Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Armstrong.
Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was curious about massage and bodywork as early as my high school years in upstate New York, through experiences with athletic training and sports, though at the time, it did not align in practicality. My path veered, but I landed back at integrative healing in my late 20s. I completed my massage therapy education in 2012 and have operated a few iterations of wellness collectives and private practices since then. Its’ current expression, Bespoke Bodywork, was born in Phoenix 4 years ago. September 2026 marks this anniversary, and is a timely opportunity to reflect and share what I offer, how the scope and shape has shifted and evolved and soon-to-come expansions and offerings.
In exploring what massage and bodywork meant to me, I tried a plethora of modalities and environments, which in turn, have made me a well rounded practitioner. Over these 15 years, I’ve worked in a Crossfit Gym, with the NFL and Ironman, learning much about body mechanics and injury prevention and recovery. I have immersed in the life to death cycle, offering pre-natal, palliative and end of life care treatments, in all the reverence they deserve. I have spent time with autistic children and their families and medically delicate individuals in care facilities. Endurance events, music festivals, markets, women’s retreats, corporate wellness and community immersions, I explored many angles.
I came to Arizona to heal, and the desert has spoken to and held me. My practice here is devoted to meeting an individual where they are, in the moment, drawing upon their needs and my intuition to craft a session. No two sessions are the same and we call upon a variety of well and lesser known modalities; Kneipp Therapy, fire cupping, myofascial release, deep tissue, stones, scraping, sound and aroma immersion, to name some. Leaning into the deserts’ embrace, I also offer guided yoga hikes.
Over the last few years, I have implemented and added buccal (intra-oral), sensory immersive and elemental treatments in addition to bespoke full body sessions. I was educated in trauma informed therapy and psychology coursework, specifically imagination, counterfactual strategies and mental contrasting and how they may benefit the nervous system, all of which have informed how I approach treatment.
I am a lifelong living student and what I seek and encounter ultimately engages with my practice and the client. The abundance of healing opportunities in the valley means, unlike other locales, there truly is something for everyone and, in that spirit I have learned much, and encourage all to explore.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My obstacles have turned into superpowers and gifts. We all have periods of self doubt, which can be a real extinguisher of joy and purpose. Overcoming fear based thoughts is an ongoing, but now manageable obstacle. Landing in Phoenix, knowing no one, and feeling the intimidation of the saturation of the field, meant a slow start to my practice. I came to understand that in the business aspect, the importance of signaling to your audience, to the folks you want to work with, attracting your people, is a skill that takes time. I am so grateful to have arrived in a place of abundance and to my clients and to the powers that brought us together.
I long carried shame for the truth that I am in recovery and have struggled with drug and alcohol addiction much of my life. These last 5 years of sobriety have been spent mostly in the desert and have been healing and balancing in ways I couldn’t have imagined. While I knew I wanted to provide recovery support, I was unsure how, and struggled with imposter syndrome. Now deeper in the richness of sobriety, a path has revealed. In this spirit, I offer a soulful new branch of Bespoke Bodywork, The Recovery Doula. I am in the educational process of of 5 point auricular acupuncture and Neuro-Centric Movement, both beneficial for addiction and recovery. My aim will be peer support and curated treatments pulling from many modalities and honoring/exploring long existing interventions from motivational to 12-step. Curated treatments may be done in person, virtually or immersively, in a longer in-clients-home format. The Recovery Doula will roll out late Autumn 2026.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Bespoke Bodywork (current) & The Recovery Doula (coming Autumn 2026) ?
Sole practitioner, offering private, in-studio and mobile sessions, service in community, small group based activities and occasional workshops.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
While I don’t subscribe to luck, per se, I am often in wonder of how guided, supported and protected we may all be, if we allow it. When I actively listen in, engage in discernment, and pacify the noisy cultural chatter of comparison and experts, I am gifted clarity and direction. I return again and again to the phrase “multiple things may be true at once,” and how it universally applies to relationships, spirit, business and self. We benefit from giving ourselves and each other grace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bespoke-bodywork.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bespoke_bodywork
- Other: https://open.substack.com/pub/kristinearmstrong
