Yoga as Prehab for Coping With the Mental and Physical Challenges of Breast Cancer

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Transcript: Yoga as Prehab for Coping With the Mental and Physical Challenges of Breast Cancer

Season 11, Episode 23  | October 14, 2025

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Welcome to Life Time Talks. I’m Jamie Martin.

And I’m David Freeman.

And in this episode, we are recognizing that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, accounting for about 30% of all new female cancers that are diagnosed each year. Overall, there is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman in the United States will develop breast cancer in her Life Time. Every breast cancer story is different.

And in this episode, we’re really honored to speak to a Life Time member who is here to share her experience and how her yoga practice has helped her prepare for the mental and physical challenges that she faced with the disease. With that, David, I’m going to hand it over to you to introduce her.

Yes, yes, we have an amazing soul. Kimberlee Bleyer, she is a preschool teacher in Missouri and a member of our Life Time Frontenac Club. So when Kim is not in preschool classroom teaching pre-K kiddos, you can find her spectating her three little children at sporting or music events. Kim also loves to spend time in her backyard garden and at Life Time practicing yoga, swimming, and spinning. She is 46 years young and has been married to her college sweetheart for 25 years. That’s amazing, Kim. How are you?

I’m great. I’m great. I’m so happy to be talking with you guys.

Yeah, we’re excited to have you.

Absolutely. And so we know that we have talked to other women on our podcast who have shared their breast cancer stories with us as well. And we know that experience, like I said in the intro, is very different for each individual. We hear stories of women going through these different phases of life and experiences. And it’s like, oh, you think you can relate to it. But we’re all different. We all have our own responses and things like that. And we want to talk a little bit to you. Just kick us off by telling us a bit about yourself and the circumstances that led to your diagnosis.

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate you saying that because when you bring up that you’ve had breast cancer is a different story that comes back to you from each person. And in my circumstance, in October of 2023, I had just my annual mammogram. I have them every year. And what I also got back every year was a letter with a little fine print at the very bottom of the letter that said, you are in the high density breast — high breast density category, extremely high, which meant that they were recommending that I had an MRI.

When I read that at the bottom, and like I said, it was very small. And I just really read over it like, oh, maybe someday that will be something that I need to do. Well, my mom got breast cancer in 2020, which sort of heightened my sister and I to wanting to keep an eye on things. So when I went to my OB in February of 2024, I asked her about it. I said, look, I have this fine print on this letter. Do you think I should go ahead with an MRI? And she said, why don’t you get in touch with the program director of high risk breast cancer — the high risk breast cancer coordinator at Missouri Baptist Hospital?

So I did, and I went through what was called the breast cancer IQ survey. And the phone call about five days later that I did, in fact, make it into the high risk breast cancer category, which meant that I could have an MRI. And that would be covered by my health insurance. So that’s a brand new law that came into effect in July of 2023, very recently in Missouri.

And it’s very important because it turns out high density in your breasts is white. And cancer shows up in mammograms also white. So it basically masks anything that they could find unless you get an MRI. So I went ahead. I had to wait two months to get my MRI. So that was in April of 2024.

And the next day got the news that it was abnormal, which was a surprise. I think every step of the way is a surprise because I went into this with no symptoms at all, just kind of asking questions based upon the information I had. And with those abnormal results, the next step is to get an ultrasound. So I think it was probably a week and a half. It’s always about a week or two weeks later, you wait. And then, you do your next step.

Which feels like an eternity when you’re having news like that, right?

I always thought, if you have news like that, you would just the next day get in. But it’s not that way. So a couple weeks later, then I go in for my biopsy. And my husband went with me to that biopsy. And of course, they say if we do need to get the radiologist to discuss anything with you, do you have someone with you? And we’ll invite them and if so — well, of course, after that ultrasound they said, why don’t we bring your husband in? And I thought, oh, here we go.

So anyway, he came in with me. And she did say at that time, there is abnormality that we see on the right side and also on the left side. We’d like to now recommend you for a ultrasound-led biopsy. So a couple of weeks later, I went back in for that. And I think after that biopsy, it took about five days of waiting. It was over a weekend. And I got a little email from my MyChart, of course, that’s where I learned I had breast cancer. I opened the email. And of course, it led me to the diagnosis.

So I remember I was sitting upstairs in my bedroom getting ready for bed or something. And I was reading all these words that I had never seen before and went down to my husband and said, I think this means I have breast cancer. Strange way to find that out. But that’s where we are right now with our medical system. So when they called me the next day, I knew. I acted like I didn’t. But I knew what they were going to tell me. And it kind of went on from there. So I’ll pause. But that was when — how I learned I had cancer.

