Whenever our lives become too demanding, we often find ourselves lost in a whirlwind of tasks. Glo teacher Amy Rosoff Davis brings home the value of accepting the “now,” acknowledging the power of mindful movement, and appreciating the joys of imperfection.
Listen in as our guest, Glo teacher and celebrity wellness coach Amy Rosoff Davis, shares her perspective on accepting benefits of meditation to help stay in the present moment despite the challenges of juggling a fast-paced lifestyle. As a wellness coach, mother, and entrepreneur, Amy is all about finding balance when possible, not only in her professional and personal life, but also in her fitness journey. She tells of feeling torn between work and parenting, and how she continues to work toward a journey to embracing imperfection and finding joy in mindful movement.
Amy shares her wellness routine and the supplements she uses to maintain her health. Amy also gives us an insider’s view of her work on the Glo platform and her excitement about working with the Glo team and teaching on the Glo platform.
A few key points in the episode:
[00:02:25] Acceptance and growth in meditation.
[00:04:15] Work-life balance struggles.
[00:07:38] Body freedom and self-love.
[00:12:00] Sway back and abdominal work.
[00:17:01] Addressing pain and making changes.
[00:19:29] Behind the scenes working with team Glo.
[00:23:15] Connection with online community.
[00:29:20] Infrared sweating and heat.
Amy Rosoff Davis classes on Glo
COLD OPEN
Amy Rosoff Davis: And that was when I also rediscovered exercise in this different way. I was like, all those years of yoga and Pilates and all the dance and this, to try to achieve something was just pointless. Why don't you just see what feels good? And I just started changing my movement. And yeah, it just feels really good to just feel good.
I always say it feels good to feel good, whatever that is.
INTRODUCTION
Derik Mills: Hi, I'm Derik Mills. Welcome to the latest edition of our 30-minute interviews with Glo teachers. Today we'll be sharing an interview with Amy Rosoff Davis. When life becomes demanding, it's easy to lose our way in a storm of daily tasks. Amy, a Glo teacher, wellness coach, actor, mother, and entrepreneur, shares her thoughts about finding balance in the whirlwind of a busy life.
Amy and I talk about an awakening. She had the transformed exercise from an obligation into something that just feels good. This realization changed her movement practice profoundly, creating a new pathway to self-acceptance, body freedom, and self-love. She discusses her wellness routine, including the supplements she takes and shares her experience working with Team Glo.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Amy Rosoff Davis.
BEGIN INTERVIEW
Hello, Amy. It's so wonderful to be here with you. I'm grateful for this time together.
Amy Rosoff Davis: I am too. Thank you so much, Derik, for having me.
Derik Mills: I took your most recent class on Glo this morning. It was lovely. The title was move and meditate. And I appreciate how at the beginning, how you share your struggle with.
The thoughts coming and going during a meditation and so often I hear people say as I'm sure you do as well That you know when they're just starting out meditation to them means they have to be completely free of thoughts. And so Invariably right away with that mindset or framing, they feel like they just suck at it.
And so the more people hear that from people like you, the better.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Yes. Meditation has been, and probably will continue to be quite a journey for me. I have a very fast moving mind and always have. And it's also something that is really important and a part of my practice, both as a. a human being, a wellness coach a trainer, a mother, partner everything.
And it's something I really emphasize for my clients because I know the benefits of it. And I'm so much better when I meditate. And yet I admittedly am not, you know, good at just turning the brain off. So learning. How to work with my brain has been the key and actually I use James on, on you guys on Glo all the time and sit through and I've tried so many different meditation teachers and apps and I have just accepted that maybe my brain doesn't turn off, but thoughts can just come and go.
And I can always go back to my breath and start again.
Derik Mills: I suspect you're in the overwhelming majority that, that it's a challenge to turn off the brain. I find for myself, it's a matter of observing and just being okay with what comes up and monitoring that.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Well, yeah, just kind of accepting is, I mean, for me, acceptance and growth are the two most one of two of the most important things in my life, but in addition to feeling love and joy and all the things in between, but you know, anything other than acceptance is just fighting the current moment or fighting the past or being worried about the future, which I, again, admittedly all the time do, especially coming from a anxious mother.
