p18, v6.09 — The Good Life — Mountain Views News

The Good Life

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 3, 2012

MVNews this week: Page 18

THE GOOD LIFE

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 3, 2012

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

YOGA IS JUST STRETCHING.

IN THE BEGINNING.......

FEBRUARY ACTIVITIES

Senior Programs have returned to the Hart
Park House enior Center, 222 W. Sierra
Madre Blvd. in Memorial Park - Come by and
see the changes!!

March Birthdays

Ella Gutman, Santos Ruiz, Viky Tchatlian,
Mary Cooper, Carla Duplex,Terri Elder,
Georgina ‘Snooky’ Greger, Rita Johnson,
Helen Wallis, Dorothy Webster

Meals-On-Wheels

MONDAYS: City Hall & Lunch Café

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café: Come enjoy
a hot meal with others. Donation for seniors
(60+) of $2.00; visitors $3.75. Call 355-0256
to make your daily reservation.

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm: Strength Training with
Lisa Brandley. FREE class of stretching with
light hand weights while you sit.

TUESDAYS:

FREE blood pressure checks by Methodist
Hospital Nurse; 11 am to 12 noon.

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm: BINGO; cards are only 25
cents each so stop by & play

5:15 pm to 6:45 pm: Yoga; $6.00 - 50 & over.
Please call 355-5278 for more information

WEDNESDAYS:

11 –11:45 am: Balance Class with Teryl. FREE
class designed to improve balance & refresh
the joints

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations
needed 355-0256

2nd Wednesday of the month: FREE Legal
Consultations: 10-11:30 am. Appointments
call 355-7394

Wii Wednesday - 1:00 pm or call the senior
desk at 355-7394 to arrange another time &
day to learn how to play. No previous experience
or skills required and it is great exercise.

THURSDAY:

1:00 to 3:30 pm: Game Day. Join us for Poker
with Bridge on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays; so
please call for more information.

FRIDAY: City Hall closed on Dec. 16, 23 & 30
and Lunch Café closed on Dec. 23

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations
needed 355-0256

Saturday: 11:30 am: Senior Club brown bag
lunch and BINGO at 12:30 pm.

By Rene Quenell, Proprietor Yoga Madre - Sierra Madre

People ask me all the time how I started doing yoga. A friend took me.
We took our babies. I hated it. And then another friend took me to my
second class -- I had a great teacher -- and I fell in love. Well maybe not
at first, exactly. But day by day and year by year I fell in love with my
practice.

I know, sounds strange. But it’s really true. The first time I actually did downward dog,
I kind of liked it. The first time my knees didn’t have to touch the ground in plank, I was
thrilled, and the first time, well, there are still first times, all these years later. And each time
I feel that wonder - “Wow, I did that!”. It is so powerful. It made me want to keep going. I
wanted to eat right and enable myself to do even more. I learned things I didn’t like about
myself too. Big things. But through yoga we can learn and then transform. And that is the
whole enchilada: we have the POWER to transform ourselves.

The mat is our playground, or practice ground, where we learn to breathe through challenging
situations. We learn to adapt. We learn to be flexible. We also learn integrity and strength.

We learn what our tendencies are. We learn how we resist, how we avoid, how we compete
and how we beat ourselves up. We learn how we breathe, how we eat, how we think and
feel. We learn we are connected to our minds, body and spirit and to each other. We learn
about our hips and shoulders, aches and pains.

Then we learn what our inner strengths are. And the first time we work it through, the first
time we come out on the other side, we are free - because we transformed. If we can do it
on the mat, we can do it anywhere. We are powerful beings. Learning to love and nurture
all aspects of ourselves so that we can live our lives to the very best and make a difference!
This is the teaching of yoga.

So unroll that mat and TAKE A FRIEND. And next time you are in class remember to
ask yourself “what did I learn about myself today?”

Meals are delivered to home-
bound seniors by volunteer drivers
through the YWCA Intervale
Lunch Program M-F (with frozen meals for the
weekend.)

Meals are delivered to the home-bound seniors
by drivers through the YWCA Interval Lunch
Program M-F (with frozen meals for the
weekend.)

Call the YWCA at (626) 214-9460 for more
information.

LUNCH & LEARN

Join the Senior

Community Commission

at the

HART PARK HOUSE

for a FREE presentation. Lunch is
available for a

$2 donation

Call (626) 355-0256 by

12 noon the day before.