Wow.

Well, we appreciate you sharing that journey. And when you think of the word diagnosis, it’s like the waiting game or even when you’re starting to get a little bit more information and then waiting and waiting and waiting. But you’ve said, this is from you, as far as there’s so much out of our control when facing this diagnosis. However, we do not have to allow fear to overcome or freeze us. I want you to unpack that a little bit and also share with, in yoga, in your practice, how that’s helped prepare you mentally, physically, spiritually in this space as well.

Yeah, yeah, I guess I’ll start kind of with the idea of what is out of our control and what to do with that. It’s so true. It’s mind boggling how much is out of our control after you hear of that diagnosis. Really you have this narrative of your life. And then all of a sudden, it takes a sharp turn in a different — it’s almost time stops because you’re unpacking something that is so big and feels so unknown.

But really, I didn’t want that fear, like you said, to just become what defined me. I didn’t want — I didn’t want it to freeze me in that spot. And I think that I just didn’t want it to become my identity. So with all those things that are out of my control, mammograms, MRIs, ultrasounds, biopsies, all these things that come onto your calendar that you had not planned, it just goes on and on. I had a few things that I could decide for myself and I could control.

And one of those things was setting my alarm for 5:00 in the morning so I could get to Life Time for 5:45 AM Yoga Flow, hot Yoga Flow class. And I think when I started at Life Time, I thought of it just as a nice workout. It was with a lot of strong people, very strong-minded and strong bodies to get up that early to have that discipline. But it morphed. It changed. [INAUDIBLE] stay just workout.

It would eventually be the space where I was mentally and physically preparing for what was ahead of me, the challenges that I was going to face in breast cancer. And it, honestly, those teachers specifically, I think I can say their names, Jenny and Danielle, they are amazing. And they helped me maintain really like a rootedness and a mindfulness about what is good and what is true during that time when there was a lot of fear. Oh, I’m so eternally grateful. So, yeah.

And, Kim, if I’m hearing you right, it’s almost as if you have 45 chapters of this book that you’re an author of. And then, when you get to chapter 45 or 46, you’re like, wait, this isn’t part of the script. To your point, the narrative has now changed. Who’s writing this? But the part that stood out to me that you just said is instead of allowing that to take over, the fear of the unknown, you put yourself in a setting that allowed you to escape and connect to something greater. And you kind of just gave that gratitude statement to those individuals that helped within that community. But also, you discover something else about yourself when faced with adversity. And you now create that new chapter, if you will. So like just listening back to that, that was awesome to hear.

Thank you.

Yeah. So as you’re thinking about that, I mean, I know you ultimately — the treatment path that you ended up taking, you ultimately ended up with a double mastectomy. What were your options as you got that diagnosis? And then, how did you turn to your yoga practice, potentially to help you as you were making decisions and move through that process?

Yeah, yeah. So I was told eventually that double mastectomy would be the best path for myself. At first, there was a brief conversation with the breast surgeon about just doing a lumpectomy. But after she recommended the MRI led biopsy, then they found cancer in more than just the spot where they thought it was. And so at that point, she said, no, this is our decision. I think you should go with a mastectomy. And so that is when I went ahead and said, OK, I’ll do what you suggest. You’ve done the work here. And I trust you. And let’s go ahead with it. It felt good, honestly, to just have a decision from her that felt very certain.

That strong recommendation, like this is the best direction for you in the long term. Right?

Yes, yes. So I was positive positive, negative, HER2 negative. So the doctors were very optimistic about the treatment. But I didn’t know exactly what the treatment would entail until after the surgery because it had to go to pathology, the breast tissue, and the [INAUDIBLE] to go to pathology in order to say, this is actually what we would like to do going forward. So about a week after surgery, they were able to say confidently, we have the cancer as much as they can say that. And there was nothing in the lymph nodes. So that would mean the treatment recommendation would be not chemo, not radiation, but tamoxifen after that. So that was really very, very good news at that time.

Wow. I want to — if you don’t mind, I wouldn’t mind pausing for a second and just emphasizing something here for our listeners. I mean, the thing that struck me very early when you were talking was you said that you were symptom free. You had no signs of anything going on. You were very proactive. And once, like you said, you knew your mom had had this diagnosis, you and your sister. But it really was you having, in many ways, to advocate for yourself, to take that next step and to ask for the things. And I think that’s such an important part to emphasize. And then you said, working with your health provider to get their recommendation for what was best for you.