And just all the things thrown at you in life. And I happen to juggle a lot of careers and kids and, and clients, which also sometimes feel like kids. So it's hard to accept and stop when I need to, but when I do, it's such a vast difference in even how fast I speak. It's the benefits of just, even if I just turn off the phone, lay down.
I mean, if I just think of something, but I'm just not multitasking 90 things in my brain is like, You can stop for a minute. It's okay. We'll just do one thing and it's okay, right?
Derik Mills: We're so programmed to think we need to be multitasking and doing so much. Yeah, this brings to mind something you said on in a podcast interview that you gave where you really struggled as a I don't know if you were a new mom or you were relatively further along into the journey where you were observing that force within you to be pulled in different directions of, I want to be present here for my daughter, or I forgot if it was daughter at the time. But I also feel like I should be working and I should be just going, going, going as hard as possible. And so, yeah, I can imagine that that's when that skillset really comes in handy.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Yeah, I constantly, even today and last night struggle with that, that work-parent balance.
I don't even want to call it a balance. It's almost just a constant juggle and conflict in my, in my heart because I want to be with my kids as much as possible. And especially compared to other parents and friends, I know I'm very fortunate in that I. Make my own schedule. So I am home with them a decent amount.
I have a studio at the house. I'm in and out, you know, I'm not dropping them off at, you know, daycare or school from eight to six. And yet that also makes it almost so much harder because I know I have the option of being with them and I feel this guilt working and then this guilt not working. And even last night, my husband and I went to the Hollywood bowl and they were both sobbing.
Don't leave, please. We, you know, and I, I felt bad cause I worked all day. I had an event yesterday. I taught. And I knew I had work today and it's just this constant struggle. And that's, I mean, that's also just true love. You just, you know, I want to be with them and yet I love my work. And, you know, I mean, I even had a client here before and, and Ellie, my daughter just wanted to come in and hang and all of my clients become friends and part of the family and you and Sarah and I said I said I understand that and Sarah's really cool and fun and and I know you like to get on the fly's machine But mommy has to work right now and let's make a plan to watch you know an episode of bluey later and read and draw and you know So I think it's kind of like meditation, just accepting that I'm never going to feel, I'm never not going to want to be with my kids.
And I'm also never not going to want to do my work. That's what lights me up. So I don't know if anyone has a secret. I'd love to know, but I am still learning.
Derik Mills: Oh well, I think the secret is in what you're doing, is teaching the healthy boundaries and that, that there are many different dimensions to life.
I want to touch on a few things before we get onto the list of questions that we have. In your bio it says that you reject the notion of achieving perfection when it comes to fitness and that your method. Shifts the client's desire from obtaining a certain weight or size to finding the joy and movement and appreciating what our bodies can do.
And then later on that your holistic approach encourages sustainable self care, and that you argue that as little as five or 10 minutes of meditation, breath work, or restorative yoga can make. All the difference. And I, I just so much appreciate that about you.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Yeah, I just, you know, I feel like I spent so much of my younger life, especially I was always a performer and an actor.
And so I was constantly competing to get jobs. And then I noticed so many people having the same thing with their bodies. And I just, I was like, there's gotta be this, this, this freedom. from constantly being at war with your body and trying to be, I mean, what does a number mean? What is 120 pounds mean?
Or what is what is the size? Whatever G? What does that mean? Don't you just want, you know, kind of like people talk about? I had a career coach talk about financial freedom in that just having, you know, Not any money worries and being, having the freedom to just live life and do everything as you want with, you know, gratitude and being, whatever, all the things, but I was like, it's, I wish everyone had that with their body because body freedom and self love is just, I mean, to me, it's the most important thing for years, you know, again, I was younger, I was, I was like, oh, I should try to be a certain this, that, and I was never, you Happy and I felt like I had to go to the gym and log all these hours on the elliptical and it wasn't fun and then I Stopped and I kind of like reworked my whole system.
I alkaline my body. I discovered infrared sweating I went through a really big breakup and a shift in myself and and I really wanted to become the best version of myself to meet whoever I was supposed to meet and spend the rest of my life with and that was when I I also rediscovered exercise in this different way.
