Lady LUX

Be conscious of your choices. Pay attention. Focus on being the best human being you can be. Dove Rose does her best to live by these words, not only in her personal life, but also through her fitness center Dove’s Bodies.

Her ripples of change have turned into waves, as more and more people have been affected by her life philosophy. Her message has translated to action and change, even at the basic level of finding a better, sustainable product to be used at local cafes. Her beliefs are reflected in her business, which is not your average studio.

“The idea is, we don’t focus on weight loss,” Rose said. “It’s more of a personal experience. Some people come just for the message, the beliefs and the balance … Some people come to get ready for an event or to lose weight. Some men come to get in shape. It is totally and uniquely up to the individual.”

The wellness center is not just focused on fitness, but an entire lifestyle. “They’re not just coming to pump iron or to get big or small and then go on with their day and go get an iced blended mocha,” Rose said. “It’s a little deeper than that.” She encourages her clients to live sustainably, leading them toward a greener path that is more aware of our world.

Rose’s involvement does not stop at the door to her fitness center: She is involved in more than a 100 organizations.

“Whenever anything catastrophic happens in our country or world, I get involved as quickly as possible,” Rose revealed. In her quest to help, she has worked with every single school in Los Angeles County, public and private.

“Anything that comes across our desk or into our door, we support,” she said. Her green guidance has turned into a second career beyond fitness. What started as encouragement and passing along the word of eco-friendly local businesses has became so much more.

Her community involvement, she believes, traces back to her “obsessive compulsive research personality.”

“As I started learning more and more about what was happening to the planet,” she said, “I just felt like I had an opportunity because I am in a public service sort of place, having a group of people who would listen to me and do what I say if I say something.” She has enjoyed taking advantage of that: Her influence has spread all the way to the White House.

Rose explained her environmental philosophy: “If you are going to take care of your body, your body is part of the planet …Then we have to take that and carry it on to how we live our life: what kind of car we drive, what we eat, how we take care of other human beings. It’s just kind of a no brainer.”

The list of ways she makes a difference reads like a checklist of everything you need to do to be eco-friendly: living a plastic-free existence; consuming mostly animal-free products; purchasing from Mom and Pop stores (no franchises); owning a hybrid; gardening and composting; buying organic (including body products); recycling and more.

Despite her extensive involvement, Rose can appreciate where others come from. “I don’t judge. I try to live by example,” she said. “Everyone’s on their own journey.”

Rose got her start in fitness at the early age of 9, when she started dancing. She pursued her interest working at a gym as a summer job. By 16, she was already teaching and from there, it just blossomed. In 1991, she opened her first studio, and Dove’s Bodies was born in 1996.

Despite her background, she was still surprised to find herself ending up in the field of fitness: “It’s not like I sat down and had a dream and said I was going to be a teacher or be in fitness. It just sort of happened.” And she is happy it did.

In keeping with Rose’s philosophy, everything they do and sell at Dove’s Bodies is green: “All of our products are eco-friendly. We are plastic-free; all our water is served in glass. We, of course, don’t kick people out, but we encourage everyone to be plastic free.”

In contrast to typical fitness offerings, Dove’s Bodies doesn’t just offer one type of workout. Instead, there is a little of everything: treadmill work, time on bikes and elliptical, free weights, kickboxing, dance, yoga, floor work, Pilates – and the list goes on.

“What we do is fuse everything together, so in one workout, everyone’s getting every modality of fitness … So you can get pretty much what you would get by going to a dozen different studios in one hour,” Rose said.

At Dove’s Bodies, there is no such thing as one size fits all. “Our motto is: Come one, come all,” Rose explained.

Nutritional counseling, life coaching, bridal boot camps, marathon training – you name it, she probably offers it.

Check out more about Dove and her fitness center at www.dovesbodies.com.

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Lifestyle / Wellness