Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Route
Hi Ali, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started my massage career in 2016. For several years I had been the owner and trainer at an all women’s boxing gym in Florida. I guess you could say I wanted a Yin balance to the Yang energy of boxing. In massage therapy, I found that. I also found the overlapping center of the career Venn diagram; I was doing what I loved, what I was good at and what paid me a wage I wanted. Doing work that is healing to others is just as important to me and in turn, I feel healed when I do that work. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I always walk away from a massage with a feeling of inner peace and harmony. To have the ability to do that kind of good for others while being my own boss, is especially rewarding. And knowing the success or failure of my business relies on the quality of the work I do pushes me to continually improve my skills and my service offerings.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Massage came naturally to me, so learning it was not a struggle. I took a year to go through an extensive education and internship in Florida at a school that was very uniquely set up. To pay for tuition, students worked on the public as they learned. While at most massage schools students don’t even touch a client until late into their program, I was racking up hands on clinical hours within a few weeks. At graduation I had over 1,000 hours of massage experience and zero student debt. Within a week of graduation I was working full time at a seaside luxury spa. In early 2019 I started working in Utah at the world famous Amangiri resort. Talk about Yin/Yang! It was such a beautiful place, the clients were so nice, I had great co-workers, but wow was it a tough job! After driving an hour each way I would work a full 12 hour day, sometimes with no breaks at our busiest times. That takes a lot of out a person. The pandemic made the job much more challenging in order to keep both clients and therapists safe, and the spa never slowed down after lockdowns were lifted. But I stayed there for 2 1/2 years and learned so much. Now I work for myself at my own studio where I incorporate luxury spa touches to my treatments.
We’ve been impressed with Backcountry Bodywork, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
If you visit us, you’ll see why I chose the name Backcountry Bodywork. My studio in Kanab, UT is located on 10 acres of totally peaceful and quiet rural land with stunning views of the Kaibab plateau and surrounding cliffs. We’re proudly located on the first “step” in the Grand Staircase Escalante, called the Shinarump or Chocolate cliffs!
As for what sets me apart from other massage businesses, I pride myself on offering a wide array of massage therapy and body treatments. My goal is to adjust each session to the individuals specific needs like injury recovery, chronic pain, alleviating stress, and emotional relief. Clients can choose from Swedish, deep tissue/sports massage, Thai Yoga massage, Ashiatsu (barefoot massage), or lymphatic drainage styles of massage. But my favorite is the Mantra Massage. It’s my own creation that focuses on the individuals healing journey. I choose a guided meditation, music in an appropriate tone and frequency, essential oils and energy work, unique for each client and incorporate them into the massage. It’s amazing! Some specialties outside of massage I provide are foot scrubs, back scrubs and wraps, and Shirodhara, where warmed aromatic oil is drizzled from a copper pot onto the third eye, down the scalp and into the hair. The client then gets a scalp massage to work in that beneficial oil. It’s utterly transcendent.
There’s also lots of extras clients can add on to their massage at no charge, such as Reiki, cupping, Gua Sha (therapeutic scraping), energy work, chakra balancing and even sound therapy. I really love doing extra touches like aromatherapy and warm steamy towels on the feet at the end of each massage too. As you can see I try to offer something special for everyone!
Something else that sets me apart from other massage studios is my care for clients with a history of trauma. I create a safe, healing space and work closely with clients to make sure they feel supported and that their boundaries are respected. Back in 2023 I became certified in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy. It gave me the tools to provide this level of care for clients, some of whom have an aversion to touch therapies.
One essential part of my business I can’t forget to mention is my dog, Roxy! She is my heart and greets every client with love and joy. Clients say she’s one of the highlights of coming to my studio. There was even a friendly competition on Facebook as to which client was Roxy’s favorite. Roxy bridges the connection with me and new clients and creates an extra peaceful vibe while she snoozes on the floor beside the massage table.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Oh wow. That’s a tough one! It’s not my favorite memory, but it was a foreshadowing of my future career. I grew up in a very rural area. The closest neighbors were my cousins, a family of six kids. The four girls became my surrogate sisters and I was the honorary fifth sister since I practically lived at their house. We would put in a VHS tape, sit on the living room floor all in a line, and give each other shoulder massages and do “criss cross applesauce”. Why us kids needed shoulder rubs is beyond me, but we did it! It was a very bonding thing for us and all the cousins wanted me to do their shoulders because I was the best at it. Or maybe it was because I had the longest fingernails for “criss cross applesauce”?
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bit.ly/bbkanab
- Instagram: massagekanab
- Facebook: massagekanab