But I think that’s part of this really important movement that is happening, like the advocating for ourselves and our health care. I am similar to you. I get that same fine print when I get my mammography back. And it’s one of those things where it’s like, well, do I do that or not? Like, I feel — there’s a confusion that can happen. And like, we have to know, we have listen to our own instincts and follow through. So I just thank you for sharing that. And also, it’s a reminder for all of us. We get to take proactive steps when it comes to our health. And we can ask for more when it comes to our health care.

Yeah, and I think you kind of know the doctor that is in your care that they all have your back. But the ones you have that strong connection with that you can ask questions and you know that you’re going to get a real answer back from them. And I actually what’s exciting about — I think this fall or maybe last fall, I’m off on my timeline. But it is now, by law, required that, after your mammogram, that you’re given how dense your breasts are. So then, I mean, they’ll give it on a scale. So in that way you’ll know what was the [INAUDIBLE] of going further with an MRI or not. So it’s good news.

Yeah, that is great news. And I think it’s also too, there’s interesting things happening in the space of AI and diagnosing breast cancers. There was just the rate at which AI is able to better identify breast cancer and support that diagnostics.

Wow, yeah.

Super interesting.

So, David, go ahead.

Yeah, Kim, I want to dive into the yoga practice because obviously this has been, once again, something that has elevated your spirit and put you in a place to elevate you as an individual. So can you walk us through as far as the different stages of your practice after you got the diagnosis and how it’s been super helpful for you?

Yes, I [INAUDIBLE] where to start. Honestly, I was very nervous when I got the diagnosis because it was challenging to find podcasts or books or articles or whatever that were women, young women saying, here I am on the other side of this, stronger than I was before. And particularly, I listened to one podcast where this woman was like I have never been able to do — I don’t know what pose she said. But she said — I can’t remember now. But she said, I’ve never been able to do it the same. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do this the same.

And I was crushed. I was like, here we go. And so what I found, honestly though, in reality after this mastectomy, that your practice, it’s not over. It’s not over. It’s going to shift for a time. But this recovery season is about something different in your practice than it was before. I think after surgery, I can remember — well my OT and also the plastic surgeon said to me, OK, it’s been — I think it was about five or six weeks. And they said, you’re ready. And I was like, ah, I just cried happy tears.

And I got on my Life Time app. And I registered for, I think, I started with an Aurora class, which I knew I wouldn’t push myself to hard in. And I’m very thankful for that experience. But I think my body, because I took it slow, I was, bit by bit, I was able to feel when I was ready to lengthen, when I was ready to push again, when I was ready to pull. And it was strange at first, though, because here I am in this space where I pushed my body so hard before. But I couldn’t do that. I would literally reverse the healing that was happening. So it was amazing in those times to hear the teacher say, and maybe you don’t go into Down Dog right now. Maybe you’re staying on your knees. Or maybe you’re not raising your arms over your shoulders. But they’re staying out to the side.

There’s modifications that were being noticed and named, and not just for me, but that allowed me to slowly get back my strength. And they would say things like, even if all you’re doing is breathing and Child’s Pose, you are doing what your body needs today. And [INAUDIBLE]. It really did. I think your body is — after a mastectomy, your body is very different. It’s very changed. It really is. And it takes a while for scars and for healing and things like that to become familiar with those things. And practicing yoga, I think, was having to modify.

I don’t know. It allowed me to become familiar with this, like, with really a new body. And it helped me to gain back my strength and confidence. A beautiful thing it was. Yeah, I can say now, I listened to that podcast. That was so discouraging. But I can be a voice that says, seven months later, after all those surgeries, I honestly am stronger. And I am more present in my yoga practice than I was before my diagnosis. And I’m thankful.

Yeah. Well, Kim, it sounds like you — I mean, yoga seems like has been part of your life for a long time prior to your diagnosis as well. And what I’m hearing here too is the way that even your mindset about what yoga is changed with your diagnosis because it sounded like you said I challenged myself. I would push myself in these poses.

And then, there was like this understanding yoga is something else. And so a level of in-tuneness with yourself, with your body, with your mindset. Like, that to me, seems like an in addition to modifying how you moved your body. But it was also a mindset shift for you in terms of what it did for you and those phases of life, the before and after, so to speak.

Absolutely.

1. Awesome.

Yeah, Kim, I mean, when you were having that reflection, his name is Rob Glick. He’s based out of California. He’s an amazing yoga instructor. And I remember him taking us through a flow. And to your point, whatever you’re in right now, whatever’s comfortable for you right now, right here, right now, focus on your breath, is what he said. And I was probably the least limber, flexible person in that class.

