Alisa Gonzalez

Alisa is a Certified Massage Therapist and a graduate of Cypress Health Institute. She has been practicing the art of healing touch and massage since childhood and has made it her life-long passion. Her approach to bodywork is of a healing and creative nature and carries a strong connection to energy work. She has been trained in Swedish, Effleurage, Acupressure, Reflexology, Polarity, Hot Stone and Prenatal Massage. Her quest to learn more healing and massage techniques will facilitate her expansion of knowledge and her desire to help others. Alisa’s intuitive touch creates a safe space and allows clients to feel comfortable, relaxed and supported during the session.

Outside of massage, Alisa has a love for making mandala art and a passion for photography as well as making other forms of art. Her meditation and spiritual work has helped her become mindful, grounded and further in touch with body awareness and sensitivity. Her love of yoga and sound healing also helps her to stay connected to healing energies and vibrations.

on: acupressure, Practitioner Bios, Polarity, Pre & post Natal, reflexology, Swedish Massage May 28, 2023

Elissa Cardin

Elissa was inspired to become a massage therapist during the hospice period of her grandfathers passing. He was suffering from bone cancer and she would massage him to help relieve pain. She has been practicing now for 20 years. She graduated with 750 hours from Trinity Massage School in San Jose. She is deeply intuitive and will find the places needed of tissue work and energy movement. She specializes in Swedish, Pinpoint trigger therapy, Prenatal, Reiki, and Chakra balancing. She enjoys the peaceful autonomy that the Well Within provides and has never been happier to work here. She hopes to provide you with utmost care and therapeutic healing time.

on: Chakra Balancing, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Reiki, Swedish Massage, Trigger Point Myotherapy February 2, 2023

Felicity McKnight

Felicity tailors each session to meet your particular bodywork needs and wants. Felicity has been a practicing massage therapist for the past thirty years along with eleven years of teaching massage therapy throughout the country. Through this experience, Felicity has developed a deep confidence and a compassion filled intuitive approach to her work. Felicity’s modalities include Swedish, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, NMT, Lymphatic Drainage, Pre and Postnatal massage, Kripalu bodywork, Reiki, and other various energetic approaches.

on: Kripalu, Skin & Body Care, Deep Tissue, Neuromuscular Therapy, Lymphatic Drainage, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Reiki, Shiatsu, Swedish Massage June 12, 2023

Julienne English

Holding space for relaxation and recovery for 16 years. Jules offers a combination of modalities in every massage. Pulling from her tool box of massage techniques to fit everyone’s specific needs, incorporating intuitive Swedish, Thai, Acupressure, specialty Pre-natal, rocking and stretching.

on: acupressure, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Swedish Massage, Thai Massage August 27, 2013

Laurel Wanner

I graduated in 1992 from Twin Lakes College in Santa Cruz, certified with a focus in Swedish and Polarity.  I have since studied table Shiatsu, deep Swedish and Prenatal which I incorporate into my work when appropriate.

I have also completed studies in Myofascial Release, Reflexology, Lymphatic Drainage and Sports Massage.

on: Myofascial Release, Lymphatic Drainage, Practitioner Bios, Polarity, Pre & post Natal, reflexology, Shiatsu, Sports Massage, Swedish Massage August 27, 2013

Nicholette Keel

Nicholette Keel graduated from Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts in Santa Cruz, CA. She incorporates modalities of Swedish, Shiatsu, specialty Pre-Natal, stretching, acupressure, and Polarity Therapy with her fifteen years of industry experience. Her intuitive understanding of the mind-body-spirit connection serves to assist clients in releasing chronic tension and imbalances. Her goal to her clients is for general well-being and optimal health. Her style is best described as slow, firm, relaxing, and nurturing. She accomplishes this by using a combination of long flowing sweeping strokes with specific pressure points that target key areas of stress. Her unique sensitivity enables her to fine tune and craft the massage session around each client’s individual needs. As an active athlete and body-worker, she understands the importance of flexibility and range of motion that massage therapy serves to address repetitive stress injury, fatigue, and tight muscles. She is skilled in using pressure from light to firm with a diverse range of modalities to help clients achieve deep relaxation and recovery.

