Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 12, 2012

12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 12, 2012 

THE JOY OF YOGA

YOUR LIFE OR THE REFLECTION OF IT?

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

May Birthdays

Juanita Loera, JoAnn Serrato-Chim Barbara 
Soulanille,Joanne Anthony, Carole Axline, 
Kika Downey, Shirley Hall, Dorothy Murphy, Annie 
Scalzo, Janet Ten Eyck, Jayne Thomas, 


MAY 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!!

ene
By Rene Quenell, Founder/Owner

Yoga Madre - Sierra Madre 

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. 

 So we live in an image-conscious world. From fashion magazines to 
billboards and ads on the street, in stores and everywhere else, it has become 
impossible to avoid the constant reminder of what we are expected to look 
like and what is considered “beautiful” by today’s standards.

 Do you find this annoying? Pervasive even? Personally, I do. One reason 
is that behind this never ending visual assault hides a simple purpose: to 
make us buy stuff. Stuff we don’t necessarily need, but we buy it anyway, 
because - ever so briefly - it’ll make us feel good.

 Another reason is the pressure to be perfect. Perfection is a self-defeating goal that takes us away 
from what is truly essential: who we really are.

 Look at yourself in the mirror: who do you see? Mirrors can be deceptive: while we’re caught up 
in the reflection, we don’t see the person, just the image that’s projected. It’s the same with life. Are 
you really living your life as you want it? Or are you so caught up in trying to live up to standards that 
perhaps are not completely yours, that somewhere along the line you have lost sight of what’s truly 
important: you?

 In your yoga practice, there’s no room for that. No competition, no standards, no being judged 
and looked down at. 

 In your yoga practice, there’s no need for mirrors. You are encouraged to be yourself. Actually, there’s 
no other option: you can only be yourself. With your abilities and your limitations. No one there will 
push you to be something you’re not, or to make you do something you don’t want to. For the length 
of time you are on your mat, you get to be as genuine, as authentic, as free, as much yourself as is 
possible. In your yoga practice, you are always perfect, because you are always you.

 So stop looking at yourself in the mirror! Live your life, not the reflection of your life. And if you’re 
not sure where to start, may we suggest: your yoga mat? Namasté, René


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

Thursday, May 17th - Adamson House in 
Malibu. Join us as we visit this historic 1930s 
home, view the largest display of Malibu 
titles, tour (walking) the Malibu Lagoon 
Museum and end your visit at a local restaurant 
for lunch. The bus will leave the senior 
center at 8 am and return around 3:30 pm 
(depending on traffic). COST is $20 per person 
(you will need additional money to pay 
for your own lunch) and the tour is limited 
to the first 20 paid registrations. Please note, 
if it rains the excursion will be canceled per 
the museum staff. City staff will know by 7 
am the morning of May 17th if it is canceled 
& will call all participants at that time.

Friday, June 8th - Nethercutt Collection & 
lunch at the Bear Pit BBQ restaurant. June’s 
adventure takes you to the San Fernando 
Valley to see the museum that hous-es over 
200 classic cars, antique furniture and musical 
instruments. After the guide lead walking 
tour of the collection participants will 
then enjoy lunch (please bring additional 
money for lunch). Bus will depart at 8:45 am 
and return around 3:30 pm. Cost per person 
is $12 for transportation & driver’s tip.

Friday, July 13th - Laguna Beach Pageant of 
the Masters. This annual trip will be leaving 
Sierra Madre at 4:30 pm and return around 
11:30 pm. Tickets are limited to the first 40 
registered participants and the cost per person 
is $55.

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


BINGO Tuesday - join us every Tuesday at 
the Hart Park House Senior Center at 1:30 pm 
for this traditional social activity. Bingo cards 
are only 25 cents each.

There will be a special intermission dessert 
& prize at the April 24th game provided by 
Angie Chen of Seniors Helping Seniors - In 
home services for seniors by seniors.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR DOCTOR’S VISIT

Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you write a column educating patients on how to prepare for doctors appointments? I manage 
a number of small health clinics, and have found 
that patients – especially seniors – that come prepared 
when they visit our doctors are much more 
satisfied with the care they receive. Thanks for your 
help. Patient Educator 

Dear Educator:

You’re right. Studies have shown that patients 
who help their doctors by providing important health information and preparing themselves for appointments 
tend to get better care than patients who don’t. Here are some simple things we can all do 
to help maximize our next visit to the doctor. 

 Before Your Appointment 

Gathering your health information and getting organized before your appointment are the key steps 
to ensuring a productive meeting with your doctor. This is especially important if you’re seeing multiple 
doctors or are meeting with a new physician for the first time. Specifically, you need to: 

Get your test results: Make sure the doctor you’re seeing has copies of your latest X-ray, MRI or any 
other test or lab results, including reports from other doctors that you’ve seen. In most cases, you’ll 
need to do the leg work yourself which may only require a phone call to your previous doctor asking 
them to send it, or you may need to go pick it up and take it yourself.

 List your medications: Make a list of all the medications you’re taking (prescription drugs, over-the-
counter medications, vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements) along with the dosages and take it 
with you to your appointment. Or, just gather up all you pill bottles and put them in a bag and bring 
them with you.

Gather your health history: Your doctor also needs to know about any previous hospitalizations, as 
well as any current or past medical problems, even if they are not the reason you are going to the 
doctor this time. Genetics matter too, so having your family’s health history can be helpful. The U.S. 
Surgeon General offers a free web-based tool called “My Family Health Portrait” (see familyhistory.
hhs.gov) that can help you put one together.

 Prepare a list of questions: Make a written list of the top three or four issues you want to discuss with 
your doctor. Since most appointments last between 10 and 15 minutes, this can help you stay on track 
and ensure you address your most pressing concerns first. If you’re in for a diagnostic visit, you should 
prepare a detailed description of your symptoms. 

 During Your Appointment

The best advice when you meet with your doctor is to speak up. Don’t wait to be asked. Be direct, honest 
and as specific as possible when recounting your symptoms or expressing your concerns. Many 
patients are reluctant or embarrassed to talk about their symptoms, which makes the doctor’s job a lot 
harder to do. It’s also a good idea to bringing along a family member or friend to your appointment. 
They can help you ask questions, listen to what the doctor is telling you and give you support. 

Also consider taking some notes or ask the doctor if you can record the session for later review. If you 
don’t understand what the doctor is telling you, ask him or her to explain it in simple terms so you can 
understand. And if you run out of time and don’t get your questions answered, ask if you can follow 
up by phone or email, make another appointment, or seek help from the doctor’s nurse. 

Savvy tip: The National Institute on Aging offers a booklet called “Talking With Your Doctor: A 
Guide for Older People” that provides great information including a variety of questions to ask that 
can help you be a more informed patient. To get a free copy mailed to you, call 800-222-2225 or visit 
www.nia.nih.gov. 

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.