move – Page 4 – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Failure is Always an Option

We put so much emphasis on failing. Lately, I keep seeing articles about revisiting our thoughts on failure. Basically, failure is all the rage. And I love it. In a nutshell the articles point out that if you never fail it’s possible you aren’t trying. Arguably not to fail is to fail. We tend to put so much emphasis on success, a term we struggle to define. What makes a person successful—happiness, money, free time, a family, a home, the right outfit? There is no standardized definition of success. And, perhaps contrary to popular belief, failure is always an option.

Thanks to Merriam Webster for the following:

Success: 1) the act of getting or achieving, wealth, respect or fame. 2) the correct or desired result of an attempt.

Failure: 1) omission of occurrence or performance. 2) a state of inability to perform a normal function. 3) lack of success.

I don’t want fame. So, I guess in not achieving fame, I’m successful in my goal. I don’t think wealth is a substantive sign of success. It’s a superficial form. Maybe it’s a way to tally and compare, but wealth is not guaranteed to bring you joy, or a life without pain, or to make […]

Failure is Always an OptionMaggie Downie2017-12-29T19:44:01-05:00

Client Corner: Movement Helps Parkinson’s

Janice teaching barre in Glastonbury.

“Do what your body can do today,” Janice Flanigan calls out as my leg lifts for what feels like the millionth time and every muscle holding me up starts to burn. I’m at a Total Barre class in Glastonbury which Janice loves to teach because of its focus on the core, hips and legs. By the time 45 minutes have gone by I’ve gotten a full body workout, and I happily relax into our cool down.

Janice has been teaching many different types of classes for over 20 years. You can find her teaching Total Barre, Pilates Plus Strength, Interval Training Cardio, Low Impact Cardio-Strength and Kickboxing this fall with Personal Euphoria. Each class offers a different challenge for her clients. Janice says:

I love Pilates because of its precision. I love Yogalates because we get the best of both worlds with the spirituality and strengthening and stretching of Yoga and the critical core strength of Pilates.

A class that is particularly special is her weekly boxing class held at the Enfield Senior Center. The class is a combination of boxing and functional interval training, […]

Client Corner: Movement Helps Parkinson’sMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:45:56-05:00

10 Summer Exercises

If your schedule changes in the summer and you can’t get to your regular Pilates class this video and blog is for you. Below you’ll find a ten minute Pilates workout of some of the best exercises to continue doing during your off season.

Best is always a sticky word because the ten best exercises would be different for every person and might be different for a specific individual on different days.

But what I think is good about this series is that is works you in flexion (rounded forward), extension (bending back), rotation and laterally (did you see how I threw in a plank there?). The spine gets mobilized in every direction. We work abs, back, glutes, legs and arms. And we bookended it with two of the best stretches ever.

Watch the video for help or print out this list and take it with you. You can do these moves anywhere, even outside in a park.

Reminder: You want to ensure your abdominals are gently engaged the entire time to keep the work out of your back. If you feel an exercise in your back, stop. Take a break. You can always try again later. Turn up the volume; it’s a little […]

10 Summer ExercisesMaggie Downie2018-01-13T16:15:45-05:00

Walking on Fire

The fire ablaze.

Why did I want to do a firewalk? That was the question everyone asked me when I mentioned I was doing one. I still don’t know the answer. Curiosity. An interesting experience. To know what it feels like. Conquer fear. Know that I can do it. To see how my nervous system responds. Those were all a piece of what intrigued me, but when I tested those answers on different people none seemed to satisfy anyone.

I don’t have an answer. What makes anyone want to do anything? I don’t want to bungee jump or cliff jump even though that might help me get over my fear of heights and would be an adventure. I’m not a thrill seeker. Firewalking isn’t like a rollercoaster ride. I don’t want to do an ultra-run, but I can understand why someone would feel compelled to run in an extreme environment for days. I hadn’t thought about the why at first because I naively assumed everyone wanted to firewalk. As it turns out most people don’t. I told

Walking on FireMaggie Downie2018-05-09T18:07:11-04:00

When it Comes to Movement, Your Mindset Matters

Your mindset can make all the difference as to whether or not you stick to a new plan. So let’s try to change some common misconceptions about moving.

I Don’t Have Time

This is never really true of anything. We have the time. It’s about how we prioritize our time, and, in this case, whether we prioritize movementIf you get together with friends you could ask to go for a walk instead of meet up for food or coffee. If you sit down in front of the couch you could get up and march in place. On a phone call at work you could do some exercises. But we often feel embarrassed to move in front of others. Ignore them. They aren’t moving. And if they aren’t they don’t feel as good as you when you move. Most likely they are just jealous that you don’t care. And, you might even inspire someone else to move. And, its highly possible they are so busy they aren’t noticing anyway.

1) As a side note, even if you think you don’t have time, you can tweak little things. Park far away at the mall, doctor’s office or work. Take stairs instead of the escalator […]

When it Comes to Movement, Your Mindset MattersMaggie Downie2018-01-13T16:27:42-05:00