Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, March 10, 2012

MVNews this week:  Page 16

16

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 10, 2012 

YOGA IS JUST STRETCHING.

OPEN UP: The 1st Step

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

March Birthdays

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

MARCH 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!!


By Rene Quenell, 
Proprietor Yoga Madre - 
Sierra Madre

 

Many people tell me that 
they can’t do yoga because 
they are not flexible. Hmmmm.

How do we GET flexible? Flexibility is not 
achieved by force. Flexibility comes from 
opening up. And opening up comes from 
having enough space to open into.

And it all starts with the mind. Resistance has 
many forms. But the mind is the command 
center. If the mind is full full full then there 
is no space for new ideas. I guess the easy 
way to look at it is like the hard drive. There 
is only so much space on your computer. We 
need to clean house of the old files sometimes 
to make space for the new files. Sometimes 
we really need to get in there and take a look 
at what we are hanging on to and why. Is it 
really useful? Maybe we even need a new operating 
system!

 

We are just like this. We need to make space 
for new ideas and new ways of doing things. 
We need to take a look at some of the beliefs 
we carry around and see if they are serving 
us. If we can be open to the experience of 
taking a look at the ego and how it motivates 
us and/or limits us, we really begin to 
get places. And boy oh boy, does that ego 
show up on the mat. Sometimes, in a great 
way! Sometimes - not so much. Learning to 
get to know it and use it effectively is, well - 
amazing. So make some space in the mind 
for new ways of thinking. Make some space 
in the heart for new emotions and beliefs. 
Make some space in the belly, the hips and 
the hamstrings to function more efficiently. 
And see what opens up.

 

Namasté, René 

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. 

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. 


TAX HELP IN CARING 
FOR AN AGING PARENT

Dear Savvy Senior:

My wife and I provide a lot of financial support to 
my elderly mother and are wondering if any of it 
is tax deductible. What can you tell us? Stretched 
Thin

Dear Stretched:

There is some tax relief available to adult children 
who help look after their aging parents or 
other relatives. But in order to be eligible, both 
you and your mom will need to meet Uncle Sam’s 
criteria. Here’s what you should know. 

IRS Eligibility

If you’re helping financially support your elderly 
mother, to get a tax deduction you’ll need to 
claim her as a dependent on your tax return. For 
the 2011 tax year, claiming an additional personal 
exemption would reduce your taxable income 
by $3,700. But to get this tax break, you’ll need to 
pass the IRS’s income and support tests:

Income test: To qualify as a dependent, your 
mom’s 2011 gross income must have been less 
than $3,700. Her income from Social Security 
does not count towards that total, nor do disability 
payments. But if your mom receives more 
than $3,700 from other sources, such as pension 
benefits, interest and dividends from investments, 
or withdrawals from retirement savings 
plans, you can’t claim her as a dependent.

Support test: In addition to the income test, you 
must provide more than half of your mom’s costs 
for housing, food, medical care, transportation 
and other necessities. Even if all of your mom’s 
income is from Social Security, you can’t claim 
her as a dependent unless you pay more than half 
her living expenses. 

It’s also important to note that your mom doesn’t 
have to live with you to qualify as a dependent, 
as long as she meets the income test and you provide 
more than half her financial support. If your 
mother lives with you, you can include a percentage 
of your mortgage, utilities and other expenses 
in calculating how much you contribute 
to her support. IRS Publication 501 (see www.
irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf) has a worksheet 
that can help you with this. To receive this, or 
other IRS publications or forms via mail, call 
800-829-3676. 

Shared Support:

If you share the financial responsibility for your 
mom with other siblings, you may be eligible 
for the IRS multiple-support declaration. Here’s 
how this works. If one sibling is providing more 
than half the parent’s financial support, only that 
sibling can claim the parent. But if each sibling 
provides less than 50 percent support, but their 
combined assistance exceeds half the parent’s 
support. In that case, any sibling who provides 
more than 10 percent can claim the parent as a 
dependent. But only one sibling can claim the tax 
break in any given year. Siblings can rotate the 
tax break, with one claiming the parent one year, 
and another the next. The sibling who claims the 
parent as a dependent will need to fill out IRS 
Form 2120 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2120.pdf) 
and file it with his or her tax return. 

Medical Deductions:

If you can’t claim your mom as a dependent, 
you may still get a tax break for helping pay her 
medical costs. The IRS lets taxpayers deduct 
money spent on a parent’s health care and qualified 
long-term care services, even if the parent 
doesn’t qualify as a dependent. 

To claim this deduction, you still must provide 
more than half your mom’s support, but your 
mom doesn’t have to meet the income test. And 
the deduction is limited to medical, dental and 
long-term care expenses that exceed 7.5 percent 
of your adjusted gross income. You can include 
your own medical expenses in calculating the 
total. See the IRS publication 502 (www.irs.gov/
pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf) for details. 

Check Your State: 

In addition to the federal tax breaks, more than 
20 states offer tax credits and deductions for 
caregivers on state income taxes too. Check with 
your state tax agency to see what’s available. 

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.

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

SAVE THE DATES

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN 

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


We’d like to hear from you! 

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Contact us 
at: editor@
mtnviewsnews.com 
or 

 

www.facebook.com/
mountainviewsnews

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 


626-351-8444482 N. Rosemead Blvd., #201 | Pasadena, CA 91107www.elitedentistryofpasadena
Elite Dentistry 
of Pasadenal Veneersl Implantsl Invisalignl Cosmetic Dentistryl Denturesl Root Canalsl Treatmentsl Extractionsl And much more... 
Oksana Boyechko, DMD, CDIProfessor at UCLA School of DentistryOpen Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm | Sat 2pm - 4pm | Closed TuesdaysSat. & Evening Appts. Available | Please ask about our specials.