Living your best life!!!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Alli

The question that everyone needs to answer for themselves is this:
What’s the highest and best use of myself in this life? Time is limited. We must find a fire within each of us to wake up every morning fresh and know that we have only this one chance to live this particular day to its fullest. Choose wisely. Mom used to say; “and be clever”.
String your days into a life of action and purpose. That is a successful life well lived. There are no guarantee’s in this world but if you keep moving forward, windows and doors will open all over the place for you. I’m not saying that it’s always going to be easy and in fact it shouldn’t be if its going to be lasting. One thing is true -pain is temporary and quitting lasts forever.

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Starbright Gala April 16, 2011

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Alli

This was tons of fun! Thank you to my old and new best friends David Rogers and David Hogan for giving me this opportunity!

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Excerpt from my book – “I still miss her scent”.

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Alli

Chapter I

Moment:
• Definition according to Webster: An instant.
• Synonym according to J.I. Rodale: Importance, Significance.

To See:
• Definition according to Webster: To consider, to think, to investigate, to penetrate to the true nature of, to comprehend.
• Synonym according to J.I. Rodale: Recognize, Understand, Remember, Reflect upon, Wonder about.

In one moment life can change. You’re watching Much More Music, the morning news and you run a few kilometers. Then you get a call and the next moment is the beginning of a different life. A life you didn’t know existed. No planning. No warning. No preparation.

When a parent falls sick, your life as you knew it is stripped to the bare necessities becoming unrecognizable.

Enter the new characters of your life. Stage right……. GO.

Strangers you have never met before become your most important allies and confidantes. Doctors, Specialists, Nurses, Psychologists, Tim Horton’s employees, Taxi drivers, Funeral directors, Coroners, Florists and Restauranteurs. They have all joined the cast list to help you get through one of the toughest stories of your life.

You discover you have new roles to play and script changes come every minute. You have new functions, ideas and realities to participate in. They now have to be accepted as the ‘new normal’. It’s so frustrating to stand by and watch it all unfold and not be able to control it or do anything to change it. You realize maybe for the first time in your life that you are not really in charge in the conventional manner.

There is a force of life that is in charge that transcends all material handprints.

You want to scream; “I want it to go back to the way it was. Why is this happening? Please let me feel normal again!”

For the true measure of strength is not when everything goes your way. It is when nothing goes your way and you still continue to walk forward with ‘hope in your heart’. All we have control over is the dignity with which we respond to our challenges. The experience forces you to examine the value of how you’re contributing to your life and the lives of others.

In a study done by Dr. Paul Pearsall Ph.D, a clinical Psychoneuroimmunologist, the #1 regret patients had on their death-beds was they didn’t take enough risks. Not hang gliding risks but the risk to take that pause for life. To laugh and to cry more. And spend more quality time with family.

If you’ve lost someone close to you and are struggling with the feelings you’re having or not having, you are not alone. Nothing prepares you for this permanent loss. It’s a highly personal experience. Whatever challenges you are facing in your life are often magnified tenfold during this time of need. So be gentle with yourself. Don’t make too many big decisions right away.

 

There will be moments and maybe even days when you don’t think you’ll be able to take another breath let alone get out of bed. You are 100% entitled to feel that way for a while. There is a force of life that insists you get back to living as hard as it may seem. Allow the laws of life to rally you into forward action because you need to keep moving forward. I promise you this: The raw hurt you are feeling now is accompanied by the blessings of love, resilience and strength. And even during your darkest day, the sun is still shining. You will get through it. Family, friends and even strangers will play a part in helping you get there.  It starts with you but doesn’t end there.

At least that was my experience……

More to come…..

Allison Mang 2011

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The power of a strong core!

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Alli

∞ • With a strong foundation, your house is solid. The same is true for the core of your body! Now just to be clear – the core is not just the ‘six pack’ that gets so much press. The core starts at your shoulder girdle to your hip girdle – front to back.

∞ The core is the root of all movement – Think about it, when you pick up a grocery bag from the store, you are using your core to support your biceps and triceps, when you start your lawn mower – the motion comes from the core, when you pick up your children – all of the work starts from your core. So, if the core isn’t strong to start off with, chances are your supporting muscles will start to suffer.

∞ Every action we do in life is initiated from the core. It’s the one muscle group (besides your heart) that never rests. You can say your legs are tired and choose not to use them, you can say your arms are tired, and not use them but you can never rest your core.

∞ ∞ At a recent workout, some of the fast runners that I workout with commented on how weak their core was. It surprised them. They figured since they excelled so much at running fast and far that their core wouldn’t feel very challenged. Not the case at all. If you don’t focus on getting this large part of your body strong (over 30%of your body), you will feel the imbalances.

• The key to being healthy is to move your body everyday, Most experts say to get up and move for at least 30 minutes per day. If you’re moving your body, you are burning calories and keeping all your systems working! If you’ve ever had surgery in the past, you know the first thing they want you to do as soon as soon as its safe, is to get you up and moving. Why – they know its the only way to get the system working. Well that is true for all of us. It doesn’t have to be horrible work, it can be fun!

∞ The stronger our core is, the more it will support our extremities. In later life, we need all of the support we can get!

There are amazing products out there to help you get a strong core and still have some fun. So far, the best, most gentle and quickest (15 minutes) core workout I’ve come across is Master Moves. Their link is:

http://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=master+moves&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=GZRmTdqhG4L58AaS9OWhCw

Check them out. I really believe in the product and it helped me bounce back from some big stomach surgery.

Let me know what has worked for you.

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