I was like, all those years of yoga and Pilates and all the dance and this to try to achieve something was just pointless. Why don't you just see what feels good? And I just started changing my movement and yeah, it just feels really good to just feel good. I always say it feels good to feel good, whatever that is.
And we're all on our own mat. So it's not. It'd be horrible if we all looked the same. It'd be so boring.
Derik Mills: Yeah. Feeling good and learning how to move and how to navigate with the bodies that we have makes me think of another segment in an interview you gave with Splits59.com. And in there you say, no matter what my day is, I try and fit in intuitive movement of some kind.
If not, I don't sweat it. And then I just go on with my workday smiley face. So. So I just have a two part question with this. So one, what does intuitive or mindful movement mean to you? And how would you recommend people develop that listening and action skill? As a side note, we love that term mindful movement.
We, we refer, you probably know this to Glo faculty as mindful movement experts. And then part two is, can you share with us the parts of your background that. Have contributed to you seeing what you do both for yourself and in your teaching clients as, as mindful.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Well, first of all, it really, really helped having two kids to realize that my time was not ever going to be what it was before. And I mean, even having one kid and juggling things and again, going back to me in the past, thinking I needed this certain amount of time to exercise, but it wasn't, mindful movement and to, to later in life, realize that I could get, and I say this to clients, you get so much more bang for your buck when you're, when you're executing the right form, when you are mindfully activating a muscle, releasing it, stretching it.
Moving it, holding it, balancing that connection, I mean, for at least me changed my body, not just, you know, on the mat or on the reformer, but I mean, I joke that I vacuum with fervor. Like I, I mean, I am just like, my engine's going. So whether I'm picking up toys and I even have, you know, shared videos of that on Instagram or I'm making the bed, I am just like, I'm a, you know.
Everyone’s, ‘Oh, you walk like a New Yorker. And I'm like, well, I am a New Yorker.’ So, you know, think of that you know, I, I run fast. So I happen to just always have my engine going, which at some points is a detriment to me when we go back to the meditation version, but it does help. I'm just active every day.
So, you know, if I get five minutes in the studio alone, great. And I'll probably do a plank series and some kind of glute work. And, you know, I love the nine inch Pilates ball. Cause I suffered for so many years getting my, all of my abdominal work into my lumbar spine because I have a sway back, which is one of the reasons I was not able to be a ballerina and was getting yelled at in class.
I was like, I'm not arching my back. It's just doing that. So. You know, when I figured out that mind body connection, which I really, you know, it was going back to when I went back to you know, learning, relearning yoga and getting, you know, re-certified and, and getting new teachers and same with Pilates, just learning different ways and properly activating my muscles, like so much changed.
It was, you know, again, it wasn't this it's quality over quantity. And and I've noticed that with clients where it's, it's fine. It's the form, you know, and then even, you know, it, you know, when I see people's knee or their ankle or their, you know, the blanket, you know, form is so important. And even for something as simple as like arm dancing, I do.
You can activate your muscles and get so many results without any equipment by just knowing, like, how the muscle can activate and, you know, not be in the wrong position. But it took me many years to get there and then my teaching changed as well. And I've just seen clients really benefit both physically and mentally from not having, again, this, this addictive relationship with, with exercise.
I mean, it's a joy to be able to move and, and, and to be able to be kind to your body is, is really important to me. So for me, movement is, it should feel good. And one thing that really resonates with me is music. So if I put a good song on, no matter how tired I am, Whatever, I, I can, I can always dig deep in there and, and, you know, and move.
My movement is a, is a mix of everything. You know, some days I want to do kickboxing and some days I just want to hold a down dog. I mean, even just being a parent, I'm like the amount of stuff I schlep in and out of the car every day, or toys that I pick up or holding a, you know, 27 pounds almost three year old almost all the time, you know, I'm just constantly working my body out, but paying attention to my form.
So I'm making sure when I'm. You know, making the bed or, or picking up toys that I'm, I'm mindful of how I'm moving my body because it's also aging. And if I don't, I will pull something in my back. So, yeah, right.
