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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011 Staying Alive Fitness continues to grow It has been a fun, sometimes frantic yet fulfilling five years for Leanne Monaghan who, with a business partner, opened Staying Alive Fitness in 2006 on Main Street North. Looking back, Monaghan said she has accomplished her goal of establishing a fitness centre with fully trained staff and apprentices, so she could continue to improve her existing and develop new skills. "In the beginning I basically taught all of the classes. Some of those I have passed on to my qualified staff now to be able to further concentrate on optimimizing my yoga and Pilates instruction, personal training and massage therapy," Monaghan said recently, as she looked back over the last five years. Currently, Monaghan is in the process of writing a manual to instruct Pilates teachers under the umbrella of CanFitPro, the Canadian fitness governing body. "The next step is to submit it to CanFitPro, which will look at my curriculum and my content. I will then conduct a two-and-a-half day Pilates teachers' training workshop, Monaghan said, adding the process will take the remainder of the year. Among her many certifications, Monaghan is a Registered Massage Therapist, a Certified Personal Trainer, a Yoga Instructor, a Certified Spin Instructor, a Bosu trainer and a Reiki Master. While fitness was always part of her active life style, Monaghan stepped up her activities after being diagnosed with cancer in 2002. She wanted to support conventional medicine with a healthy living approach that included hydrotherapy, detox and Pilates. After five years of teaching classes and developing competent staff, Monaghan said, that for her teaching is a long-term progression. "Teaching the teachers is my calling," Monaghan said, adding that over the past five years, the dynamics of the business have evolved. "Five years ago there were THE NEW TANNER 5 MURAL RELOCATION: This mural depicting Acton's history, which has hung in the entrance of the old library since it opened in 1967, will be relocated in the planned addition of the Town Hall Centre because it could not be accommodated in the new library. ­ Frances Niblock photo lots of mothers with babies ­ our babysitting area was overflowing. Now we see a lot less kids, and a mix of younger, as well as middle-aged and (quite) older clients, all in the pursuit of their own personal level of fitness. The gym's motto is: Every Body is Welcome Here." She said some of Staying Alive Fitness' more popular classes are Pilates, Pilates fusion, which includes yoga and Tai Chi, spin classes and restorative Pilates. During the summer months Monaghan offers a very popular weekly Yoga in the Park class, and has staged several fundraisers for the Upper Credit Humane Society. Monaghan plans to increase her community involvement this year with more health and nutrition workshops, free and open to the public, and a Stepping Alive Walking Club, with a pedometer challenge. "I still have clients who started out with me five years ago, and that is very satisfying." New home for mural Although Acton artist Melanija Bray was "a bit astounded" that her mural hanging in the entrance way of the old Acton library would not be hung in the new Acton library, she is somewhat appeased that it will be moved to the Acton Town Hall Centre, once the proposed addition to the Willow Street facility is built. More than 44 years ago, Bray said the library board asked her to paint a mural to hang in the library's entrance way. After a year of research, she produced the work, which depicts Acton's heritage and history. Bray said she "nearly dropped her drawers" when someone from the library, whose name she can't remember, phoned and asked what she was going to do with her mural. "Apparently the designer (of the new library) said it (the mural) didn't quite meet the design, or whatever," Bray said last Wednesday, adding she was "dumfounded and a little upset" to learn that the mural would not be hung in the new building. Geoff Cannon, the new li- brary project manager, said the problem was the size of Bray's work, because they don't have a large enough space to hang it in the new library. "We did not design a space in the building with that piece in mind ­ it wasn't an intentional thing...because of the process and the speed of which the building was designed and developed, unfortunately certain things got missed," Cannon said. He said Bray's work is a beautiful piece of art and the Town Hall Centre will be a wonderful space for it.