And being a competitive person, kind of just knowing where your body was, and I’m going back to your story. And now, feeling like what I’m not able to do, it’s almost like that comparison game of what I once was. But when he said what he said, all that matters right now is your breath and you’re here right now, right here, right now, and focusing on that breath, which leads me to my next question.

Shavasana, it’s obviously something that’s practiced usually at the end of a yoga sequence. And for our listeners, I’ll have you kind explain to them, just because it’s within your practice, what it means to you and what exactly it is and why it’s so important.

Yeah. Shavasana took me a while to really accept, I guess, would be the word to say because I think — like you said, being a competitive person, coming into a space where you’re — when I first thought of yoga as a workout, I felt like I was wasting my time. Because you’re on your back. Your arms are up to the sky. And you really are just still. And it could be 5 to 8 minutes of your time that you’re devoting to your workout that is this Shavasana.

But that’s changed for me now. I would say, especially during this last season with breast cancer, I started to look forward to Shavasana in the sense that I think the way that it was explained helped me because that was the time when I was learning to let the practice that I had just completed just take root in my body and accept it and listen to maybe what my body had learned during that time in my mind and my body and my soul. And it was wild for me this last year because I would often start to tear up during Shavasana. And I was like, well, where did this come from. I went from really not liking that time to all of a sudden emotions were coming out.

And recently, one of the teachers said something about this is the time when you have that thought, that thing that you’re holding on to so tightly, if it wings and let it fly. And I think that is a good description of what actually was happening for me in that moment. Because when I was still, I had to face what I was facing. And that was lots of unanswered questions and things that I had no control over, like we talked about. And that was scary. And it felt heavy in that moment. And it snuck up on me often I think because during my day-to-day life, I was very guarded and strong.

Because I think when you have a cancer diagnosis, people start to look at you like, I mean, you just see it on their face. Like, they’re worried. They’re nervous, and rightfully so. But as the person with the cancer, you’re like, it’s time to fight. Like, here we go. Like, now it’s time to work. And I was in that mindset all day. And I didn’t want people to worry. I didn’t want to be what I was feeling or experience to be causing them hardships.

So in that moment of Shavasana, all of a sudden I was alone with that. And I was alone with the fact that things were about to change. And I was processing it. And it’s become a very important, crucial. And now, I really can understand thanks to really the grace and the wisdom that these teachers can share and can guide us through that time.

Yeah.

You use two analogies in just talking through that I think that are very — they almost feel like opposites. But they both have their place. You said taking root. Like it’s, a place where your practice that you just did can take root, but also letting things go, right? You give it wings. Let it fly. And it feels like that is that time. It’s like the acceptance of the things that you need right now and the release of what you don’t. Right? And I think — it was funny. I was like, I’ve had yoga teachers say that too. This is the time when you take it in. And you keep what you need. And you let go of what you don’t. And this is that practice.

And it seems so silly and simple when you look at it at face value. But it is much deeper than that. So I think that’s — to see those two opposite ends almost, there’s a place for both and a need for both. Right?

– Yeah, yeah, thanks for pointing that out. The rooting and the flying away, that’s cool.

Yeah, I think that’s a great — like, I got to keep that. You can almost visualize it too. So if you’re a visual person to be able to take that with you. But anyway, you also have said that prehabbing — like, yoga was a form of prehab for you before the surgery. And you credit it with why you feel like you’ve been successful in your recovery in these months since then. Tell us about what that rehabbing looked like prior to going into your surgery and how that translated, like for you kind of going into it and then coming out of it as well.

Yeah, I, honestly, I didn’t think about it at the time. But I thought about it after surgery. And one of the reasons why this idea of prehabbing I’m so excited about is when I went to my OT for the first time and she was going to take a look at how I could stretch my arms and all sorts of different measures that she had to deal with her. And she was just like, wow, what did you do leading up to the surgery? And I was like, well, I just did what I did. I didn’t think of it that way until afterwards.

So I think, though, in looking back, I would love for people to really be able to grasp the idea of that time of pre-surgery being a time when you’re, not only strengthening your muscles, you’re strengthening your heart, your mind, your body for this really big shock that it’s about to encounter. And I think you can find a strength in that you didn’t have the day before your diagnosis, that you go into yoga or spinning or lifting or swimming or whatever you’re doing. You go into it with a different motivation. And you really do. It switches immediately.

