Wellness Experts at Longevity Spa

DR JOANA SANTOS

Longevity Clinical Director

Having completed her studies in 2009 in Medicine, Dr Santos wanted to extend her knowledge and did a Masters in Aesthetic and Anti-Ageing Medicine at Cordoba University, in Spain.  Dr Joana Santos also frequently participates in international congresses such as AAMWC (Anti-Ageing Medicine World Congress in Monaco), and has completed several certifications. She is also an expert in aesthetic medical treatments such as botox, fillers, micro needling, mesotherapy, chemical peelings, threads, PRP (plasma rich in platelets. She is also a member of Aesthetic Portuguese Society.

Specialisation: Anti-Ageing | Preventative Medicine

RICARDO ROSA

Lead Physiotherapist and Osteopath

Ricardo Rosa is the Lead Physiotherapist and Osteopath at Longevity Wellness Worldwide. He was recognised by Conde Nast Traveller, as one of the 19 super therapist and best healers in the world.

After his Physiotherapy degree he felt that he could do much more to see the person as a hole on an integrative manner, given his passion for knowledge and learning, he went on to pursue academic training in Osteopathy at Escuela de Osteopatia in Madrid. Since his original degree he has completed several training courses to offer the answers for the clinical challenges that are presented every day.

A session with Ricardo is memorable and life changing given his ability to quickly identify and correct the root causes and not just the symptoms.

He is passionately committed to seeking knowledge and therapies that efficiently address dysfunctions in the briefest time possible, without the use of invasive therapies, or treatments that require long term dependency on the healing practitioner.

Specialisation: Physiotherapy I Osteopathy

ROSANA MONTENEGRO 

About 10 years ago, Rosanna found her true vocation and considered it was her life mission to create connections and bring more consciousness to the physical and energetic world that surrounds her.

Her path in Holistic Therapies begun with the Tarot, the curiosity and will to explore this area made study other related fields and take several certified courses, that along the years allowed her to develop her experience and practice in the different therapies she now does.

She believes that the bigger the knowledge one acquires, the bigger is one’s responsibility. She considers herself to be a good communicator and loves to share her knowledge and experiences in workshops, conferences and consultations. Rosana is a true expert the areas of Energetic Medicine, crystal therapy, Astrology and Numerology.

Her knowledge and great communication skills make her therapeutic techniques easy and very practical, so they can enhance and accelerate the processes of self knowledge, emotional detox, meditation, inner peace and also detoxification and energetic balance.

Specialisation: Holistic therapies I Energetic Medicine I Astrology

MELANIE NAVALHAS  

Melanie Navalhas, was born in Zurich, Switzerland and returned to Portugal with her parents and grew up in Reguengos de Monsaraz, in Alentejo.

At 11 years old, Melanie was diagnosed with hepatitis A (viral). For a month she did a specific diet for this liver disease and, through food, was cured. It was then that she began to want to work in nutrition.

Melanie started her career at Longevity in 2017, as a Trainee Nutritionist, moving with her dedication and competence to head of the food and beverage department at Longevity Cegonha Country Club. She graduated in Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Algarve, in 2016 and joined the Order Portuguese Nutritionists in 2017.

Specialisation: Nutrition

MARTA BATISTA

Marta Batista is a qualified Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Specialist and also a Physiotherapist since 2013. In 2018, she flew to Beijing to take an advanced course on acupuncture, which took place at the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies, and which included a theoretical component and a practical part in the hospital context, being able to contact with the reality of TCM in China.

Her passion for health comes hand in hand with the pleasure of understanding the global dimension of each person, in order to design a personalised treatment plan. There is a feeling of accomplishment and gratification for contributing to a more conscious and healthy life. She believes that healing is awareness and it results from the dynamic balance between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions. She also carries out other energetic therapies, such as Reiki, Energy Alignment and Emotional Balance Therapy, among others, defining herself as a holistic therapist.

