A Little Inspiration for the Day

Inspiration

I have a friend who often tells me that my blogs or Facebook posts motivate her to be healthier or to get to the gym. That makes me happy. In my career, getting to hear that you motivate people is some of the best news you can get.

But it’s important to know that everyone I work with motivates me too.

On a very obvious level, as a Pilates instructor I generally think it’s important to stay healthy and active in order to physically be able to do my job and to stay fit. But when I have a client trying a new activity for the first time, they remind me everything there is to try and experience out there. When I have a client who eats healthier than I do (which is probably many), I feel like I should be more like them. They set a good example for me. When a client has been struggling with an exercise for a long time and they finally get […]

InspirationMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:12-04:00

10-Year Anniversary

Matt and I have been together for ten years today. And I think we are both pretty lucky to have found each other. We are a good match, and I’m happy to have him by my side in life. He is a good person to have next to you when times are good and when times get tough. He’s also a good inspiration for me.

It was Matt who helped coax me to start my own company. I was very nervous to leave my job and take the leap to being self-employed. Matt kept suggesting it was the right decision and that once I made the decision I would feel good about it. He was right. I love what I’m doing and I haven’t regretted the decision yet.

He may not do pilates himself, but he is a good advocate for pilates. And if you take one of our classes and love it, you have Matt to thank, at least in part. Not only did he help give me the nudge I needed to start the company, but in […]

10-Year AnniversaryMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:14-04:00

Run to Health

Nick Miller and I went to high school together. Since then we have found each other on Facebook, and he has been such an inspiration to me. I’ve been debating whether or not to run the Hartford Half Marathon based on how I feel. And then I read this article on Nick and once again he inspired me. I have no excuse.

I was interested in what Nick said at the end of the article in the New London Day about change and challenge. At first I was stunned because I spend a good portion of my life trying to convince people that starting small is worth it. I’ve even tried to convince people to start smaller because sometimes if you take on too much at once you can get injured or it will be so overwhelming you won’t stick with it. Small steps really can make a big difference. And if you go from doing nothing to walking even 20-minutes a day, you will start to lose weight, assuming you don’t change anything […]

Run to HealthMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:14-04:00

An Inspirational Child

A couple weekends ago I participated in the Shamrock Run in Bristol, CT. I had signed up for the five mile race, but because I didn’t want to wait an extra hour in the cold between registration and the five mile race, I ran the two mile race. Matt ran with me and was thrilled we decided to cut our run in half. It was his first road race, and he did better than me. He ran ahead and waited for me at the end so that we could cross the finish line together. I was quite proud of him. He’s a really good sport for coming along.

The Shamrock Run put on a great event. Free food and other trinkets were plentiful and it was well organized with a big crowd (probably around 3,000 people). Before the two mile and five mile race started, they had a kid’s fun run. One young man (I would guess around six) was running with crutches. I don’t know what condition he had, but I imagine he had something […]

An Inspirational ChildMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:12-04:00

Jack Lalanne’s Inspiration

Jack Lalanne was an inspirational person. He reminded me of Joesph Pilates in his intense passion for fitness and trying to help and inspire others to a healthier lifestyle. I really hope that when I’m in my eighties and nineties, I’m as active and healthy as they both were.

I imagine that is something we all hope for, but health in our senior years has to start now. It seems so worth it. I think everyone who chooses a career in fitness on some level really wants to inspire others to be healthy too. But everyone is inspired in different ways.

I’m inspired by being able to be active, hiking a mountain like Mt. Washington, being involved in team sports, feeling good, looking good, being outdoors, competition, having fun while working out, and the calm I find exercise provides me. I’m inspired by watching someone really passionate like the video of Lalanne in the above link or reading Joe Pilates. The picture above even inspires me, but probably only becaue I know who Jack Lalanne […]

Jack Lalanne’s InspirationMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:12-04:00