Derik Mills: Speaking of pulling a muscle in the back and pain mindful movement for me was something that I did in an activity, not something that I incorporated into everything that I do until three years of just debilitating back pain from herniated disc taught me that I needed to.
Make some major changes. And yeah, now just doing the dishes or reaching down to pick something up or making the bed. It's like, it's like a fluid Qigong Tai Chi kind of movement with core engaged and it's all an opportunity to Yeah, to make those movements more intentional. Yeah, and control it. As much as it sucked, I'm grateful that I've had that experience.
Amy Rosoff Davis:
Yeah, no, I mean, because, I mean, again, to go back, like everything is growth and learning and changing, I mean, at least for me. And so to have that experience and then you're like, Oh, wow, first of all, I'm really grateful my body's not in pain. And second of all, I have to mindfully do this, which, you know, easier said than done.
I mean, going back to Tai Chi, I actually did Tai Chi in college in one of my acting studios and. I mean, again, it's like dancing, it's so much the tempo and the intention behind it, which is the same. I mean, I could have a client like barely move their leg in a pulse, but if the activation is correct and the intention and they're extending that toe, that muscle is just going to activate and they'll get so much more.
Out of that exercise than doing a hundred squads, you know, without engaging their core. Right.
Derik Mills: And it's so subtle.
Amy Rosoff Davis: I mean, I don't even really lift weights that much. I feel like once I learned how to properly balance myself in a Chaturanga, I was like, Oh, it's actually like ergonomically. Fine. And I could stay here close to the ground for a while, but it took me a long time to get there.
I mean, I was doing my cheddar. I was wrong for a very long time. And I was the jerk that was like, Oh, I'm, I'm so flexible. I don't need any props. And then I, I pulled something in my lower back in a heated yoga class and was out of commission for a while. This past year, actually, there was a series of classes that you may have noticed I wasn't doing as much.
I was in pain for a long while. I had to pinch my fur. Oh, I'm sorry. I did a bird of paradise without really having done it in a while, but I was showing off. It was my ego. And so, you know, but I'm glad I learned that.
Derik Mills: That gets me in trouble as well. Yeah, blocks are my friend.
Amy Rosoff Davis: I love blocks. I love blocks. I mean, I use them all, for everything, for everything.I've now developed lots of, many different ways to exercise using blocks, even using it like a Stairmaster, or to me, aerobics, like jazzercise classes, so.
Derik Mills: The class that I took with you this morning, you use the blocks well. The way you use them is how I like to use them, which is, which is, speaking of Glo, our team, yeah, speaking of Glo first of all, I'm so, excited and grateful that you're teaching on, on, on Glo.
Now it's, it's amazing, you know, our team behind the scenes. Highly values the time that they get to spend with you. Glo teachers are mindful movement experts, you know, from onboarding with you to creating the relationship, prepping for classes and so on. And so I asked them. And what they thought our members might like me to ask you.
And so we have a list of questions here, which I've shared with you in advance. Given the amazing conversation we've had so far, we definitely won't get to all of them, but let's go with the first one. What's it like behind the scenes working with team Glo? And I'm especially interested in asking you that question because Even though we haven't gotten into this, you have an extensive background in the performing arts.
You're an actor, you have a theater company.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Yeah, I have a theater company. I, I founded with my friends from Tisch that we are funded by Shonda Rhimes. We have a very lovely, large board and thriving. We have 80 members now. It started, I started with five girlfriends. Yes, I'm still an actor, but I, yeah, I think.
Former and Jane of all trades, I've been calling myself, but yes, everyone on the Glo team is so lovely from day one, even back to when in, you know, pre COVID recording in the studio, the few lovely times I got to, and just every email. There's just such, such kindness and positivity and really, especially this year, I've had some, some personal stuff with my.
Son, which I haven't shared and he's, he's fine, but it's been an interesting medical journey and, and everyone has been so accommodating and kind and it's just, you're, yeah, you guys are really, really lovely to work with. There you go. Oh,
Derik Mills: wonderful. Thank you. I'm sure they're going to love hearing that.
