Melissa Santangelo’s personal mission is to teach methods of holistic care that help humans all over the world learn how to connect with their own Groovy Goddess. Her life’s undertaking has created a bodywork practice meant to enrich the lives of those souls she touches and media content aimed at connecting each viewer with their authentic Self.
Spa Santangelo’s Mission is to offer affordable and relaxing holistic care (while having some fun). We are Santa Cruz County’s premier provider of alternative health care and holistic recovery & wellness. Located in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, we offer respite and nepenthe for stress and addiction related imbalances.
Spa Santangelo offers an epicurean spa experience, tailored yoga classes, and scenic overnight stays at two locations.
Dina Garcia
Encouraged by her mentor, Dina pursued her massage education in 1998 and went on to train at the renowned Upledger Institute in Lymphatic Drainage and Cranial Sacral Therapy. For her, massage is a sacred calling — a way to support individuals in their healing journey.
Dina is an intuitive massage therapist with a natural ability to tune into her clients’ needs. She skillfully blends anatomy knowledge with an empathetic touch, ensuring each session is deeply relaxing yet therapeutic.
Dina is fully committed to each client, offering her time and attention with care and generosity. She creates a calm, comfortable environment where clients can truly relax and heal, whether addressing physical tension or emotional stress.
Andrea Parker
With a background in holistic health, functional medicine, and health advocacy, my goal is to bring wellness to the forefront of my clients’ lives. I use Massage Therapy and Reiki to help clients reconnect with their own healing potential, offering a gentle yet deep approach that draws on Thai Massage, Swedish Massage, and Myofascial Release.
In each session, I blend autonomy-informed techniques with intuitive touch, creating a relaxing and restorative experience. I cater my work to individual needs and enjoy building long-term client relationships. I’m also open to trades and payment plans to make my services accessible to all.
Shannon Cummings
Shannon is a massage therapist, yoga, stretching, and core engagement teacher. With twenty years of teaching experience, you are in good hands.
Please book a bodywork session or movement session with her to add to your relaxation and invigoration during your stay!
Melissa Santangelo: Owner, Intuitive Spa Chef, Yoga instructor and Author
Melissa Santangelo, or the ~ The Groovy Goddess, is the founder of Spa Santangelo. Established in 2003 and voted Best Day Spa in Santa Cruz for 2022, Spa Santangelo is a full-service and affordable private day spa located in a serene spot among the redwoods of Felton, CA, complete with flowering gardens and mosaic art.
Certified in Yoga, Pilates, massage and energy work, Melissa is an expert in the field of tender loving care (TLC), detoxification, weight loss and stress management. She has led classes, workshops and written many articles on the subject of holistic self-care.
Most recently, The Key To Life Is Balance book was added to her content and media page as a course to help anyone achieve balance. Coming soon, How To Balance Your Energy Masterclass a course on using your Chakras to heal and create a lifestyle balance.
Her quarterly column in Belly Dance Magazine (from 2007 until the magazine’s end in 2011) called “Fitness for the Dancer” was met with rave reviews. From 2008 to May 2009 she was honored to produce and co-host a radio show on KSCO 1080AM called “Radiance and Chocolate.” There, she interviewed many of her mentors, creating a wondrous exchange of ideas and powerful informational output for the community. Following this, Melissa fulfilled her dream of filming her own workout DVD, Groovy Goddess Workout Yoga and Pilates.
Balancing & Healing
At a young age, Melissa knew she would write a book about her transformational journey and started journaling. In 2008 she published The Key To Life is Balance, a journal of her illuminating life experiences and juicy healthy living tips that she has come to learn through her life journey so far. The book shares her tangled path to enlightenment on finding balance after becoming homeless at 36 with a 5 year old daughter to raise. Today, Melissa continues to self produce self-help books, videos, and recordings. In 2011, she created “The Balance Tool Kit” which offers the client many ways to reduce stress in order to heal theirs minds, bodies and spirits. The Key To Life Is Balance Tool Kit includes: The Key To Life Is Balance book and work book & two CDs: “Mystic Meditations for Daily Life” and “Success and Abundance.”
In 2013, Melissa created The Balance 7 Day Juice Cleanse meal plan with information about how herbs and food help the body integrate into a wellness marked by balance. This cleanse is inspired by a conversation Melissa had with Jack LaLanne himself and can be found in her second book, Spa-Cipes: The Spa Cookbook. This book includes all of Melissa’s holistic recipes to bring her spa to your home. At the age of 9, Melissa would create spa treatments from food in the kitchen and herbs from the garden when she felt alone and sad. Her teens and early twenties were spent overweight, depressed and lacking in self esteem due to a broken familial structure and lacking communal support. Homelessness was her rock bottom. When she made the decision to go within she changed her life with big decisions. Intuition nurtured by a meditation practice helped inform those decisions. Now, her lifelong journey is to help others find balance easily and have fun while doing it.
Melissa is a 2003 graduate of Cypress Health Institute. Cypress’ comprehensive education of massage training and polarity has dovetailed with Melissa’s fitness background at Spa Santangelo to create a home base for integrative and practical health and wellness knowledge for her clients.
Sound Bath and Guided Meditation Workshop experience
Melissa is offering a live sound bath and guided meditation workshop to solo or groups up to 6 at the spa location. Some Yoga and energy work is also a part of this workshop. This workshop is designed to give you a healing experience you will always remember.
