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.

Why We Do the 100

Last Saturday was day 50 of 100 days of the 100. That means that we’ve come up with over 50 ways to do the 100….and we now have just under 50 more to go (so don’t forget to share your photos and videos!) Maggie doing the 100 at an historic site in Wethersfield.

The 100 is an exercise that you will find in almost any Pilates class. It involves lying with your back on the mat, body curled up, holding the position and completing 100 arm beats. It typically comes early in class and gets the entire body warmed up by getting your breath going and your blood moving. The exercise engages all of your major abdominal muscles, helping you to build strength that will not only assist you in class, but that you will be able to take into everyday life.

In order to hold your body up for an extended period of time, as you do in the 100, you must have endurance, specifically abdominal endurance. The only way to get endurance is to build it, which the […]

Why We Do the 100Maggie Downie2017-12-29T21:21:21-05:00

Client Corner: The Sow’s Ear

In our new segment highlighting great businesses, goals and adventures of Personal Euphoria clients, this week we visit Glastonbury.

Sarah and Monica in their shop!

Looking for a unique gift? Look no further than The Sow’s Ear in Glastonbury.

When you first walk into the store you’re met with a cozy, rustic vibe making you feel more as if you’re visiting a close friend than walking into a boutique. Surrounded by a collection of new, antique and repurposed items, my eyes don’t know where to look first. Whether you are looking for the perfect hostess gift, a present for the wedding you’re headed to, or home decorations all for yourself, there is truly something for everyone here. The store carries handmade and sustainable items and works with many small vendors that also have a purpose or story, such as giving a portion of the proceeds back to Reforestation in Thailand.

The owners, Monica McCafferty and Sarah Lavalette, have a great story as well. Both flea market junkies, it’s almost as if the two were destined to meet. Monica went to high school with Sarah’s husband […]

Client Corner: The Sow’s EarMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:28:47-05:00

Come Purge with Me

Over the weekend I was in central Pennsylvania, which is known for the best potato chip. The secret ingredient is lard, which makes everything better. I know this because my Grandma’s pie crust has lard and it is delicious. Pie crust aside, I know this because I love food. I love it too much. So much that trying one bag of potato chips seemed insufficient, so my friends and I decided to have a chip taste test. Kay and Ray’s was the winner, but we got to go through multiple bags and multiple brands. I’m pretty sure I still feel the grease dripping out of my pores.

With this as just one example of how poorly I’ve been eating, I’ve decided it has to stop. I need to make a change for my waistline, but more importantly for how I feel. And even more importantly for the parts of me that I don’t feel—arteries, kidneys, liver—but that I want to fuel in a better and healthier way.

Starting Monday, May 9th I’m going back to my December Detox. See the link for full details. I’m making a few tweaks. I’ll be eating sweet potatoes, quinoa, some rice, and legumes if […]

Come Purge with MeMaggie Downie2018-01-13T16:22:55-05:00

Zentangle Better than Meditation

The PE Team and their Zentangles

Adult coloring books are all the rage lately. I snicker each time I see one because apparently part of me is still twelve years old, and that part imagines that I’ll open the “adult” coloring books and discover naked images to color in, but that’s never it. They are usually beautiful patterns or serene scenes. I tried it. I hated it. It felt like an added stressor, something else to do, and I always felt like I could have picked a better color. Plus, it’s boring. So I gave my adult coloring book away.

Meanwhile, in a similar vein there is Zentangle. While they don’t like the word “doodle,” conceptually, it’s basically mindful doodling. You wouldn’t think you need a lesson in how to doodle, but you do, at least if you want your doodles to look like art. The images you create look cool and intricate, even though the patterns are simple to make.

Zentangle Better than MeditationMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:30:51-05:00

Learning to Feel

Cami and me exploring sensation through our feet!

We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking. –Mark Twain

It is a rare day, indeed, that I disagree with my idol Mark Twain. And while I know he is referring to feeling in a different context than what we perceive and sense in the world around us, I’m not sure we stop and feel enough. And it may just be our ability to feel that keeps us thinking.

It may surprise you to learn that one of my favorite birthday presents this year was a box of rocks. My partner-in-movement, Cate Vallone, from Evolution Pilates and her daughter painted a bunch of small rocks for me. They painted bees, strawberries, little hearts, random colors It was utterly unexpected which made it grand.

The goal is to stand, walk across and just exist in different positions on the rocks to enhance proprioception—the art of feeling. Cate knows I’m not a great feeler. It’s been a running joke between us. I’ll happily foam roll or run half marathons. She thinks those activities are painful […]

Learning to FeelMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:39:14-05:00

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