And I wish the best for your son. Thank you. I hope
Amy Rosoff Davis: he's okay. He is. He's an anomaly. Yeah. Hisvascular system in his brain is making neurosurgeons all over fascinated. So, but he's, he's fine. It's just been, it's been a year. So going even back to another one of your questions, movement and meditation and all that has been my savior.
Even again, if it's five minutes and I'm just like, I know for a minute and you know, jump rope, which I never really do. Whatever it is and everyone on the team has been so flexible with my insane schedule. I mean, I'll be ready to record and then a child will come in or a gardener or all, I mean, there's times where I'm after, I feel like many times I'm like, did I say anything correctly?
Was I even talking? You know, so, I mean, a year ago when I turned 40, I got COVID. I had no idea I had it. I recorded that morning and I remember I was recording and I don't, I feel so. Off. And it was my day one of COVID. I was like, I can't believe I streamed a workout. My brain and mouth and body were all like discombobulated because I never got sick.
I just was like head fog. And but everyone was like, yeah, I think you made sense. And I was just so nice. It's really a lovely, lovely company. And I'm so grateful to be part of your community. So thank you.
Derik Mills: Wonderful. Well, thank you. As I mentioned, we're grateful as well. So we often hear directly from our members that even though they haven't met you, our Glo instructors, they begin to feel this helpful connection that tends to persist after practicing with you for some time.
And we also often hear from teachers that they meet Glo members at their teacher trainings or workshops, or even sometimes they'll be approached in public, and the member will say, You don't know me, but I feel like I have a connection to you because I practice so much with you on Glo. Have you had that experience?
And if so, how do you approach teaching online that might help create
Amy Rosoff Davis: that effect? Yeah, I'm well It's actually it's so funny because even friends of mine that I'll run into they're like saw you this morning and I'm like you did You're like, oh, yeah, I'm Glo, you know, or yeah, I've had strangers come up.
I get really kind DMs on Instagram. I've gotten people reaching out to my website. You know, I think everyone, one of the great things about Glo is everyone's unique teaching style. And, you know, for me, especially with my performance background, being, just being inherently myself and, you know, I forgot who said at one point I love you say like zhuzh this or your phrases.
I think I just, you know. I'm kind of just, yeah, unapologetically me. It helps to hear that. Yeah. So, and you know, that's been the same with my clients. You know, it's funny, I'm pretty selective about who I work with. A, because I, I don't have time. And B because the energy around me is so important because I'm giving my energy out and I need to save it for my little ones and my 90 other jobs.
So I'm very selective, but everyone that I do wind up working with becomes like a part of our family, essentially. I mean, just, you know, we become really good friends. And for me, the, the struggle sometimes in sessions with clients is that we just wind up the whole time and, you know, again, I'm just unapologetically me, which is kind of silly and weird and.
You know, Kristen Wiggy, I guess, but that's, yeah, that's it.
Derik Mills: Nice. Yeah. And I'm intentionally not name dropping the impressive list of clients that you have that are household names across the planet. Well,
Amy Rosoff Davis: you, you can. I mean, Sarah Paulson just left my house and posted about me, so they don't really.
Yeah. Well, not like Sarah alone. And I'm like, just leave Sarah alone.
Derik Mills: So at the moment, how are you continuing to evolve in your studies or your practices or what particularly has your attention now, or what are you learning or wanting to learn?
Amy Rosoff Davis: Well, definitely always wanting to learn because it's really fascinating and, and as, as we learn more as a species about everything, it's important to incorporate that into whatever we've been doing.
Health and wellness wise and extending into life. But a few things I'm really that are key parts of my wellness routine are and I talk about a lot, infrared sweating. and heat. I have a sauna. I have infrared blanket. I have some recovery mats which have electromagnetic waves and energy in them.
I'm a big advocate of infrared sweating and, and this company Higher Dose makes a, bunch of products that I use in daily life again, from my sauna to an inference on a blanket that I will treat myself to a TV show and, and lay in there on the weekend. Or, you know, if I'm dealing anything from needing a recharge to if I have, you know, any muscle soreness, the recovery on their, on their pen mat is amazing.
Sometimes I'll just take my computer and do work laying on the pen mat. I've also been. I've been working with this company BrockShot for almost this whole year and that is really my daily go to. It's one shot of sulforaphane, which is from broccoli sprout powder and is the most powerful and antioxidant on the planet and detoxifying.
