About Alex

Hello, I'm Alex

SpiritSpud is my little corner of Bolsover: a calm, friendly space for aromatherapy, massage and Reiki, a table where I blend oils by hand, and the home of a rather cheerful journal. But mostly, it's the thing I've wanted to build for a very long time.

Twenty-something years of learning hands

I first trained in massage with an aromatherapy specialism more than two decades ago, and I've been adding to it ever since, with further training across aromatherapy, beauty and massage, and more recently Reiki. The learning never really stops, and I wouldn't want it to.

What all those years actually teach you isn't technique. That comes surprisingly early. It's listening. Two people can book the same treatment and need entirely different things from it, and the difference is only ever found by paying attention: to what you say, what you don't, and what your shoulders have clearly been carrying all week.

Why "Relax. Restore. Rebalance."

Those three words are the shape of every session. Relax the mind first, because nothing else happens until it does. Restore the body: with massage, with oils, with genuine rest. And rebalance whatever the week has knocked sideways, so you leave walking a little lighter than you arrived.

None of it is complicated, and none of it is magic. It's care, time and attention: three things most of us give everyone but ourselves.

And why a potato?

Because wellbeing can be warm and down-to-earth without being any less serious. The little spud makes people smile before they've even said hello, and starting relaxed is half the treatment. Around here we think comfort should feel like home, not like a hotel spa, and frankly there is nothing more comforting than a potato.

Everything connects

The treatments, the signature blends and the Time For Me journal are all the same idea in different forms: making a little space for yourself. Come for a massage and take a blend home to keep the ritual going; or start with the journal and work up the courage to book that first Reiki session. There's no right order, only your own.

If any of this sounds like what you've been needing, I'd love to hear from you.