Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melanie Santos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Melanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Motherhood has a way of clarifying things, stripping away illusions, and making the truth undeniable. Less than a year after giving birth to my daughter, I stood at a crossroads. On one side was the corporate marketing job I had worked very hard for — the salary, the benefits, the societal approval, and what looked good on paper. On the other was a calling so deep, so undeniable, that ignoring it would have been a betrayal of my soul. The choice wasn’t easy at all. Walking away from security and into something as fluid and unpredictable as entrepreneurial wellness work, especially in a world that doesn’t fully understand or embrace it, felt like stepping off a ledge with no guarantee of a safe landing. But I knew I had to answer the call.

So, after 7 years of building a healthcare marketing career, I surrendered and made a huge shift into working for myself. And in doing so, I stepped fully into my dharma as a sacred artist, a well-being educator, and a guide for those seeking alignment in a time of profound recalibration. It wasn’t just about leaving a job, it was about stepping into my role as a healer at a time when the world needed it most.

There were moments that stretched me, that asked me to trust deeper than I ever had before, moments where the path wasn’t always clear, where the next step required more faith than certainty. But I’ve learned that when I center heart-centered impact over income, when I focus on truly serving, supporting, and creating from a place of alignment, the income always finds its way to me. Not as a reward, but as a natural byproduct of walking in my gifts, talents, and purpose.

Beyond partnering with brands and organizations that align with my mission of equitable mental, physical, and spiritual well-being — companies like Nike, Meta, and Responsibility.org — I’ve built a virtual community that, for over five years (2019-2024), provided more than 500 BIPOC women with wellness education, spiritual support, and a safe space to land and express themselves fully. Through this membership community, I didn’t just create a space for learning and healing, I’ve also invested in other well-being experts of color, paying them to lead workshops and share their expertise. I’ve been able to amplify their voices, giving them a platform to be seen, valued, and celebrated, while weaving these beautiful webs of education, connection, and resilience in a world that doesn’t easily allow us to do this.

Throughout the pandemic, I showed up in the uncertainty, offering virtual well-being resources through YouTube, live calls, and one-on-one sessions, making healing accessible when the world needed it most. And in all of this, in every offering, every gathering, every moment of intentional work, I’ve helped marginalized people feel more empowered, more seen, more whole. The center of my work has been to remind people of who they are as powerful energetic beings living nuanced human experiences, their strengths, their gifts, their talents, and their undeniable importance in this world.

A decision I once feared has, in reality, been the most deeply aligned and abundant journey I could have chosen, both for myself and for the world. My work continues to naturally evolve to meet the collective in this time of deep transformation. And I know this is just the beginning. The opportunities keep coming, the work keeps expanding, it’s only up from here.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a multidisciplinary sacred artist, a well-being educator, and a guide for those navigating the deep work of personal and collective transformation. Through Kundalini Yoga, meditation, energy recalibration, visual art, and immersive experiences, I help people remember who they are beneath our human conditioning, recalibrate their energy, and step into their personal power with clarity and intention. My work is rooted in the understanding that we are all energy beings in human bodies — highly sensitive spirits incarnate — and that to create a world rooted in liberation and well-being for all, we must first cultivate it within ourselves.

HOW I GOT HERE:

My journey to this work was paved by lived experience. I was born and raised in New York City by Cuban and Dominican immigrant parents, deeply rooted in the ancestral ways of eating, moving, thinking, and healing that have always been a part of my lineage. But like many in my community, mental health was never something we openly discussed. I had battled with depression and anxiety for most of my life, and after a severe mental health crisis in 2013, I broke the cycle of silence in my family, sought therapy, and committed myself to understanding healing from a holistic perspective.

When I first encountered “the wellness space,” I didn’t see myself in it at all. It felt inaccessible, disconnected from culture, and out of reach for anyone who wasnt rich or white. So, I created my own way. What started as sharing my personal healing journey online through a blog in 2013 evolved into a global community of over 80,000 people seeking guidance, alignment, and deeper connection to self through my artful expressions of truth.