on: Practitioner Bios, Polarity, Pre & post Natal, Shiatsu, Swedish Massage February 27, 2014

Pearl Jones

Pearl is native to Santa Cruz, and second generation massage therapist. Graduated locally from Cypress Health Institute in 2011, she has spent the last 8 years practicing massage and becoming the intuitive healer she is today. Specializing in Deep Tissue, Swedish, Prenatal, Hot-Stone, Chakra-clearing, and Polarity energy work. On her time off, she enjoys adventuring about our beautiful community with her husband and 3 sons. After all of her years in Santa Cruz, she still finds new treasures to be experienced. Change and newness are joys in life.

on: Chakra Balancing, Deep Tissue, Practitioner Bios, Polarity, Pre & post Natal, Swedish Massage July 29, 2019

Samantha Pope

While studying psychology and dance at the University of Florida, Sam took a semester of Thai massage within the dance department, and the spell was cast. After graduating, Sam found herself reconnecting with her Thai teacher, and an opportunity she couldn’t refuse appeared; an intimate apprenticeship to learn the art of Thai massage. For several years, Sam studied & practiced daily with her teacher, and eventually became a co-teacher in all workshops and classes. 

In 2017, Sam attended the Florida School of Massage to broaden her training and knowledge and became a licensed Massage Therapist. There she studied several modalities including Swedish, Connective Tissue Therapy, Reflexology, Polarity, Sports Massage & Neuromuscular Therapy. In 2022, Sam moved to Santa Cruz and joined the team at Well Within. Her sessions include elements of the modalities listed above, as well as space for intuition and in the moment discoveries. Her current specialty massage offerings include Deep Tissue, Prenatal, Thai Foot Reflexology, and Thai Massage.

on: Deep Tissue, Practitioner Bios, Polarity, Pre & post Natal, reflexology, Swedish Massage, Thai Massage August 25, 2022

Sarah Joy Zell

Sarah has been practicing massage since 2006 and she shares a lifelong passion for health and wellness for all people. Her sessions invite a sense of connection: connection to yourself and connection to the world around you. She loves how massage gives people the kinesthetic information they need to help heal from injuries and feel a greater sense of ease and wellbeing. Her modalities include Swedish Relaxation Massage, Pregnancy Massage, and Craniosacral Therapy. 

on: Craniosacral, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Swedish Massage August 3, 2022

Stacy Day

Stacy is a long-time bodywork practitioner, having been Nationally Certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork since 1994. Various trainings include: Swedish-Esalen, Deep Massage, including techniques for frozen shoulder, carpel tunnel, knee and hip concerns, Prenatal massage, Jin Shin Do Acupressure, Cranial-Sacral, Reiki, Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar and Sarga Silks, etc., and a graduate of Wat Po Thai Massage school. UCSC graduate with Psychobiology major, SFSU M.A. in Holistic Health & Philosophy. Past work as a birth Doula and Yoga instructor. Stacy is an annual guest bodyworker at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. At the Well, she also enjoys doing special treatments such as relaxation facials, foot treatments, aromatherapy, and hair & scalp conditioning.

on: Skin & Body Care, acupressure, Craniosacral, Deep Tissue, Esalan, Jin Shin So, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Swedish Massage, Thai Massage February 20, 2019

Tomek Walas

Tomek offers a wide variety of modalities for massage therapy including: Swedish, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point Release, Clinical Therapy, Pregnancy, Sports, Myofacial Release, Lymphatic Drainage, Post Operative Massage as well as Cranio Sacral Therapy. He combines these modalities to relieve the client’s symptoms which may include sports and work injuries, as well as aid in stress reduction and relaxation.

on: Clinical Therapy, Post Operative Massage, Craniosacral, Myofascial Release, Lymphatic Drainage, Practitioner Bios, Pre & post Natal, Sports Massage, Swedish Massage, Trigger Point Myotherapy February 12, 2019