Specialisation: Traditional Chinese Medicine

MIGUEL SILVA

Nurse Team Supervisor 

Born in Braga, Miguel completed his degree in Nursing in 2006, in Viana do Castelo. In September 2006, he started to work as a Nurse at the Centro Hospitalar do Algarve, where since 2006 he has spent five years in the Surgical Specialties service, about a year in the Emergency Room Service and since 2012 he has been in the Operating Room (with Surgery specialties) General, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Gynecology / Obstetrics and Urology), performing functions in the areas of anesthesiology, circulation, instrumentation and recovery. Miguel was part of the Longevity Nursing team and had contact for the first time with the concept of preventive and anti-ageing medicine. The interest in this integrated and holistic approach to the health process, aimed at prevention, early detection, diagnosis and correction of imbalances related to stress and lifestyle remained. In February 2018, he was nominated as the supervisor for the Nurse team. He understands physical and mental health as a dynamic process, which requires constant intervention and rebalancing in the various dimensions of the human being, in order to enhance the feeling of well-being and avoid the appearance of pathological processes or, in the presence of these, reduce to a minimum its impact on everyone’s lives

Specialisation: Nursing

KIRSTEN HELLUM 

Kirsten has been a registered colon hydrotherapist since 2011 and strongly believes that this treatment is an essential part of the body’s cleansing process, and an aid to correcting digestive disorders such as bloating, IBS and constipation amongst others.

She aims to provide support and education to clients, helping them to tune into their body’s needs, naturally and effortlessly.

For Kirsten good digestion, exercise and efficient elimination is crucial to feeling well and energized. Through Colonic hydrotherapy and nutritional support she will help to bring the digestive and elimination systems back into working order, which as a result, will strengthen and improve. She ensures that her clients will receive the utmost care, discretion and sensitivity throughout the treatment.

Kirsten regularly attends conferences and courses for continued education.

Specialisation: Colon Hydrotherapy

JOÃO PALMA 

Joao Palma is a yoga teacher certified by Ayur Yoga School in Rishikesh, India.

His favourite style is hatha yoga (indian classical) but he also teaches other styles. He has been teaching in the Algarve at several yoga centres and organises retreats in Portugal, Spain and Morocco. He visits India every year to improve his knowledge and skills in yoga and Ayurveda.

Specialisation: Yoga

DR JOÃO PESTANA  

Dr. João Paulo Pestana is a visionary Psychologist and an avid learner committed to the investigation, practice and dissemination of drug-free body-mind therapies, energy psychology, and the relationship between emotional stress and age-related illnesses.

He has been sharing his compassionate, client-centred therapeutical approaches in private practice since 2006. Authentic and a natural multidisciplinary, Dr. Pestana´s therapeutic model of intervention is of a psychodynamic orientation, he has also received extensive training in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), relaxation techniques, art therapy, psychodrama, Ericksonian hypnotherapy, and more recently energy psychology techniques such as Energy Freedom Technique (EFT) and Psych-K.

As a trauma and anxiety specialist, he has seen significant improvements in the quality of life of not only cancer patients, but also numerous others who have benefitted from his easy, functional and effective therapeutical approaches. In 2010 Dr. Pestana developed his own uniquely crafted intervention model called the “Pestana Method”, of which he offers regular training, a method that is based on the culmination of his extensive training, practice, research, and witnessing of the healing power of his drug-free interventions.

He is a certified Psychologist and is a member of several associations: Oncology Association of the Order of Psychologists, Portuguese Order of Health Psychology, and Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (USA).

Specialisation: Medical Psychology 

GUDRUN DOCHERTY 

Gudrun Docherty started teaching Power Yoga as a hobby in 1999 and explored all styles of yoga. He did formal teacher training in Yin & Yang Yoga with the British Yoga academy in 2012 in Koh Samui, Thailand. In 2015, he went to Toronto to do therapeutic intensive training with Susi Hately of Functional Synergy and continued online studies and mentoring with her. He started working full-time as yoga teacher/therapist in April 2018. He has also done courses in Kinetix Fascia Release.

Specialisation: Power Yoga