age – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

This is 40

this is 40

The reality that I’m approaching middle age has been slowly settling in all year. There is a level of disbelief. Not because I still feel 12, 20, or 33, but because I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. And it’s only going faster.

This is 40: No Mid-life Crisis Here

I can enter 40 without a full-blown mid-life crisis because I like where I am and what I’ve done, but there is so much more I want to do. It feels like 40 is that alarm that wakes you from a deep sleep blaring: “YOU ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TIME LEFT.” If I can’t see the entire world in one lifetime or learn about every topic that interests me, what should I prioritize? So, while I’m not having a midlife crisis, I am having a moment.

As a child I recall listening to adults reminisce. While laughing together over a memory, they would say something like, “I forgot all about that,” as a story trickled back into their mind. I was baffled. They weren’t telling stories about doing laundry. They were talking about events that seemed memorable to me. How […]

This is 40Maggie Downie2021-03-19T15:13:20-04:00

Aging in Place

Joe Pilates Aging in Place. I think he’s in his fifties in this picture.

Aging in place is the concept that you can stay in your own home and community safely as you age. Baby Boomers have started a trend of remodeling their homes to enable them to stay in one place as they get older. We can make adjustments to our home, but what about to our bodies?

I’ve noticed a lot of family, friends and clients talking about getting older—movement feeling different in their body, new aches and pains they never had before, and certain exercises getting harder than they used to be. Perhaps it’s just a phase and timing like when you are a certain age there is a year or two where everyone is getting married. A few years later your schedule is packed with baby showers. I guess I currently know a number of people that are hitting a milestone age that makes them stop, think, feel, reminisce, and remind them that time is fleeting.

It’s a challenge to know how to handle changes in […]

Aging in PlaceMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:54:01-05:00

Twenty-Five vs. Thirty

Don’t laugh but when I turned twenty-five I had a little quarter life crisis. It seems silly, but whatever, different ages effect us all differently. I’ve seen people have a tough time with thirty and I couldn’t wait to be thirty.

When I was twenty-five I did something pretty stupid. I ran a marathon without training. Why, you may ask? My best friend Julie had found a List of Things to do Before I Die paper we had made as kids. She had listed compete in a pie eating contest, which she did. In fact she excelled at eating pie and won the contest. I hadn’t done anything on my list and was inspired by Julie (and my quarter-life crisis).

So I decided I wanted to run a marathon, but I didn’t have time to train. I also thought that if I didn’t run the marathon then I would never run one because I was […]

Twenty-Five vs. ThirtyMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:49-04:00

I’m Thirty!

Well it’s done. I’m officially thirty. I’ve spent the past year being so excited about turning thirty that a piece of me feels a little let down. Kind of like when you spend months preparing for Christmas and then it is over in a heartbeat. It helps that I have a lot of exciting events planned for this year. But for the past year I have felt like I was twenty, when you can’t wait to be twenty-one, except there is no obvious perk that comes with thirty. However, I’ve heard many women say their thirties were their favorite decade.

In turning thirty and taking some stock in my life (let’s face it, thirty is still young, but it is one of those numbers that makes you want to reflect) I’ve kind of realized that one of the things I’ve had to come to terms with is my womanhood—the very thing I hope to embrace in my thirties. My life thus far has been an interesting roller coaster ride on my perspective of whether or not being a […]

I’m Thirty!Maggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:56-04:00

Age Has Nothing To Do With It

Every once in a while someone will tell me that the reason I can do a particular pilates exercise is because I’m young. I think that’s a bit of a copout because usually the person who says it is also capable of doing the exercise or if they can’t do it yet but would be able to do it with practice.

I also don’t think age really comes into play when you’re talking about pilates. If someone said to me, “You were only able to run a marathon when you were twenty-five without training because you were young,” I would whole heartedly agree with them, but pilates is different. It has this brilliant way of making you see every exercise that challenges you and then gives you ways you can improve.

But we each improve in our own body and at our own rate. And life always throws new things as us, so as soon as we conquer one exercise we may find another more difficult. Or we may take two steps forward and one back on […]

Age Has Nothing To Do With ItMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:57-04:00