Breathe, Lift, Expand. Join Dr. Desi Bartlett — 2025 IDEA Fitness Leader of the Year, doctoral researcher, yoga expert, and Hawaii-based wellness force — for a conversation that is equal parts science and soul. Desi shares her groundbreaking research on yoga and perimenopause, walks listeners through a live breath practice for hot flashes, and gets refreshingly real about grip strength, Wonder Woman gloves, and going through three doctors before finding one who actually listened. This episode is a beautiful reminder that midlife is not about shrinking — it's about expanding into everything you are.

Takeaways

• Yoga, breath work, meditation, and community can meaningfully reduce common perimenopausal symptoms.
• Hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disruption often create a cascade effect — and that cycle can be interrupted.
• There are 77 documented manifestations of perimenopausal symptoms; grip strength loss is one most women never see coming.
• Tracking your symptoms is just as important as tracking your nutrition or your workouts.
• One hormonal panel at one point in time is not enough — you need a baseline and a comparison.
• HRT is not one-size-fits-all; there are gels, creams, pellets, injections, and more worth exploring.
• If a practitioner isn't listening, you are allowed to walk out and find someone who will.
• Getting health information from social media is not a substitute for individualized care.
• How others respond to your coaching is not a reflection of your worth as a professional.
• Midlife is an invitation to take up space — not shrink.

Chapters

• 00:00 Words of the Episode: Abundance, Breath, and Aloha
• 01:03 Meet Dr. Desi Bartlett: Fitness Leader of the Year and Doctoral Researcher
• 03:19 What the Research Actually Found: The Perimenopausal Cascade
• 04:26 Why Desi Chose This Area of Study
• 05:58 Calladita te ves mas bonita — and Why Desi Rejects It
• 06:28 The Most Impactful Tool: Breath Work and Sitali Pranayama
• 08:35 The 77 Symptoms Nobody Talks About — Including Grip Strength
• 10:39 Finding the Right Practitioner After Three Tries
• 13:22 HRT Is Not One-Size-Fits-All: Creams, Shots, and Pellets
• 16:16 Practical Advice for Fitness Professionals Navigating Their Own Symptoms
• 18:38 What We're Done With: Cold Plunges, Shrinking Women, and Taking Others' Choices Personally