WHAT I OFFER:

At the core of my work is helping people reconnect to themselves, especially those who have felt unseen in traditional wellness spaces. I offer digital resources, one-on-one energy readings, immersive virtual and in-person retreats, and virtual and print products that provide tools for holistic recalibration, self-inquiry, and energetic realignment.

My YouTube channel and website are becoming a growing hub of well-being resources, offering tools for recalibration and alignment that are accessible to anyone seeking them. This includes Kundalini yoga, a deeply transformative practice that weaves together movement, breathwork, meditation, and mantra to strengthen the nervous system, expand awareness, and clear energetic blockages. As a 220-hour certified Kundalini Yoga teacher, I am committed to sharing this practice with integrity. Not just as a tool for personal transformation, but as a means of collective recalibration in a world that is constantly shifting.

I am grateful that my work has also led me to collaborate with brands and organizations like Nike, Meta, Squarespace, Responsibility.org, NYC Health, and more.

WHAT SETS ME APART:

I don’t do surface-level wellness work centered on capitalist “self-care.” My work is about real transformation, helping people remember who they are on a spiritual and energetic level, beyond the societal noise. I weave together ancient and modern practices in a way that is deeply intentional, culturally rooted, and energetically potent. I like to believe that I’m making it cool to live and honor truth and live intentionally!

What I’m most proud of is the impact of this work and the lives that have been transformed along the way. From helping people shift their perspectives and see themselves or the world in a new light, to inspiring them to start therapy for the first time, to embracing their differences as divine uniqueness in a world that needs to feel it expressed fully, it has been incredible to witness these moments of awakening. Hearing the testimonies of those who have engaged with my work — how a single offering, a meditation, a reading, or a shared insight has changed the course of their lives — reminds me why I do this every single time. That this is about creating ripples that extend far beyond us for generations to come.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Other than training and knowledge, what I think is the most helpful for succeeding in my field is embodiment — fully standing in my truth, my wisdom, and my cultural vibrancy in a world that often tries to strip those things away. As a BIPOC woman in the white- and wealth-dominated wellness space, success isn’t just about what I know, but about how deeply I embody what I teach.

The wellness industry has a long history of extracting from cultures like mine, taking our practices and our traditions, and repackaging them for profit without acknowledgment. The real work, and what has made me successful thus far, is refusing to shrink or compromise my integrity in the face of that. I weave together my ancestral knowledge, lived experience, spiritual and energetic training, and creative expression in a way that cannot be replicated and repackaged because it comes from a place that is authentically mine. And in an industry that often rewards sameness, I’ve found success and honor by embracing and highlighting what makes me different.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely. I have been in the wellness industry for almost 12 years, and in that time, I’ve watched it evolve in ways that feel like a homecoming. I’ve witnessed the shift from surface-level self-care, bubble baths, candles, and therapy, to a much deeper conversation about what it actually means to be “well.” Now, the conversation is shifting to being physically resourced, spiritually anchored, politically aware, and having a strong nervous system to hold all of these shifts at once. I think the world is starting to understand that the decision to center our well-being is a political statement, one that directly impacts our communities and the world at large. And I want nothing more than to be a part of where it’s going next.

As a BIPOC, American-born woman with Caribbean roots, my lived experience shapes everything I do. I can see very clearly how many of the world’s most powerful wellness practices come from Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. Yet for so long, we’ve been excluded from the very spaces profiting from them. That’s been shifting for a while, and I believe that now it’s coming to a head.

I see a growing recognition of just how much BIPOC individuals bring to wellness, and more initiatives are emerging to support and amplify our voices, our businesses, and our expertise, simply because we spoke up and commanded the recognition our ancestors deserve. And in an industry projected to reach $9 trillion by 2028, there’s not only room for financial growth but a long-overdue reckoning. The shift is happening, and I’m grateful to be here, helping build towards it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melaniesantos.co
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/melaniesantos.co
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/melaniesantos

Image Credits

All images my own.