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.

Hiking the Subway in Zion (Not if there is a flash flood)

Rain has never stopped us before. If we are traveling and want to hike, we go, even if we occasionally get strange looks from the locals.

The Subway got it’s name because parts look like an actual subway.

So when we got to Zion Visitor Center to pick up our permit to hike the Subway, we were conflicted when we saw there was a 60% chance of rain the day of our hike. We had taken rappel classes and invested in the equipment (helmets, harnesses, rope, carabineers and more rope and carabineers) we would need along the way.

It turns out 60% chance of rain doesn’t mean there is a 60% chance of rain like I always thought. It means that 60% of the area in question will get rain. And on the Subway in Zion that means a probable chance of a flash flood. When the ranger informed us that she wouldn’t even consider hiking anything with over a 30% chance of rain, and we called Matt’s dad (an atmospheric physicist who can serve as a meteorologist) we begrudgingly decided not […]

Hiking the Subway in Zion (Not if there is a flash flood)Maggie Downie2017-10-25T14:26:04-04:00

Conquering Fear with Breathing and Rock Climbing

I afraid of heights. I’ll go into one of those buildings like the Willis Tower in Chicago, where you can step out onto a glass floor and look down at the city below, and I’ll have to sit down and inch my butt onto the glass without looking down for a quick photo-op. I’ll try not to think about it as I’m waiting in line and then when it’s my turn and I go to step on the glass, I physically can’t move my body. I’m actually crippled by fear. This has happened to me at the beach too with waves that wouldn’t phase a child

I’m a scaredy cat. I try to convince myself that it my fear is totally normal. My brain is actually smarter than people willing to walk onto suspended glass platforms or jump from cliffs into pools of water. My brain recognizes how badly that could all end. But the truth is I want to do some things I’m afraid of. And I don’t want to be afraid.

Sometimes my fear of heights holds me back. I get scared on certain hikes. I am terrified to the point of tears of zip lines. And it’s gotten worse […]

Conquering Fear with Breathing and Rock ClimbingMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:26:33-04:00

What is Pilates? What is my core?

You’ve probably heard of your core. It’s a common buzz word. In Pilates, our “core” refers to more than just our abdominal muscles. The Pilates “core” includes the abdominals, glutes (butt muscles), back muscles and muscles of the shoulder girdle. Basically, Pilates instructors are trying to train you to have a strong, solid, yet pliable (when it needs to be) trunk.

But it’s deeper than that. The goal of Pilates movement should be to help you understand how your body works to help you move from the right place and use the small stabilizing muscles we all take for granted. If we push from large, superficial muscles, we may feel strong, but we don’t have real strength. Knowing Pilates can help you improve any type of movement, exercise, or sport you like to enjoy. It can even make daily life better. The concepts teach you how to use your body more effectively and efficiently no matter what you are doing.

As an added bonus, if you ever get hurt doing something you love, it’s those small muscles that will help you get better. Those small muscles keep you balanced when you walk and do the simple daily tasks […]

What is Pilates? What is my core?Maggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:51-04:00

Why I Move

My Grandma at 88 on a Stability Ball.

There are lots of reasons I move. It makes me feel better physically, mentally and emotionally, and there are a lot of physical activities I think are fun that I want the freedom to do. I’m also really antsy, and I use movement to burn off extra, jittery energy.

But if I’m going to overanalyze it and step back into the reaches of my brain for why I move and believe it’s so important to creating a better life, I have to, at least in part, attribute it to my Grandparents. My Grandpa Downie was antsy too. I never saw him sit without a foot tapping, and he was really active until he hit about 80. But it was more my Grandma. When I was born she’d been wheelchair bound and bedridden for thirty years.

Why I MoveMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:51-04:00

Body Image of Young Girls

A few weeks ago I was swimming at the gym and a young girl (I’m guessing 8-years-old) stopped me and said, “If you want I can teach you how to swim so that you’ll actually lose weight.” After my initial embarrassment (because everyone in the pool heard), I laughed it off. I assumed that she thought I looked so awkward swimming that I was getting nothing out of it. And, I may be reading too much into it, but I think there is a valid discussion point here.

(Picture to left: Me, today with the body of someone an 8-year-old thinks should lose weight.)

I posted the comment on Facebook and told my classes about it. People had differing views but many were really upset. And it got me thinking about young girls and body image.

First of all, there is the good point that I wasn’t swimming to lose weight. I was training for a triathlon. And I swim because it’s good for my joints and keeps me running. Lots of people swim because they enjoy it. Losing weight is certainly not the […]

Body Image of Young GirlsMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:51-04:00

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