exercise

Sobering Fact: Kids and Exercise

Children today consume about 350 more calories than children did in the 1970’s. To burn the additional caloric intake, kids would have to walk an additional 150-minutes per day. Let’s make it a point to get outside this weekend and spend some time being active with the children in our lives who we care about.

Sobering Fact: Kids and ExerciseMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:29-04:00

Improv

A common discussion point came up in both my recent meetings with Elders Ron Fletcher and Mary Bowen: improv. Ron Fletcher had us improv after doing exercises and ended each workshop day with improvisational body movement.

Mary Bowen talked about moving the body the way it wants, finding positions that feel good, and had me “play” on what is called a ladder to stretch my shoulders. “Try this,” she said, showing me one way to hang onto the ladder. “And this. Move one arm up and the other down.” She wanted me to play with my body and discover what felt good and what didn’t. I think one position I wound up in struck her as odd. She has reason to think so. It didn’t feel good.

Pilates is all about control, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be silly or play or try new and different movements. The more you learn about your body, the more control you will have. So play or improvise–whatever you prefer to call it. Just never stop learning about your own […]

ImprovMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:29-04:00

Elder Mary Bowen

This week I trained with Pilates Elder Mary Bowen for the second time. She has a home in Connecticut, so it is a wonderful opportunity to get to train with her. She is so close I wish I could afford to train with her weekly. In our lessons, she seems to talk more than to instruct exercises, but as an instructor (and a person) I learn a great deal from listening to her and attempting to absorb the wealth of information she has discovered in nearly 80-years.

What struck me most this time I met with her was her commentary on relaxing the body. I tend to be very tight, but that isn’t uncommon. We all carry tension in our neck and shoulders. We’re a society of tight hamstrings. She talked about how itching we all are as humans to move–to get going. “We’ll say, ‘Let’s Go,'” she explained. We’re always on the move; always rushing. She suggested, perhaps, we should consider, “Let’s Relax”–or maybe she said, “Let’s release.” I don’t remember, but it had the same intention. “It’s […]

Elder Mary BowenMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:29-04:00

Friends in Hartford Marathon

Katy, one of our instructors and the Program Director at Personal Euphoria, is running in the Hartford Half Marathon this Saturday (10/10). Go cheer her on. Support makes a world of difference on a long run.

Friends in Hartford MarathonMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:29-04:00

Hula Hooping for Fitness

My favorite booth at the Women’s Expo last week was without a doubt the Fitness Hooping booth. When I first saw someone walking by with a giant, colorful hula hoop, I had to know where it came from. I’ve heard about a new trend in using hula hoops for exercise. If something is fun, safe and gets the body moving I’m in full support.

So it was hula hoops that drew me away from the multi-colored mats we’d laid out in our booth so that people could try Pilates exercises. I passed Trader Joe’s and snatched some humus and carrots. Then on the opposite side of the expo center, I found them. There were young children rocking their hips to keep the hoops up. Luckily, I wasn’t the only adult who wanted to try. Another women was waiting patiently for the kids to finish up so that we could try our hands at being children again.

It was fun. I couldn’t help but smile. I could have stayed in what felt like the kids corner all day. I’ve never taken an actual hula hoop class (yet), but the link above will take you to the woman from […]

Hula Hooping for FitnessMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:30-04:00