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.

Foot Pain Probably Plantar Fasciitis

Love Your Feet!

If you have foot pain in the sole of your foot it’s a likely culprit is plantar fasciitis. Most people have never heard of fascia, but most have heard of plantar fasciitis—a painful inflammation of the fascia in your foot. Fascia is connective tissue that runs through your whole body. At the sole of your foot it is a fibrous material that connects to your Achilles’ tendon. And when it hurts it hurts. Most people find it especially hurts first thing in the morning. And that is because fascia responds to movement and hydration. After sleeping, we haven’t drinking in eight hours and we’ve barely moved. The fascia stiffens.

Here are some tips to help your fascia feel better. Some of these are beneficial for the fascia throughout your body. All are specific to the fascia in your foot causing pain:

Drink Water
Ice—you can toss and ice pack under your foot whenever you are sitting down or freeze a water bottle and roll it back and forth under your foot.
At night use this time as a little R&R and rub some lotion […]

Foot Pain Probably Plantar FasciitisMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:18:08-05:00

Comic-Con Comfort Zone

Going to Comic-Con wasn’t exactly outside my comfort zone, but it wasn’t on my list of things to do, and certainly wasn’t something I’d normally be interested in attending. I’ll plan a hike, a fire walk, a giant slip and slide and build an igloo, but I wouldn’t suggest a day at a comic convention. The only reason I wanted to go was to spend time with my brother and Matt and to watch them enjoy it. That was the only reason until I discovered John Cusack was going to be there. I’m still not sure why Cusack was at Comic-Con, but I’ve been a fan before I even knew who he was as a child watching Natty Gann.

The awkward, though understandable, thing about Comic-Con is that you basically have to pay for any interactions with “the talent.” If you want an autograph, you pay. If you want a photo-op, you pay. If you are someone who collects signatures that makes sense to me. If, like my brother and Matt, you know Stan Lee is 93 and you probably won’t get another chance in life to interact with […]

Comic-Con Comfort ZoneMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:19:54-05:00

Plank Story Natural Deodorant

I’m occasionally told I’m crunchy and I always sort of cringe. That’s not how I see myself, but then I tell a story like this:

All my siblings were in Connecticut a few weeks ago to celebrate my dad and stepmom’s 30^th wedding anniversary. We had a variety of activities planned—dinner, boat cruises, museum tours. And the weather was beautiful for outdoor activities, except for the fact it was 95-degrees with 100% humidity (perhaps slight exaggeration, but not much). With my brother and sister-in-law in front of the Derby House, Salem, MA

After picking my brother up at the airport, we met in Salem to tour the Derby House. I’d been teaching all day. It was hot and my sister-in-law asked if I used all natural deodorant. She was thinking of switching and wondered if I thought it work. “Yes,” I exclaimed exuberantly. It is moments like these where I’m actually excited to talk about my choice of deodorant that makes me realize I just may be a little bit crunchy. “Do you ever smell?” she […]

Plank Story Natural DeodorantMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:26:26-05:00

Plank Story: Montgomery, Alabama Civil Rights

Outside the Dexter Parsonage Museum, MLK’s home in Montgomery.

Matt and I were headed to Montgomery, Alabama to see the abandoned, dilapidated set from Big Fish. I was planning a weekend for us in Montgomery and started to worry that there wouldn’t be much to see. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the Big Fish set still cool to walk through, but Montgomery is steeped in civil rights and civil war history.

What is unique about the civil rights component is that some of the people living in Montgomery today were alive and in Montgomery during the 1950’s. Some knew Martin Luther King and lived through the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The civil rights history in Montgomery isn’t that old. I’d say now is the time to visit, because once the sites are actually history and not told from a firsthand experience, a piece of the story will be lost.

In a couple decades, you could go to the Dexter Parsonage Museum, MLK’s house, and get a great tour about his story in Montgomery, but probably won’t hear Dr. Shirley Cherry’s, our […]

Plank Story: Montgomery, Alabama Civil RightsMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:27:45-05:00

Client Corner: Tishler Coaching Services: Unlock Your Potential

In case you haven’t met Steph in class, she is our client corner highlight this month.

Stephanie Tishler’s positive energy is infectious. With a warm smile she tells me how her relationship with Personal Euphoria began over 6 years ago when she started taking mat classes in Glastonbury. She was part of the original Glastonbury group. Within that time she also began taking weekly privates with Maggie. “Without it I don’t feel the same” she says. Tishler is a big believer in carving out time for yourself through exercise. In addition to her Pilates practice, she is an avid runner. As a busy mom of two, who also runs her own business, exercise gives Stephanie space to clear her head.

Stephanie didn’t always know that she wanted to run her own business. The idea first came from something she wrote down on a napkin. She was at dinner with a friend who was looking for advice about running her business. As she listened to her friend talk, Stephanie wrote down exactly what she thought her friend […]

Client Corner: Tishler Coaching Services: Unlock Your PotentialMaggie Downie2017-12-29T20:28:36-05:00

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