustinmassage
