Detroit native returns home to open Eastern Market wellness center

Alexandra DePorre sinks into a black lounge chair inside a spacious new wellness center in Eastern Market and dips her feet into a tub of warm water. 

She closes her eyes and takes in the soft flute music playing in the background.  

“Let me get another pillow for you, Alex,” said massage therapist Kim Yokely. 

The anesthesiologist is on her feet all day and said the 60-minute foot reflexology appointment is exactly what she needs to practice self-care. 

But DePorre isn’t just any customer. She and Yokely are business partners at Kimochi Detroit, a wellness retreat center that specializes in shiatsu massage. The traditional, holistic Japanese form of bodywork focuses on restoring balance to the natural flow of energy in the body. 

Kimochi also offers reflexology, acupuncture, Thai and Swedish massage as well as cupping therapy, cranial sacral therapy, sound therapy and aromatherapy.  

Kimochi celebrated its grand opening this month as a recipient of Motor City Match. 

For Yokely, 55, it was like a homecoming celebration. Growing up on Mack Avenue and Bewick Street on Detroit’s east side, she has spent the majority of her adult life in Atlanta and other cities around the globe. While Yokely ran a successful massage business in Atlanta, she longed to bring Kimochi to her hometown, she told BridgeDetroit. 

“I finally made it happen and, in 2021, I moved here (to Detroit),” she said. “It was very important for me to have it in town and on the east side.” 

As a Black woman, Yokely’s space in the massage therapy industry is uncommon nationally. The majority of people practicing massage therapy are white women, with Black people only making up 8% of the industry, according to a 2023 report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

But Yokely would rather not focus on race, saying she doesn’t want to be known as having just a Black space. 

“Of course, I’m happy to have something for Black people now that we’re learning and we’re ready, but I pride myself that I attract everybody,” she said. “To me, it is way more important that I’m trusted, no matter the hue. All of us want the same stuff, which is some peace of mind and some freedom in our bodies.” 

A life changing experience 

Yokely’s journey to learning shiatsu massage and other eastern holistic practices has taken her to 22 countries, like Thailand, China, South Korea and the Philippines. But initially, her career path was headed in a different direction. 

In her 20s, Yokely was interested in becoming a lawyer. Thinking of a way to stand out from other law school applicants, she headed to Japan in 1994 as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) and became an English teacher in the city of Fukuoka. 

After a year overseas, Yokely had a frightening experience where she heard a voice she believed was from an angel while alone in her apartment one night. The voice told her she was meant to be in Japan to learn an ancient, healing art, she said. Then five days later, at a JET meeting, she met a woman from Hawaii who is studying shiatsu massage. 

“I was still a little embarrassed back then, I didn’t know how to explain the story, so I said, ‘Somebody just told me I should do that,’” Yokely said. “And before I could even finish, she put the number in my hand to the man teaching her, like it was a movie. I took it as a sign and called that man the next day and then met him within two more days. And that’s how it started.” 

Yokely began studying with teacher Minoru Oyama, who became her mentor. Plans of law school dissipated, she said. 

“I knew that first day, law school was out of my mind immediately,” Yokely said.

After her time with JET ended in 1997, she began traveling around southeast Asia and Europe, learning Thai massage, yoga and meditation. Yokely, who had gone to college in Atlanta, returned there once she was back in the US. She graduated from the Atlanta School of Massage in 1998 and the following year, Yokely began operating her business from her home. 

“Back then, I had a special for $40 to get a massage and it blew up,” she said. 

However, some people had reservations about getting a shiatsu massage because of its differences from a Swedish massage, which is one of the more popular forms, Yokely said. Customers can remain fully clothed during a shiatsu session, there’s no rubbing or kneading of muscles and no oils are used, according to the American Massage Therapy Association.

Yokely grew her clientele and eventually opened her first location inside a salon and spa. By 2004, she opened Kimochi Body N Sole Sanctuary in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood. Some of Yokely’s customers included celebrities such as Kerry Washington, Mike Epps, Jill Scott and Sheryl Lee Ralph, according to her website. 

In addition to working as a massage therapist, Yokely has become a workshop presenter and public speaker over the years.

She said massage therapy is the gift she gives to the world and now that Kimochi Detroit is open, Yokely is looking forward to offering her skills to Detroiters. 

“I think we all have a gift, but if you get taught and told you must do this for money and do that for money, people lose their way on what really brings them happiness,” she said. “I’m happy here. Sometimes I’m in here 10 hours before I get out.” 

Coming back home 

The road to Kimochi Detroit started to gain traction shortly after Yokely moved back to the Motor City, she said. Yokely first met DePorre as a client at a Corktown wellness center. Yokely mentioned that she wanted to open her own space, but that she didn’t have an investor, she said. But by the second appointment, Yokely knew they were going to be business partners. 

DePorre, who works in the medical field, said massage therapy is relatively new to her. She often thought of massages as a luxury, something to do when you go on vacation. However, she began getting massages regularly a few years ago and realized she wanted these types of services in her life. 

“I could feel changes and stiffness going away and then I started to think of it more as a maintenance thing,” DePorre said.

After the height of the pandemic, the physician wanted to create something meaningful and she saw that in Yokely and Kimochi Detroit. 

“I’m not necessarily drawn to the idea of business, but I’m interested in learning more about acupuncture and meeting people and trying new things,” DePorre said. “There was no specific goal. It was more like Kim and I connected on the friendship level and then really imagining how cool it would be to create–at that time, we were thinking about a sauna and bathhouse as well–to create something like that in the city.” 

DePorre became an investor in Kimochi and she and Yokely visited at least five different places on the east side before they found the building in Eastern Market last year, 1337 Division Street. 

To secure more funding, the women began working with Motor City Match. The entrepreneurial program awarded Yokely and DePorre a $35,000 grant to help with equipment costs.

When it comes to additional help, Yokely has about eight people working with Kimochi. Yokely said they’re technically not her employees, since they have their own businesses, but will come in the studio to assist in two-to-three day shifts. 

Prices range from $30 for a 15-minute chair massage, a 50-minute acupuncture session for $80, to a Swedish and shiatsu massage for $300. Yokely has a variety of memberships to offer access to customers at any price point. The “Shine On” membership is free, but customers must be on-call to assist with volunteering at Kimochi events. Kimochi’s other free membership is a bartering system where people can help the wellness center with social media, marketing, public relations or cleaning in exchange for massage and reflexology sessions. 

Yokely plans to highlight the businesses that assist Kimochi as well as other wellness vendors in weekend health fairs at Eastern Market in September and October. When the weather gets cooler, Yokely wants to host cooking classes and game nights. 

And her long-term goal? Opening a second location in Atlanta. 

Yokely, who started her business years before massages and holistic wellness became a trend, said she is happy to see the industry become more popular but worries it’s getting too commercial. She and DePorre hope people begin seeing massage as not just something to receive occasionally, but bettering their health. 

“There was no interest when I first started,” Yokely said. “People want to learn. People want a class, they want a workshop. So, that’s the difference.”