Maggie Downie, Author at Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

About Maggie Downie

Thank you for giving your time to stop and read my blog. I hope it encourages you to keep moving. Move and the body will be happier. And when you're moving you can hike, run, swim in Jell-O, race over non-Newtonian fluids, travel the world or build igloos--if that's your thing. If not, you can watch me do it. This is just a spot to try and feel good about life.

Perspective

All is right with the world with this addition to our family–now that’s a little perspective!

After a whirlwind trip to Texas to visit my brother and sister-in-law before they became parents, my family and I flew back to Logan airport in Boston and called the shuttle to take us to our car. Twenty minutes later, no shuttle. Twenty minutes later, still no shuttle.

Hangry, sleep deprived, and generally irritable, I was growing more and more frustrated with the shuttle service. In our modern world, I struggle with unnecessary inefficiency and unknowns. It’s not a trait I love about myself. Nearly twenty minutes later, the shuttle still hadn’t arrived. Each time we called, the service would tell us to stay put, suggest we wait outside in the frigid New England cold, and hang up on us. I sat down on the baggage carousel utterly exasperated.

Then I saw a man my age or a little younger walk by. He had one leg, and I thought, “Oh, I’m okay. My life is great. I can wait for this shuttle.” It was a little perspective on how good and easy my life actually was. Sadly, […]

PerspectiveMaggie Downie2018-05-16T17:34:23-04:00

Fatherly Advice

Earlier this year my best friend’s father passed away unexpectedly. Julie has been my best friend since elementary school, so her whole family played a role in my childhood, and I was grateful that even though we are all grown up her parents were still in my life. His death was news I wasn’t ready for—one of the deaths I’ve had to live through that shook me. The loss made me especially appreciative to have my father. Moments after hearing about Julie’s dad, I called mine, happy to hear his voice. This father’s day, at Julie’s suggestion, I thought I write about some of the amusing fatherly advice I’ve received over the years.

From Julie’s Dad

Mr. Wernau’s advice stands out. I’ve thought about it daily since the moment he filled my thoughts with horror. Julie and I were in high school. Her dad was driving us somewhere so we were a trapped audience. He must have been having a rough day because he announced, “Girls, enjoy every good BM you have because one day will be your last good one.” I cringed at “BM” because I detest the term, but I took his […]

Fatherly AdviceMaggie Downie2018-06-11T12:17:11-04:00

Instructor Highlight Maureen

So Maureen isn’t one of our instructors, but she’s an integral part of Personal Euphoria. Maureen handles all the money and ensures our whole team gets paid. She works with the towns, invoices, and processes payment. And, if you’ve ever tried to watch Maggie count, you know it’s important that she has help in this department.

Get to Know Maureen:

When you aren’t teaching what are some of your favorite ways to move?

Walking the beach, and walking it again. It’s like a new landscape appears with each tide. Each tide brings you a new gift. A piece of sea glass, a shell, or just a view. I say it all the time “The beach is my happy place.”

What song motivates or picks you up the most?

Happy… Pharrell Williams (it’s a feel good song and reminds me of Maggie)

Favorite Food?

Hmmmm mostly anything edible. I am sitting here trying to decide what my favorite really is and I realize I don’t have a real favorite, how odd. I certainly have cravings, but if I had to choose, I couldn’t.

Time you normally crawl into bed?

Weeknights 8:30-9:00, Weekends when I wake up […]

Instructor Highlight MaureenMaggie Downie2018-03-21T15:43:40-04:00

Instructor highlight Jeannine

Jeannine was the first instructor to come on board with Personal Euphoria. She has a great sense of humor and a strong work ethic. We are so lucky she is a part of our team. She teaches all over the place: Wethersfield, Glastonbury, Rocky Hill, Portland, and for some of our corporate clients. While you are most likely to find her teaching Pilates she also teaches traditional ballet and strength classes. She’s always willing to sub when needed. Here’s Jeannine’s instructor highlight!

Get to Know Jeannine

When you aren’t teaching what are some of your favorite ways to move?

When not teaching, I power walk, run trails, ride horses, and do a lot of gardening.

What song motivates or picks you up the most?

Music favorites vary depending on the mood I’m in. I prefer classical music. “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana comes to mind.

Favorite Food?

I like to eat what I make. A year-round favorite is home-made pureed vegetable soup with a couple of scoops of whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, wheat berries.

Time you normally crawl into bed?

Bed time depends on wake-up time, so it can vary from 9 if I wake up at 5:30 […]

Instructor highlight JeannineMaggie Downie2018-05-25T07:26:46-04:00

What is fascia?

Drink fluids for healthy fascia!

This month we are highlighting fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that runs along every surface of the body, encasing the organs, muscles, and other soft tissue like a sausage casing or the sections of an orange—where each large and tiny segment of juice is held together by a sleek, thin film. So the muscles themselves are encased, but so is each muscle fiber. Fascia is everywhere in our body. There are different types of fascia in your body that serve different purposes.

Fascia helps us move. It helps make us glide so that when we move our skin, tendons, and muscles don’t stick to all our other parts. Each part can slither smoothly alongside each other. Fascia can help the muscles do their job. When healthy fascia remains springy (for lack of a better word) in movement, the muscles can use less energy and won’t fatigue as quickly because the fascia takes some of the burden of force and helps the body return to its “normal” shape. Fascia is your friend for all kinds of movement.

Recently it was “discovered” that a particular type of […]

What is fascia?Maggie Downie2018-05-04T11:38:40-04:00

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