It attacks gut health. It's anti-inflammatory. I just get very overwhelmed by all there is out there and I, I am very fortunate I get sent a lot of supplements to take and I was trying so many things and I just was overwhelmed and so I cleared them all out and I just take a symbiotic and Brocshot and an omega, take two omegas and I, I take a postnatal vitamin from this company needed that I, I don't even work with but I met the mothers at a founding luncheon and.
They've done all these studies on, you know, after you have kids, what happens to your, your body and, and it turns out some vitamins are pretty necessary. So, but it's funny cause when I did my nutrition certification, I felt like the, the takeaway was you really just need D3 and now Biquidor, which is CoQ10.
But I think especially after having children and, you know, busy days of sometimes, you know, I'm, I'm just eating, you know, leftover kid food. I need to make sure that I'm taking care of my, my, myself. And, and skin health is really important to me as I, as I age as well. And so, I couldn't stand taking, putting collagen and things and Brocshot actually works faster than collagen.
So it kind of is my one stop shot.
Derik Mills: When prepping for our conversation, I was like Looking over your Instagram feed and it's funny, my wife and I are looking to Change our broccoli supplement. And so, yeah, it was cool to see that, that that's the one you're using. Well, I think we'll try that. Give that a shot.
Amy Rosoff Davis: I’ll send it to you guys. They’re amazing. They're only onthe cover of Forbes. We're, I mean, we're, they just did this crazy study at John Hopkins and I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it yet, but the, the Anti cancer causing and things that they are doing in their space is adding years to people's lives.And it's, I mean, it's truly changed. Yeah. I just, there's too many options out there and it also adds up. This is like one thing and you like, you know.
Derik Mills: There's so much,
Amy Rosoff Davis: Yeah. And you need good quality, right?
Derik Mills: Especially if you're tuning into what some people are saying in the health span, lifespan space, like there, there's a lot that's happening that that's definitely worth taking a look at.
Amy Rosoff Davis: But it's the same for our planet, you know, there's a lot happening in any minute. Who knows? So that's why I'm like, just do your best.
Derik Mills: Yeah. Exactly. So where can people find you and do you have anything upcoming online or out in real life? Yeah.
Amy Rosoff Davis: People can find me on my Instagram, which is my name at amyrosoffdavis, 1 S, two F’s.
And my website, which is amyrosoffdavis.com. I just did an event yesterday actually with Splits. My favorite workout brand, athleisure clothing. And I have some other possible events coming up with them, but they're not quite announced yet, but they will be at some point. And I, I am planning and hoping to continue working with a few hotels I've worked with in the past and go back and travel and hopefully have a retreat in the fall. So updates will come on my Instagram for that. But there's a couple of properties I've been working with and trying to plan some retreats with, but, you know, getting back to travel and all that post COVID has been an interesting time. So you can always find me on Glo and you can find me on my Instagram and possibly if you run into me on the street, you know.
Derik Mills: Wonderful. Well, we'll, we'll try to find those links ourselves if If some come up in the near future, I will post, send those to us and we'll post them on in the show notes. Well, thank you, Amy. Thank you. I've really enjoyed the time with you. And I've said this before, but. It's so psyched you're on Glo and I'm enjoying taking your classes.
Amy Rosoff Davis: Thank you. I am too. I'm very grateful to be to be in the family. So thank you.
CLOSING
Derik Mills: Thank you to our entire team behind the scenes at Glo. I'm so grateful for your care and commitment to serving our members around the world. Thank you to our teachers for so beautifully sharing your gifts and talents. I'm also grateful to our lovely community of Glo members. You've supported us since 2008.
And because of you, we get to continue to do the work we love. It's the combined support of our team, our teachers and our community that grants me the privilege to continue to bring you the Glo podcast. Thank you to Lee Schneider of Red Cup Agency for production support. And the beautiful music you're hearing now is by Carrie Rodriguez and her husband, Luke Jacobs.
And remember, take care of yourself because our world needs you. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. You can find the Glo podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or glo.com/podcast, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. I'm Derik Mills.