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.

How to “Knit the Ribs”

One of the hardest basic principles in Pilates is referred to as knitting the ribs. The goal is to ensure that your ribs stay connected during movement and that they don’t pop. Most people when they move their arms, particularly over head allow their ribs to pop up—losing the connection with the abdominal muscles.

Knitting the ribs does not only provide you better ab-work, but it also created a healthier spine. This video can help you start to understand and visually see what it means to knit the ribs. Lying on the floor will make it easier to feel if are connecting because you can use the floor beneath you as a contact point. Once that starts to become easier you can play with the concept in a seated or standing position. Any overhead exercises are the time to check in on your ribs and make sure you are not arching your back in order to move the arms more.

As you experiment remember not to be forceful. You shouldn’t feel like you are jamming your ribs into the floor. Just like you don’t want to jam the back into the mat when you rock to imprint on pelvic tilts. […]

How to “Knit the Ribs”Maggie Downie2018-02-14T15:32:24-05:00

Plank Story: What Ails Me

I often hear people say that men act like babies when they are sick. That is not the case in our house. Matt could be violently ill, he will try to push through and then he wants to be left alone to feel miserable in private. I will push through too, but when I cave to the illness I want to be rubbed, and have homemade soup at exactly the right temperature fed to me, and a bell I can ring when I want to be told that it is unlikely I’ll die from whatever currently ails me.

My poor mother. I used to ask her that too when I was sick. “Do you think I’m going to die?” She never did. Matt never does.

Plank Story: What Ails MeMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:39:24-05:00

We think we can’t when we can

My brother and me. Nowadays he’s taller than me and he eats a variety of foods.

When my little brother was a child he would only eat white food. Pasta with butter, chicken fingers, vanilla ice cream, and Entemann’s Pop Em’s (not the chocolate ones) were not only his favorites, but pretty much his entire eating repertoire. Today, he’s open to trying most foods, and has a considerably more varied pallet, but I still assume he’ll only want pasta. It’s funny how the brain works. It can get wired to remember something from years ago, no matter how many times you’ve seen a change. It’s almost like our brain gets stuck in the past. We think we can’t when we can.

Sometimes that can be useful. Matt once […]

We think we can’t when we canMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:47:39-05:00

Conquer the Full Roll Up

The Full Roll Up is one of the Pilates exercises that frustrates people the most. So many people struggle with this movement. They get discouraged and blame their abs. Sure, your abs might be a part of the problem. They may need to get stronger to do the exercise, but they also might just need to learn how to fire properly—meaning they could do it if they understood what they were supposed to do. Most of us weren’t taught how to do a sit up or ab exercises properly. Many of us use other muscles like hip flexors or the muscles in the neck to try to pull ourselves up to a seated position. Your abs might be strong enough, but they’ve never had to do the work before, why should they start now? And it’s not just about your abs. Tightness in your back could be getting in your way. So, how do we break it all down so you can conquer the full roll up?
First, cut yourself some slack. Yes, it’s true, you might not be able to do this exercise right now, but that does not mean you […]

Conquer the Full Roll UpMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:41:48-05:00

Plank Story: You’re Weird

Seriously, do I seem weird to you?

It was Christmas Eve, and I don’t recall what warranted this response, but my friend’s seven-year-old daughter said to me, “You’re weird.” I chuckled and told her, “Well, I take that as a compliment.”

“Well, it’s not,” she retorted. I laughed harder, after which, we had a brief, light conversation about how it’s good to be different. Later that night, our families were exchanging presents. This young friend’s school sells gifts so that kids can buy presents at school for their families. She had picked out various thoughtful gifts for everyone in the room—hand soap for her aunt, crosswords for Matt’s dad, a candle for Matt’s mom, a flashlight you can attached to your work badge for Matt. When it was my turn […]

Plank Story: You’re WeirdMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:43:58-05:00

Previous 394041 Next