A day does not go by where Kim Haas, longtime Armonk resident and personal trainer, doesn’t either run, walk, lift weights, do yoga, get on her peloton, or bike outside. It isn’t always easy, but she draws motivation from recognizing how exercise both makes her feel and heal.
Haas was always interested in physical fitness. Working in the fashion industry in her twenties and living above a gym in New York City, she regularly exercised and even worked in the gym. Later, as a mother of two living in Westchester, Kim became certified as a personal trainer when her youngest was in kindergarten. She started out at New York Sports Club and eventually focused her business on private clients. An intense exerciser herself and as someone who ran half marathons, she had found the perfect fit for her career.
Coping with the Challenge of a Lifetime
Living a busy life as a personal trainer and mother of two and seemingly the picture of health, Kim was devastated to learn that she was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of uterine cancer eight years ago at age 47. After months of powering through what felt like normal exhaustion, Haas went to her doctor about some episodes of abnormal bleeding.
“When I got the call from the doctor, it was like a gut punch,” recalls Kim. “I couldn’t absorb any information or make a phone call, so I had my husband and friends do everything for me. It was so out of character for me because I always do everything. But when it came to me, I was just paralyzed.”
Haas underwent surgery at a local hospital followed by grueling rounds of chemotherapy and radiation at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She lost her hair, lost weight, and felt exhausted. Despite these challenges, she was determined to protect her high school daughter from seeing the degree of her sickness. Her older son was away at college. Kim would rise in the morning when her daughter went to school, be with her, and have friends drive her to school when possible so she didn’t have to fuss with her wig.
As soon as her daughter would leave for school, Haas would take her yoga mat and head to Equinox gym in town. Taking her position in a back corner of the room, she immersed herself in these yoga classes. When Kim started her yoga journey five years prior as a way to stretch after intense workouts, it was challenging for her to slow down, but she gradually grew to savor this time.
“It just really kept me going,” Haas reflects. “I had something to look forward to and it made me feel good. I was moving but not doing too much.”
Unable to run, she also made it a habit to walk every day. Bundling up in the winter, Kim was out there every day. “I was green and skinny and wearing a wig and I’m sure the whole world was noticing, but I didn’t care. I knew I had to get out and do my thing.” Returning home, she would nap, and then make sure to be back up to greet her daughter after school.
Marveling at how well she was doing and how she didn’t really need her nausea medication, Haas’ doctors questioned her about her habits. They surmised that her stretching and movement through yoga and walking alleviated her symptoms and indicated plans to study yoga’s beneficial effect on cancer patients.
Haas has since become certified as a yoga instructor. “I felt like yoga saved my life. It’s what got me through the day. Even now when I do yoga, it puts me in that space again. It’s just such a calming experience and feels like a mini vacation where everything else goes away.”
Carol Weston & Rob Ackerman, an Armonk couple, have been taking yoga under Haas’ tutelage for years. Ackerman has practiced yoga for 35 years, and among the many instructors he’s had, Haas stands out as exceptionally focused, thoughtful, and mindful. “She skillfully adapts her sessions for a group diverse in age and ability,” he says. “She models the poses beautifully, incorporates traditions like ending with “om,” and adds thoughtful touches, like lavender oil in savasana, enhancing the experience. She has a way of knowing what people need.”
“Yoga with Kim is such a delight,” shares Weston. “Rob and I have had the pleasure of practicing yoga with her at her home and, during the summer, on the deck of The Windmill Club. Sometimes we arrive harried and breathless, and she reminds us to…breathe. Her class is the right amount of challenging and she shares how to adjust movements. At the end, it’s like we’ve done a real re-set and are refreshed and ready to go back to our desks and lives. Namaste.”
Giving Back
When Haas was fighting her cancer battle, she discovered Soul Ryeders, a non-profit organization based in Rye that offers support to those impacted by cancer. Some of their offerings included events at salons offering reiki, massage, manicures, eyebrow tutorials, and wig trimmings. They also offer wig rentals. Kim donated her wigs and volunteers several times a month doing wig fittings. She also volunteers as a cancer peer mentor.
“Sometimes it’s very emotional for me but I find it really rewarding that I can give back,” reflects Haas.
Living Life to Its Fullest
This March, Kim will be seven years cancer-free. She is thankful for every day and is always on the move. She and her husband love to bike around Greenwich, Bedford, and Pound Ridge. “We live in the most beautiful part of the world and never take that for granted,” she says. They have set a great example for their children too. Their son does ironman races and marathons and their daughter is yoga certified and loves rock climbing.
Kim truly lives life to the fullest. She takes incredible care of herself, but she also pours her love and energy into others, making her a source of strength and inspiration to so many.
“If you don’t move and stay active in your twenties, thirties, and forties, it affects how you age in your fifties, sixties, and seventies,” says Haas. “You need to keep moving and keep going. That’s my motto.”
It was a chance encounter on a cruise ship that ultimately steered Adina Olan-Ellick on a new career path. Adina, owner of the newly relocated Breathe, a yoga and Pilates studio in downtown Chappaqua was on a family vacation for a relative’s birthday and by the time she embarked on the ship all of the exercise classes were filled up. “The only thing left to sign up for was Pilates, so we did it every day,” she recalls. Adina, an almost 25-year resident of Chappaqua had always been athletic and was more of a self-proclaimed cardio addict. “I ran, did cardio kickboxing, aerobics, you name it,” she says during our interview on a chilly afternoon just steps away from her sunlight-filled studio in the heart of Chappaqua.
The Inside Press is a proud Media Sponsor for this event.