So not only does your calendar get taken over by all the appointments. But also, your mind can be taken over by just preparing yourself to be in a healthy space. It’s such an exciting concept. And I think that it made me think of when one of my favorite yoga teachers, she’ll have us near the end of our practice in hot yoga to hold the pose for a really long time. It might be the [INAUDIBLE] Pose or Boat Pose or — well, I don’t think she’d have us — well, no. Sometimes she does have us hold Boat Pose. [AUDIO OUT] Goddess Pose or whatever. And she’s like, how are you going to respond now?

So you’ve got sweat dripping. You’re shaking. And she’ll say, it’s OK to shake. That’s OK. And I think she’s asking us, are you going to listen to those thoughts in your mind that are telling you that you can’t? Are you going to push through it? Not if you’re going to be hurt, stop. But if you’re just in a little bit of uncomfortability, push through and see what happens. She’ll say, play your edge. And I love that.

I like that.

I have a very love-hate relationship with that part, of course. But I do look forward to it because I want to see. I want to see what’s going to happen next. But I think — honestly, when I was in that MRI led biopsy, which was a very challenging procedure. I leaned on that because I was very uncomfortable. And it’s uncomfortable for so many different reasons. But I knew I could do it. I knew I had pushed my body to a place that was hard and made me shake and was uncomfortable and that I was OK on the other side. And I think that’s part of prehabbing. I mean, that’s — I can see now. I needed that so I could take it to that biopsy and go, I can do this. You’re having [AUDIO OUT] all this stuff to me. But I’m OK. I can do it.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

David, this reminds me. Just I just think we talk about this so often on this podcast, Kim. And what you just said is like, we have some of these practices in our lives, whether it’s a regular strength training routine, your yoga practice, whatever, or maybe it’s your meditation practice where you’re like, I’m going to sit here. I’m going to do this for 15 minutes, an hour, whatever it is. But we practice it. And we do it again over and over again. And then, it becomes a tool that we can lean on. It’s building physical and mental resilience to get through the hard things when they happen to us.

Because I mean, we talk about that. It’s about the repetitions. David, you are all about the reps. And this is not just when it comes to the physical, it’s the mental too. And it matters. Like, you don’t know when you’re going to lean on it.

Absolutely.

Kim, did you say — I want to — because I’m going to use it. And I love it. Did you say play with the edge? What was it?

Play your edge.

Play your edge. Ooh, I like that. That gave me goosebumps. I like that. I like that a lot.

Not me, that’s Jenny Bailey.

Oh, no. I mean, we’re about to talk about Jenny and Rachel, actually. So I mean, you dropped her name earlier. So shout out to them and the Frontenac team. So you said strength in — I’m going to fill in the blank. I want to say numbers. Strength in community within Life Time and beyond Life Time how you’ve been helped — they’ve helped you within this journey. So let’s go ahead and shine some light on them. You talked about Jenny a little bit. I believe it was Rachel as well.

Danielle.

You said Danielle?

Yes.

Like, let the people know how they have — and people outside of them as well — how they helped you through this journey.

Yeah, I often think, when you’re a really good teacher, I think you come into your classroom. And you hopefully come refreshed and full of energy for what you’re about to give to your class. And these teachers do that freshly every single time. And that’s — across the board, that’s been my experience at Life Time . But you give so much of your heart and soul in yoga. And I am just always appreciative and amazed at how they are able to do that.

Well, Jenny, when I did tell her, she was one of the first people I told about my breast cancer because I just wanted her to know because obviously things were going to change for my practice pretty soon. And she immediately said, let me connect you. If you’re OK with it, let me connect you to another yogi here at Life Time, who has also been on a breast cancer journey, young woman. And would you be OK with that? And I said absolutely please. Because I have one of my best friends has gone through this about five years ago and my mother. But I really didn’t know many other people my age.

And so she connected us. And Rachel was OK with that. And she was honestly — she was a huge encouragement prior to surgery to just tell me what to expect. But also to encourage me that afterwards I would be back at it. And she’s a couple months ahead of me. So if I was at a class with her, I’d kind of peek and be so encouraged to see that her — she’s so strong. And she’s there all the time. And what a beautiful example of going through all of this with such bravery.

And her story is very different than mine, like you said. But in different ways, the way that she’s had to go through treatment and things. But she was there for it. I mean, we still end up next to one another in classes on the mat sometimes. And it’s a huge encouragement. We always get to talk. And I am thankful to Jenny for connecting us. I hope to be able to do that for someone someday also. So yeah.

