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.

It’s All Connected: The Hip/Ankle Connection

Last week I was taking a private pilates class. I was complaining about how my ankle has been supinating (rolling outward). It wasn’t painful, but I know it’s not ideal and I wanted to work on it. I was doing basic footwork exercises on the reformer and when I had someone to look at me tell me exactly when my ankle was in the right place I could feel not only the work in my ankle, but I felt a change in my body all the way up to my hip flexors.

It was one of those moments that make me so proud I’m a pilates instructor, and I immediately wanted to make all my clients feel what I had just felt in my body. The footwork, which seems like a really simple exercise was suddenly a huge challenge because of what was going on in my body. All I was doing was lying down and bending and straightening my legs, but suddenly my whole entire body was working to help my ankle stay where it was supposed […]

It’s All Connected: The Hip/Ankle ConnectionMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:41-04:00

Better Run, Better Run: Food for A Better Run

I am not a dietician, but I’m interested in food and nutrition and how food affects our ability to move and feel good. So my first half marathon this year, as is suggested by many people, I laid off salty, greasy, cheesy food and had carbs and protein for lunch the day before and a light dinner the night before. I ate half a bagel with peanut better the morning of the race because I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait until 9:30 to eat breakfast. By mile ten my gut was pretty unhappy with me.

A couple weeks later I met some runners for a 12-mile practice run. The day before I’d eaten almost everything the Big-E has to offer including a bacon-cheese-burger on a donut. I thought I was in it for it, but I felt fine.

The night before my most recent half marathon, I’d planned to eat a light dinner, but I didn’t get home from work until 8pm I was starving and had called home to ask Matt to have pizza waiting […]

Better Run, Better Run: Food for A Better RunMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:41-04:00

Pelvic Prolapse: The Pelvic Floor & Pilates

This blog is by request. A client said she saw this Doctor Oz show (the video is in three parts) where they discussed pelvis prolapse and she thought it was a very important topic that women are probably uncomfortable talking about if they even know about it. She asked me to spread the word.

I’ve heard of pelvic prolapse because I know of women who have had it. Pelvic prolapse is when the rectum, uterus or bladders falls out of the vagina. It can vary in degree. In pilates we work to engage the pelvic floor in every exercise—a good habit for men and women—and one way to attempt to reduce pelvic prolapse.

While I’m not sure how accurate these numbers are, I have read that 30-50% of women have some degree of pelvic prolapse. Most of these women have had children, a hysterectomy, and/or are over the age of 40 and past menopause. It is also true that up to 50% of women have difficulty engaging their pelvic floor (kegel muscles) on command. The two situations are obviously linked.

So if this is something you are concerned about, you should talk to your doctor and […]

Pelvic Prolapse: The Pelvic Floor & PilatesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:41-04:00

Exercise & Sleep

For two days after I ran the half marathon, I slept so soundly for a good eight hours. The great sleep I got makes running another half marathon very tempting. But 30-minutes of any aerobic exercise should do the trick. Whenever I am extremely physical, I tend to get great sleep.

And there is research to prove it. According to a study in the journal of Sleep Medicine 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise will help improve sleep by enabling you to fall asleep faster and stay in a deep sleep longer. One of the reasons they think this happens is that exercise raises the temperature of the body. It can stay raised for four hours, but when it cools off the temperature is usually lower than prior to exercising, which may help in falling asleep.

The benefits of better sleep are huge. The longer you are in a deep sleep the more growth hormones you produce, which helps you to rebuild and heal your body. But for me, I just love the feeling of waking up and feeling refreshed.

Personal Euphoria

Exercise & SleepMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:40-04:00

Grand Canyon Part II: The Challenge

Hiking the Grand Canyon was my 3rd challenge of my 30th year. I didn’t get to do as much hiking as I’d hoped for to prepare, and Irene washed out our regular backpacking trip in the White Mountains. I was nervous about so many things—my knees, having enough water, the temperature, the terrain, heights, falling off into the great abyss. Luckily, I didn’t have a problem with anything I anticipated. The trail was easier than the trails I am used to in the White Mountains, but it was covered for good portions in small rocks that I termed “ankle biters.” It would be so easy to roll or sprain an ankle in the Grand Canyon. We had no ankle sprains and perfect weather—about 80-degrees during the day and we were able to hike in the shade for good portions of our trip.

The hike was not as hard as I’d expected. Down […]

Grand Canyon Part II: The ChallengeMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:41-04:00

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