History
NAKH did not start as a business plan. It started because a father could not get answers, learned a new way to help his child, and refused to keep that knowledge to himself.
A medical crisis, then a school
Karim Kanji and his wife Nevin faced every parent's nightmare: their son was born with special needs, and the medical system at the time offered them no path to a better quality of life. The family relocated from Edmonton toward Toronto to be closer to The Hospital for Sick Children. When those results still were not enough, Karim started looking elsewhere.
He traveled to Hamilton, Ontario to train in holistic massage, reflexology, and aromatherapy, going back and forth while he studied. He combined that work with the technical training he had already completed at NAIT in Edmonton. When he saw his son's well-being improve, he decided the methods should not stop with one family.
Around the same time, the City of Edmonton approached Karim to help build a program that would move massage therapy away from old parlour associations and into respected clinical practice. That invitation, and Karim's own search for answers, became NAKH Institute of Education — now part of NAKH Collective.
"We're moving forward, but we still don't forget why we're here." — Hussain Kanji
A routine perfected over 30 years
What sets NAKH massage training apart is not a pile of disconnected techniques. Karim built a foundational full-body routine that emphasizes flow, rhythm, and continuity. Students learn where to place their hands, and also how one stroke leads into the next so the nervous system can settle and the work can address root causes rather than chasing pain.
Every later modality — lymphatic, sports, pregnancy, kinetic cupping, oncology, geriatric — is taught as an adaptation of that same sequence. Master the flow first. Then change pressure, tools, and intent without losing the thread.
The curriculum grew with the profession: trauma-informed care, professional boundaries, insurance and regulation literacy, interdisciplinary communication, and business skills so graduates can run a clinic, not only pass a practical exam.
From one instructor to a collective
- 1994: The school is founded in Edmonton as a clinical massage training centre.
- The early decades: Karim teaches; Nevin keeps the college compliant, solvent, and personal. Word of mouth is the marketing plan. There is no website until 2019.
- 2016–2020: Hussain moves from part-time help to building the technical backbone, including the Teams-based hybrid classroom.
- Second generation: Aliana takes operations, curriculum, and marketing. Nerissa takes student relations and clinic culture. The college adds EAL, IT, bookkeeping, and short CE workshops without dropping the original massage mission.
- 2024–2026: Institute and wellness clinic are unified under NAKH Collective — one name, one pack, four paths.
Karim was nominated for the Dr. Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine and served on the boards of the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada and ARMTA. The college has been highlighted by Alberta Education — Private Career Colleges for teaching and clinical preparation.
Today more than 2,500 graduates later, the reason for being here has not changed: help people who are not getting answers, train therapists who treat the whole person, and know the name of everyone who walks through the door.