About Dana Santas CSCS, E-RYT
Known as the “Mobility Maker,” Dana Santas is a mobility, breathing and mind-body coach in professional sports, a health & wellness expert for CNN, a best-selling author, creator of the YIT (Yoga-Inspired Training) Method for Athletes coaching certification, and an international presenter on ways to breathe, move and feel better in our bodies and minds for performance enhancement and healthier, happier living.
Specializing in training athletes/teams in MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS, PGA, WTA & WWE, Dana also proudly works with U.S. military, tactical athletes/first responders and veterans, and previously served the Boston Fire Department. With 15+ years in professional sports, her work experience spans hundreds of athletes and more than 45 teams worldwide, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Celtics, Tampa Bay Lightning, Houston Texans, Toronto Blue Jays, Orlando Magic, Boston Bruins, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, New England Patriots, and dozens more.
As an author, Dana has written dozens of published articles as well as the Amazon best-seller “Practical Solutions for Back Pain Relief” (Jan. 2018 Althea Press). Additionally, she presents worldwide at popular strength & conditioning, sports and fitness events, including Perform Better Summits, PLAE Summits, Hammer Strength Clinics, NSCA Conferences and Summer Strong Expo. As an expert on the integration of mobility, breathing biomechanics and recovery in professional sports, she’s been invited to speak at the Major League Baseball (MLB) Strength Coaches’ Winter Meetings as well professional golfing venues, including TPC and the World Golf Fitness Summit. She also conducts in-service presentations on a variety of health and wellness topics for private organizations, ranging from non-profits to Fortune 500 corporations.
Dana earned her B.A. cum laude from Tufts University in Medford, MA. She is a certified strength & conditioning coach through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) and has received extensive education through the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) as well as certifications/trainings with Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), Functional Movement Systems (FMS, FCS, SFMA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She’s also an experienced registered yoga teacher (E-RYT) and educator through Yoga Alliance. Dana is continually honing her skills and education through research, training and learning from the coaches, trainers, therapists and doctors in professional sports that she has the privilege to work with daily.
In addition to her ongoing role with CNN Health, she’s a recurring on-air fitness expert for the nationally syndicated morning show Daytime as well as Tampa Bay’s Bay News 9. An internationally recognized expert in physical and mental health and wellness, Dana is regularly sourced by the media, including Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Oxygen, Shape, Quick and Simple, Red Book, and Success Magazine. She’s also been featured with her pro athlete clients in Sports Illustrated, Hockey Magazine, USA Hockey, NHL Network, MLB.com, Fox Sports, CBS Sports and others.
To turn her passion for empowering people to breathe, move and feel better into a full-time endeavor, Dana left a high-paying marketing and public relations career that spanned nearly a decade. Prior to finding financial success in the corporate sector, she grew up poor, struggling as a single, teenaged mother to support her daughter and complete her education. Driven to escape poverty and achieve the “American Dream,”she graduated from college with honors in just three years and became the top-level marketing executive at an international firm by her mid-twenties.
But it didn’t take her long to realize that wasn’t HER dream…and she didn’t like the person she was when she was living it.
Dana’s exit from corporate America and determination to start all over again—putting in the time and effort necessary to earn her reputation as the “Mobility Maker”— embodies the evolution of her definition of success from material ideals to authentic happiness. She found that real success comes from following your passion, learning from the challenges and always being grateful for the chance to live your best life.
As such, her motto is: “Grateful for All of It.”
She shares her life experience through mentorship, lectures, interviews and social media with the hope to inspire others be true to themselves and realize that it’s never too late to figure out what really matters and change your life for the better.
The lucky mother of three amazing children and three rescue dogs, Dana lives in the Tampa Bay area with her very best friend, love of her life, and favorite training partner: her husband Donovan.