Television and online media have a long history of being powerful means to influence people’s thoughts about health, fitness, and self-care. Over the past few decades, there have been growing demands for on-demand wellness content, which prompted fitness professionals, teachers, and public health advocates to keep up with shifting platforms. According to Allied Market Research, the online and virtual fitness market is projected to exceed $59 billion by 2027, driven largely by in-home wellness programs. In this fast-moving space, known personalities with a blend of formal education and informal, conversational communication styles have played a significant role in mainstreaming “evidence-based” wellness practices and making them more widely available.
One such personality whose reach cuts across old-school broadcast media and new-age wellness streaming channels is Dr. Desi Bartlett. With well over three decades of experience in health and wellness, Bartlett has gradually built her body of work across television, online video channels, and podcasts, leveraging these media as avenues for education and community building. Her media presence is a career spent on bringing sophisticated health knowledge into practical advice for women managing various phases of life, pregnancy and postpartum, perimenopause and midlife.
Television presence by Bartlett has been ongoing on both English and Spanish-language channels. She has had guest expert spots on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates, including Good Day LA, KTLA 5, and KVVU Fox5 segments. Bartlett appeared on ABC News 7 and Good Day LA in 2019, where she talked about prenatal yoga and its applicability to contemporary mothers. Her knowledge has also been shared with Spanish-language communities through TV appearances on Univision and Telemundo, including Telemundo AZ in October of 2022. These networks, which reach millions of homes combined, have been a venue for Bartlett to discuss culturally relevant issues in women’s health and communicate directly with various audiences.
In addition to primary networks, Bartlett has also appeared on specialty shows that target lifestyle, family, and health. She has been featured on AZTV7’s Arizona Daily Mix, The Donna Drake Show: Live It Up, and The Daily Refresh. Her posts have tended to track broader popular discussions around holistic living, such as workout routines specific to mothers, the emotional recovery of postpartum, and the increased interest in natural solutions to hormonal health. These programs, which typically run in syndicated or regional markets, have helped push Bartlett’s reach into cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, and Las Vegas beyond coastal media markets.
Bartlett has served as an on-camera yoga and fitness expert for brands such as Beachbody On Demand, iFit, BetterMe, and DailyOM. These platforms offer services to broad user bases in need of guided workout material, particularly in the aftermath of boosted interest in remote health during and post-COVID-19 pandemic. On iFit, Bartlett hosts prenatal yoga and meditation classes with modifications suitable for pregnant women. On BetterMe, she offers postnatal exercise routines for recovery and core rehabilitation. Her DailyOM programming addresses perimenopausal shifts, interweaving physical activity with conversations regarding shifts in mood, sleep patterns, and hormones. Her programming is viewed by users all over the world, an indication of the scalability and reach of her instruction.
Besides her video instruction, Bartlett has communicated directly with listeners via podcasting, a growing, powerful tool within the health and wellness industry. She has appeared as a guest on The Brave Table, a podcast hosted by Dr. Neeta Bhushan interviewing people on resilience and transformation; The Midlife Makeover Show, in which she spoke about movement strategies for women aged 40 and older; and Badass Women at Any Age, highlighting women leaders who are living professional and personal transformation. Her podcasts tend to appeal to listeners who are looking for depth rather than trends, and Bartlett’s interviews usually concern balancing evidence-based practice with personal knowing, a persistent theme in her larger work.
Her podcast guest roles have also enabled her to share openly about the crossroads of physical health and mental health, especially for women dealing with burnout, identity changes, or hormone imbalance. Other programs that have had Bartlett as a guest are The Root of Our Health, Parently, Fit, Fun, and Frazzled, and Forever Young. All such appearances build a picture of a practitioner who is keen on having regular communication with the public, particularly on subjects that are usually underrepresented in conventional medical or fitness media.
Her educational history, including a BS in kinesiology and an MS in corporate fitness from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a doctorate from Concordia St. Paul University, has been mentioned repeatedly in her media appearances. While many fitness personalities concentrate on appearance or trends alone, Bartlett tends to base her communication on functional movement, long-term health results, and emotional stability.
Media platforms that carry her material emphasize this equilibrium. For instance, in her Women Fitness International Magazine cover feature in 2025, she was not only profiled for introducing a new online platform but was also recognized for completing her doctoral studies on yoga and menopausal transition. Also, her LA Yoga writer page features articles addressing both physical technique and social activism, such as “The Importance of Studying History and Advocacy for Prenatal Yoga” and “Yoga and Sensuality: Explore the 5 Senses with Doctor Natiya Guin.” These articles in the journal situate her media appearances within a larger scholarly and cultural discourse.
With decades of video, audio, and print content, Bartlett has built a presence that is more about systemic messaging than personal branding. From leading a breathing exercise on iFit to talking about maternal health on CBS, she seems to value clarity, accessibility, and applicability to women’s lived lives. Her repeated appearances across media outlets indicate both demand and discernment, making her a repeated voice in the crowded yet often splintered media landscape.
Dr. Desi Bartlett’s career spanning multiple media platforms highlights the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge in the world of wellness. In a time when fitness and health data are readily accessible but not necessarily evidence-based, her work provides a link between scholastic instruction and public communication. From network TV to streaming and audio platforms, Bartlett continues to address diverse audiences on topics relevant to women at all life stages.
