About Gina
Each person is on a distinct wellness journey. No matter your current point in that journey, the right approach can help you reach your goals and cultivate a greater sense of well-being in your life.
Nice to meet you
I'm Gina Santangelo — Master Pilates Instructor, two-time author, and the founder of SOVA within. I own GLOW Body Pilates Studio in Ridgewood, NJ, founded Flow Pilates Centre in Tenafly, and have spent over thirty years guiding women through movement, nutrition, and what the body knows first.
How I Got Here & How I Teach
I started dancing at age three — ballet, tap, jazz — and didn't stop until I was eighteen. In my twenties I discovered Callanetics, and that practice quietly rewired everything I understood about the body. I became a certified Callanetics instructor in the late 1990s, and in the early 2000s I opened Flow Pilates Centre in Tenafly, NJ — one of the area's first dedicated Pilates studios. I ran Flow for fourteen years before selling it in 2016 and opening GLOW Body Pilates Studio in Ridgewood, NJ a year later.
My approach is rooted in Pilates — alignment, breath, control, precision — and built outward to include strength training, functional movement, and the small daily choices that compound into lasting health. I trained under Yamuna Zake in Yamuna Body Rolling since 2003, became a STOTT PILATES instructor and teacher trainer facility, completed the FAMI Anatomy Workshop at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a ten-week Anatomy Through Movement intensive with Irene Dowd of Juilliard and the National Ballet School of Canada. I'm a Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition — where I studied under Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. David Katz, Dr. Walter Willett, and Geneen Roth — and a Master Level Reiki practitioner.
Three decades in, I still believe the same thing: the body knows first. My job is to listen with you.
What I Offer Now
I teach private and semi-private Pilates sessions in studio and virtually via Zoom, with two signature programs:
- GLOW Body Evolution (launched 2018) — my comprehensive approach to strength, alignment, and whole-body integration.
- The Muscle Integrity Program: Strength for Life (launched February 2025) — focused on building muscle integrity and functional strength for the long arc.
Mindfulness and nutritional counseling are woven into every program at no additional cost. If you're looking to move, feel, and live better, I invite you to reach out and explore which program fits your needs best.
Latest Project — SOVA withinÂ
Released on iOS in May 2026, SOVA within is the audio companion app I built for the moments when the mind won't quiet — drawing on every layer of my three-decade practice in movement and women's wellness. Sound, breath, short guided practices, pages to write and reflect on, and gentle daily prompts — all designed for women who are done performing okay.
for when your mind needs somewhere to land
Follow  on Instagram.
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Author & Advocate for Clean Living
I've written two books for women who want lasting change — not the next trend.
Eat Clean, Live Free: A Woman's Guide to Health, Beauty, and Youthful Energy (2015) is my deep guide to clean eating, gentle detox, and the mindset shifts that make wellness actually stick. It introduces my signature 5 to Thrive framework — Nourish & Nurture, Choose Happiness, Pause & Balance, Align The Non-Negotiables, Journey To The Positive — five principles I still teach in my one-on-one work today. Foreword by Jared Koch, founder of Clean Plates.Â
Pilates for Beginners: A Woman's Guide to Strength, Flexibility, and Balanced Posture (Kindle, 2016) was born from years of clients asking for a clear, safe place to start. A foundational Pilates guide with my Callanetics roots woven in — focused on alignment, posture, pelvic floor wisdom, and the form that makes movement actually work.Â
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A Personal Journey Through Loss & Healing
In 2011, my life took a profound turn when I lost my 18-month-old daughter, Saria, to SUDC. I had been a wellness professional for decades by then — but losing Saria changed how I understood everything I had been teaching. The work that was already my life took on a different kind of depth.
It was the hardest experience of my life. It also gave me purpose. My heart will forever bear a tear, but my children remain my light — Darius here on earth, and Saria from above. Every time I support, guide, and empower others, I know Saria's presence is there.
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Start Your Journey Today
If you’re looking to move, feel, and live better, I invite you to reach out and explore which program fits your needs best. Whether you’re starting with Pilates as a foundation or ready to integrate strength and mobility work, I look forward to guiding you toward a stronger, more resilient body and mind.