That’s awesome.

Yeah, absolutely. Well so, Kim, how are you doing now? It’s been about a year since — you’re just past a year as at the time of recording this, since you were first diagnosed. How are you doing? And how is your yoga practice these days as you’re moving through that into this next stage of it?

Yeah, yeah, I am doing so well. I am stronger than I was before my diagnosis. I am alcohol free for six months now. I am full of more energy and life and excitement than I was — oh, all things I feel like prior to diagnosis have taken a really positive and wonderful turn. I feel blessed and grateful to be able to say that at this point. My yoga practice is still practicing. I still go to — I go to Tuesday early mornings, Friday early mornings. I cycle on Thursdays. And then, I swim a couple times a week. I just got a road bike. And I’m riding now with a local bike shop. And so yeah, a lot of new things that I’ve added. Yeah, enjoying them.

That’s awesome.

Yeah

All right, let’s play a little game, Kim. Fill in those lyrics. Get your motor running —

Head out on the highway.

Yeah, yeah. So outside of yoga, you also hit the road, do a little cycling. Let’s talk about the riding that you do and how that’s been helpful to you as well. And to our understanding, you also have raised funds for Pedal For a Cause. So let us know why that’s important to you.

Yeah, so this will be my fifth year riding Pedal For a Cause. And it’s the first year I formed a team. We’re called the WG. We’re in Webster Groves, Missouri. So we’re the WG Warriors.

WG.

Yes. And I can’t tell you how many of my best friends have either have cancer currently or have had it. But we’re going to be together. And we’re going to ride. And we have support from other people in our community that are either going to ride or have supported us. This is a local bike ride that Saturday kids are invited. And they do a little ride. And then, there’s a huge inspirational event that is just beautiful. They hold the realities of cancer, but yet the hope that we can have through research and the amazing doctors.

It’s all local. So 100% of the money goes to Siteman Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital. And then on Sunday is the adult rides. And it’s anywhere from 10 to 100 miles. Some are road. Some are a mix of gravel and road. The one that I’ll be riding is a Ted Jones Classic. It’s like a 30-mile ride with gravel.

Someday, my goal is the 100. Someday we’ll get there. Not ready yet, but it’s an amazing event. It’s so inspirational. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that. And we’re having a spin fundraiser coming up soon, [INAUDIBLE] bar location. Also a friend who’s an instructor there. And she’s going to lead that. So there’s all sorts of goodness that is coming.

That’s amazing. That’s so great. Well, Kim, did we miss anything? Is there anything else you want to make sure our listeners know — our listeners and viewers know, I should say, before David asks his final surprise question?

Yeah.

If I could leave people with one thing, I think I would just say early detection is so important. And if you can keep up with your annual appointments, that is amazing. Ask your doctors all the questions that you have because every question is important. And in my case, I think led to an early diagnosis. And there’s so much you can do with that. So yeah, put that on your calendar.

Yes, right. If there’s one thing you do right now, go write something. Make an appointment. Set a reminder.

And just this experience has made me such a strong believer in caring deeply for our bodies. And I think — our bodies and our emotional health. Like you said, it’s preparing us for something we don’t know what that might be. But doing that preparation every day is worth it. And I’m thankful for Life Time and how it’s allowed me to have those opportunities.

Yeah, we’re grateful for you as well.

Thank you.

All right. Mic drop moment time. Are you ready?

I don’t know.

Yes, yes, the answer is yes. All right, let’s try it again. Mic drop moment time. Are you ready?

Yes!

There it is. OK. All right. Kim, if your yoga mat could talk, what would it say?

[LAUGHTER]

Oh, my god. That’s so funny because I’m picturing it. It has a big [AUDIO OUT] My yoga mat would say breathe, balance, and let it go.

Say it again.

Breathe, balance, and let it go.

Yep, there’s a mantra for you. Take it with you. Like, that’s one of those things where it’s like, hey, good reminders for all of us. So, Kim, thank you so much for sharing your story with us, with the fellow Life Time community that joins us here on a regular basis. We want to point people to where they can connect with you if they like.

You’re at Kimberlee, K-I-M-B-E-R-L-E-E, Kempf, K-E-M-P-F-F, on Instagram. And we’ll include a link to your fundraiser and all of that on our show notes page as well. But I mean, thank you for being an inspiration for having these conversations and sharing. Because again, as you said, like, hopefully this will inspire somebody to take that next step. And hopefully also, you’ll be able to connect somebody to other resources down the road too. So thank you for joining us today.

Thank you. So good to meet you.

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