exercise

Wednesday Challenge: Only Stairs

For one week only take the stairs–no elevators, no escalators. This may mean you have to walk a little further in a building to get to the stairs, but it will be worth it. Maybe by the end of the week you’ll want to take the stairs forever.

Do you work in an office building with some stairs? On your lunch break walk up a few flights–maybe five, maybe ten, maybe fifty. Listen to your body.

Have stairs in your house? At least one day a week make a point to go up and down them (carefully) five, ten, or fifty times.

Make notice of how many times you typically go up and down the stairs in your house.

Wednesday Challenge: Only StairsMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:58-04:00

Working Out Good for the Brain

Exercise is not only good for the body, it’s good for the brain. A recent study published in the Journal of American Geriatrics claims that young women who are physically active experienced less dementia as they aged.

So Moms grab your daughters and find a fun class or physical activity you can enjoy taking together.

Working Out Good for the BrainMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:05-04:00

Wednesday Challenge: Plank

Do plank every day this week. You get to decide how long to hold and what position is best for your body. Remember, if you feel pain in your back or shoulders, stop and take a break. To make it more fun grab a friend or relative and challenge each other to see who can last the longest. Make it a little plank Olympics.

Here is how to get into plank position:

On Knees

Lie down on your stomach, propped up on your forearms like you are reading a book at the beach. Bend your knees and lift your hips slightly off the floor. Hold for as long as you can.

On Toes (More Challenging)

Lie down on your stomach, propped up on your forearms like you are reading a book at the beach. With your legs straight curl your toes under and lift your hips off the floor. Hold as long as you can.

What is your longest time?

Wednesday Challenge: PlankMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:03:16-04:00

Wednesday Challenge

Challenge your body and your mind. Can you remember 35 different Pilates exercises? Test your memory by trying to do at least 5 different Pilates exercises every day this week. Can’t remember 35? Do the same five each day every day this week without skipping a day. Do you feel any better by adding that onto your schedule? It doesn’t take more than five minutes per day.

Let us know how many you came up with.

Wednesday ChallengeMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:06-04:00

Gyrokinesis

About a week ago the Personal Euphoria team got together to take a class. About four times a year we try to get together and take a different class or workshop together–something that isn’t Pilates.

We all love movement so we are open to trying new things, but what I like best about our little adventurous outings is that it always reminds me how someone completely new to Pilates feels in my class. Half the time I had not idea what I was doing. I was constantly questioning the movement and wondering if I was doing everything right. You always have to try and let go and know that you’re not going to do everything right your first time out. It takes practice. At some points during the class I’d hear one (or more) of us chuckle because we didn’t know what we doing. But that’s okay. That’s half the fun.

This time we took a Gyrokinesis class will Melanie Johnson, owner of Powerflow Studio in New Haven. None of us really knew what we were getting into. […]

GyrokinesisMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:56-04:00