Opening a business during a pandemic comes with “unique challenges,” admits Alyssa Elman, who launched hers—Mini Escape Massage, in Navarre—in March 2020. But if anyone could make it work, it’s a military wife. In Elman’s 13 years as a licensed massage therapist, she’s grown businesses in three states and two countries. Northwest Florida is just the latest beneficiary of her professional passion.

When Elman became a massage therapist in 2009, her husband was on active duty and they had three small children. “I wanted a profession that gave me a lot of flexibility and would be easy to start when we had to move—but also something I’d be passionate about,” she said. “I loved the medical field and was always fascinated by it, so I looked into a few options, massage therapy being one of them. I started the program not knowing how much I would love it.”

Her initial 815-hour training (including 125 practical hours) at Arizona School of Massage Therapy gave her a well-rounded education in both Eastern and Western practices, she says. Since then she’s steadily built on that foundation, earning CEUs in prenatal, pediatrics, hot-stone and injury massage, among other techniques. 

Elman opened Mini Escape Massage to create a “diverse but cohesive environment” that would allow providers with different specialties to grow and learn from each other. She specializes in sports and injury massage, but Mini Escape also offers deep-tissue, Swedish, prenatal and pediatric massage, as well as reflexology and trigger point therapy.

“I’ve found amazing providers who share my passion for helping others feel better,” she says. “I love knowing that if I’m not the right provider for a client, I have an amazing network where they’ll receive the same care and attention. It’s important to me that all clients receive the best treatment for what their goals are.” 

The benefit of ‘maintenance massage’

While Mini Escape offers a relaxing and peaceful environment, “it isn't just a day spa,” she adds. “We want to make massage an affordable and effective part of everyone’s life.” 

That’s because pain is part of everyone’s life, she says, and regular massage can ease or even prevent it.

“With over 600 muscles in the human body, there’s no way everyone isn’t living with some kind of pain or dysfunction,” she explains. “Maintenance massage helps clients achieve their best, day in and day out. Through some of our more thorough modalities, such as an injury session, we can retrain the body to work more efficiently and help the client with their goals, whether that’s running marathons or simply getting through the workweek without neck and back pain. Our target clientele is anyone who experiences daily pain and wants to find holistic, proactive care to relieve it.”

Clearly, Mini Escape is fulfilling a pandemic-proof need. Over the past two years, Elman says, the business has been steadily growing its clientele and its reputation. 

Mini Escape Massage is located at 1929 Ortega St., Navarre, FL. For appointments or more information, call 850-376-7785 or visit MiniEscapeMassageNavarre.com.