2012 EXCURSIONS

COMPUTER-FREE
VIDEO CALLING
HELPS SENIORS STAY
CONNECTED

Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you recommend any easy-to-use products for
video calling? I live in a different state from my
mother, who’s now 78, and would like to see her
more often. But mom doesn’t have a computer or
a smartphone for video chatting and she’s intimidated
with technology. Living Afar

Dear Living:

Video calling is a wonderful way to stay connected
and get that important face-to-face time
with your mom when you can’t be there. Here
are some good video calling products to consider
for technology-challenged seniors who don’t
use a computer.

Home Videophones

If you’re not familiar with them, home videophones
are a nice option and very easy for seniors
to use. Basically, they work like a regular
telephone but come with a built-in camera and
video screen that gives you the ability to see the
person you’re talking to in real-time. All you
need is a high speed (DSL or Cable) Internet
connection and you’re ready to go.

While there are various types and styles of videophones
on the market today, some possible options
to consider are the Grandstream 3140 and
VoSKY videophones that work with Skype (see
skype.com) – a free software application that lets
you make free video calls via the Internet.

Retailing anywhere between $150 and $250, the
big advantage of using a Skype certified videophone
is that after you purchase it, there are no
monthly service fees to use it. Skype-to-Skype
video calls are completely free, and you can use
your personal computer (if you have a webcam),
Android smartphone or tablet, iPhone, iPad or
Mac to call your mom’s videophone (and vise
versa), which means you don’t have to buy a second
videophone to converse with her like you
do with other services.

These videophones will also let your mom make
unlimited calls to other landlines and mobile
phones in the U.S. and Canada for only $3 per
month. To learn more or to purchase these
products visit amazon.com or shop.skype.com/
phones.

Another good product to check out is
WorldGate’s Ojo Vision Digital Videophone
which you can buy through ACN (myacn.com/
digital, 877-226-1010) as the IRIS 5000 Video
Phone. With a bright 7-inch LCD screen and excellent
audio and video capabilities, this videophone
is a higher grade product than the Skype
phones, but it’s more expensive. The cost: $179
for the phone with a two-year contract and a $30
monthly service fee for unlimited calling.

This phone will also only let you place video calls
to other Ojo/IRIS videophones. That means that
you and your mom will each have to buy your
own phone in order to video chat with each other,
which adds to your costs.

TV Video Calls

Another great option you need to know about
are the new “TV compatible webcams” that
have a built-in HD camera, speakers and microphones
that will turn your mom’s TV into a
videophone – no computer required.

She will, however, need a television set with an
HDMI port (most HDTVs have them) and wireless
Internet access installed in her home to uses
one of these devices. If she has an older TV that
doesn’t have an HDMI port, converter boxes can
be purchased for around $50 to adapt most sets.

If you like this option, check out the Biscotti TV
Phone (biscotti.com), a new product that costs
$199 and, at the press of a button, will let your
mom make and receive unlimited free video
calls from her TV, to any computer, smartphone
or tablet that uses Google video chat (google.
com/chat/video), or to other Biscotti owners.

Or, if you’re a Skype user, consider the new telyHD
webcam (tely.com). This device costs $250
and works similarly to the Biscotti, but provides
its free video calling via Skype.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O.
Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC
Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior”
book.

SAVE THE DATES

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

SATURDAY, MARCH 3RD - Community
Whale Watching Trip; $28 per person. The
bus will leave the Community Recreation
Center at 10 am and return at 3:30 pm. Cost
includes transportation and a 2 1/2 hour
charter boat tour out of Long Beach.

Registration can be done either in person
or online at www.cityofsierramadre.com/
onlineregistration

THURSDAY, APRIL 26TH - Palm Springs
Follies. Spend the day in sunny PS and see

the new show Hot! Hot! Hot! celebrating
those memories of endless summers with

music and dance. COST per person is $58
(includes transportation, tip & show).

Lunch will be on your own at one of the
many restaurants next to the theatre.

Registration can be done either in person or
online at:

www.cityofsierramadre.com/
onlineregistration

DIAL - A - RIDE TICKETS

Tickets can now be purchased at:

Sierra Madre City Hall

Sierra Madre Recreation Center

Sierra Madre Library

Pasadena Highlands, an independent and assisted
living community, is proud to provide a special
gift basket on the first Tuesday of each month.
Accredited In-Home nursing care will provide a
special prize on the 4th Tuesday of each month.
Bingo takes place every Tuesday at 1:30 pm at the
Sierra Madre Recreation Center while the Hart Park
House is under remodeling. The game begins at
1:30 pm but those wishing to play must arrive 10
minutes before to secure your Bingo cards. Join
us on the 1st & 4th Tuesday of each month

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We’d like to hear from you!

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