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.

Just Get Started

I went to Waterford High School, where I think I was lucky to have a number of really good teachers. One of my favorites was my junior year English teacher, Gail Dimaggio. She set up classes like Socratic seminars and asked us to think about what we were reading. It’s hard to teach someone to think, but that typically seemed to be her goal. One of her regular reminders was to “just get started.”

She told us that starting is always the hardest part, but once you start to write a paper the doing gets easier. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were wrong. It’s not the waiting that’s the hardest part. It’s the starting. Mrs. Dimaggio was right. There are […]

Just Get StartedMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:44:43-05:00

The Alarm Clock

This is an example of an idyllic morning. Matt’s alarm clock is the opposite of this.

Since I have known Matt he has had the worst alarm clock in the world. It screeches in the morning and glows a bright red during the night. The alarm clock has been the subject of many debates. He thinks it is the greatest alarm clock because the horrifying sound that escapes in the morning would wake the dead. I think hearing that noise that resembles a fog horn screaming in terror is a terrible way to start the day. I also think that if you want to get up at 5:30 A.M., you should set your alarm clock for 5:30, because once I’m up, I’m up. Matt thinks if you want to get up at 5:30 you should set the alarm for 5:00 A.M. That way you can hit snooze three times. His logic means I’m up thirty minutes earlier than I need to be.

Thankfully, for the most part, thanks to the smart phone, we haven’t used this […]

The Alarm ClockMaggie Downie2018-02-14T17:48:43-05:00

Thinking About Stress Differently

Throughout this year, I’ve been working on slowing down. In the midst of this holiday season, it doesn’t feel like I’m achieving that goal, but I have caught myself thinking about stressors a little differently. The poor little Fit. Not feeling so euphoric today.

A few weeks ago my car go rear ended. While I wait for it to be fixed, I’ve driven a rental, used Matt’s car, and borrowed a car from a friend. Each of these cars is a little different. The gas tank is on a different side, the way you open the tank changes, how you unlock or lock the cars is all unique. Everything from the lights to the windshield wipers to whether or not there is an ice scraper nearby is different in each and every vehicle. And the trouble is I notice the difference when I’m in a rush. Heading out for class, there’s a frost, and I can’t find the scraper. Have my arms filled with stuff and realize the car I have today needs you to hold the […]

Thinking About Stress DifferentlyMaggie Downie2017-12-29T19:30:50-05:00

Christmas Ornaments: Ornaments Filled with Memories

Great minds think alike, I guess?

Matt and I have a tradition of exchanging Christmas ornaments each year. Last year we unknowingly gave each other the same zombies in honor of our love for The Walking Dead. We hang both on the tree. I’ve made him a stained glass pumpkin because he prefers Halloween to Christmas. He’s bought me a field hockey player. I got him a Santa Clause riding a giant fish. It’s meant for a fisherman, but we both loved the movie Big Fish. He gave me an Irish Santa.

Years ago, I gave Matt a blown glass ball with blue waves to represent his company, Tsunami Tsolutions. A few years later, we decorated our tree, ran out, came back and found that the tree had fallen over. A few ornaments had shattered, including the blown glass wave. He asked if I could get it again. I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t bought in on Amazon. I’d found it someplace random. And when I searched Google again for “wave ornament” or “blown glass wave” nothing was coming up.

Meanwhile our friend Maureen had been suggesting for a […]

Christmas Ornaments: Ornaments Filled with MemoriesMaggie Downie2017-12-29T19:31:58-05:00

Best Motivation 2016: Take Pride in Your Work

I never dreamed of teaching Pilates or owning my own business, but I do believe what I do makes people feel better. And that helps make each day a good day.

I’m usually not a sucker for a headline like, “Best Motivational Video 2016.” But I followed the link, clicked, and watched. And I don’t think I left with the right takeaway. Now, I would never say that someone shouldn’t follow their dreams. I encourage following dreams. I’m a dreamer myself.

But here’s the thing I think about when I see a video like this. What if everyone followed […]

Best Motivation 2016: Take Pride in Your WorkMaggie Downie2017-12-29T19:36:06-05:00

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