River & Root by Ana Saskowski

📸 Manila Bay—one of the many trips back to the Philippines I’ve been making since I was young. Sun on my skin, ocean all around me, and a smile that feels like the truest version of me.

🇨🇦 I was born in Alberta, raised with salt-of-the-earth roots and the Rocky Mountains as my homecoming beacon.

🇵🇭 Travelling back throughout my life has kept me connected to my Filipina heritage, the water and another place I know as home.

I’m a mestiza woman shaped by both: grounded like the earth and flowing like the ocean. Canadian and Filipina. Not half of either, but made from both.

Some of you have known me for 20 years. Some met me through facials, and others are finding me now through massage.

I’m Ana—an intentional skin therapist, massage therapy student and the heart behind River & Root: care for skin, body and nervous system.

The river carries us forward.
The root brings us home. 🌊🌿

A little reminder of where—and when—you can find me. 🌿

I’m currently offering massage appointments at a student rate at Totally Refreshed Steam & Spa:

Fridays · 3:30–10 PM
Sundays · 10 AM–4 PM

Appointments can be booked online at:
totallyrefreshedsteamandspa.com

River & Root | By Ana Saskowski

Behind the symbol: Where River Meets Root

At the centre of the new River & Root identity is the ampersand—the & symbol connecting the two words.

Its long, continuous line represents River: movement, flow and the evolution of my practice.

At its base, that same line becomes Root: small grounded strokes representing stability, experience and returning to the body.

Together, they connect where my practice began with where it’s growing—skin and body, movement and grounding, evolution and foundation.

It’s more than punctuation. It became the heart of the identity.

The river carries us forward.
The root brings us home. 🌿

Behind the name: Root

As River & Root begins to take shape, I wanted to share the other half of the name.

Root represents grounding, stability and coming back into the body.

Growth may change the direction of my practice, but it doesn’t erase the experience, intention and care that it was built on.

Root is the foundation beneath that growth—the reminder that care doesn’t always need to push or do more. Sometimes it means slowing down, listening and returning to yourself.

Because even as we evolve, we still need something that brings us home. 🌿

Behind the name: River

As I introduce River & Root, I wanted to share a little more about the meaning behind the new name.

River represents movement, flow and renewal.

The body is never truly still. It responds, adapts and changes with what we ask of it—and the care we need can change with us.

River also reflects the evolution of my own practice: allowing it to grow beyond where it began, without losing what brought me here.

Movement doesn’t always mean leaving something behind. Sometimes it simply means giving it room to become more. 🌿

A little evolution… 🌿

AMSkin began with a very specific focus: buccal massage and intentional skin therapy. At the time, the name fit exactly what I was building.

But over the last year, my education, experience and hands-on practice have grown well beyond where they began. As I move closer to completing massage school and becoming a Registered Massage Therapist, it felt like the right time for my brand to grow with me.

AMSkin is becoming River & Root.

River represents movement, flow, renewal and the way my practice continues to evolve.

Root represents grounding, stability, experience and coming back into the body.

Together, they reflect the kind of care I want to offer: thoughtful, intentional work for the skin, body and nervous system.

I’m still the same Ana, and I’m still currently practicing as a Student Massage Therapist at Totally Refreshed. This isn’t an announcement that I’m leaving—it’s simply a name that gives my work room to grow as I prepare for registration and whatever comes after.

Welcome to River & Root
Massage + Intentional Skin Therapy
by Ana Saskowski

A sanctuary for skin, body, and soul. 🌿

The face is one area that can easily be overlooked during a general massage—but we can hold so much tension in the jaw, temples, neck and scalp.

If you’re someone who clenches your jaw, carries tension in your face or simply loves having these areas worked on, consider booking 75 or 90 minutes instead of your usual 60.

That little bit of extra time allows me to focus on your main areas of concern while also including some dedicated face, neck, chest and scalp work. ✨

I still have a few gaps in my availability this Friday!

Book online at totallyrefreshedsteamandspa.com.

Hi guys! ❤️ Just a reminder, as I’ve gotten a few DMs lately asking about facial services!

While I finish this final leg of school, I’m currently taking a pause from booking facial services while I focus my time on completing my massage practicum at Totally Refreshed Steam and Spa Totally Refreshed Steam and Spa. ❤️💆🏻‍♀️

For those of you who know me through skincare — don’t worry, I’m still very much a facial girl! ❤️ Skin, facial massage and all things facial treatments are a huge part of what I love to do. Right now, I’m just keeping things simple while I finish school and focus on one thing at a time.

In the meantime, if there’s a particular facial service or treatment you’ve been wanting to book with me, feel free to DM me. Depending on the service, I’m happy to refer out to one of the trusted providers I’ve gotten to know and work alongside over my many years in the industry. 🥰

Thank you, as always, for continuing to think of me and reach out. And most of all—- thank you for your continued support during this journey! All of you make my soul sing, and if it weren’t for you it wouldn’t be possible to do what I love to do!
Xoxo, Ana
❤️💆🏻‍♀️

Have you booked your totallyrefreshedsteamandspa Totally Refreshed Steam and Spa blowout yet? 💇🏻‍♀️✨

Wrapped midterms and then had my Auntie’s Celebration of Life this weekend, so I was definitely due for a little self-care. Showed up for a blowout, got the best scalp massage ever, had a little time to myself, and rolled in with better hair than I ever could’ve done on my own. ❤️💆🏻‍♀️

10/10 recommend letting someone else deal with your hair when life has been life’ing. 😴

In 2003, a scared 19 year old me took a pregnancy test, threw it in the garbage, dug it back out, stared at it for a while, convinced myself it was wrong, put it back in the garbage, and then probably checked it a few more times just in case the answer had changed. A couple hours after that, after he was home from work, I sat down on the couch with your Dad, we had a cry, he made me feel better like he always did, and just like that—- us two crazy kids set off on a life journey together.

Twenty-two years later, our “faint pink second line” on the pregnancy test is celebrating her 22nd birthday. ❤️😭

And what a life she has built!

Myla Jessica Marie, when I was 19 (younger than your baby brother is right now—- isn’t that crazy?!) I worried about whether I could do this.

Whether I could raise you when I was barely grown myself;
Whether I would be a good mom,
whether I could make you feel better when you were sick,
or if I could ever help you to navigate hard times when I still was trying to navigate some of my own.

What I didn’t know then was that you would teach me just as much as I would ever teach you. 😭❤️

Your beauty, grace, kind heart, and your commitment to making the world a better place truly takes my breath away. Your strength and resilience and dedication to your goals is truly marvellous. You are one in a lifetime, my girl. Please do not ever forget that—- you are magic.

You’ve been my greatest adventure, my biggest lesson, and one of the deepest joys of my life. Like I always say, you make my soul sing, my beautiful brown eyed girl. ❤️🎶

I am so proud of the woman you’ve become, and so grateful that out of all the possible stories my life could have told—- that I got to be your mom.

Happy 22, my beautiful little Chikiting.

I love you more than all the words I’ve spent the last twenty-two years trying to find. Maybe one day they’ll invent more.

Xoxo forever,

Mom ❤️❤️❤️