Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 26, 2012

12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 26, 2012 

THE JOY OF YOGA

MYTH OR REALITY?

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. 

There’s quite a few 
myths and misconceptions 
about what yoga is 
- and isn’t, so let’s try to 
debunk a few of them:

Myth: I have to be flexible 
in order to practice 
yoga.

Fact: Whether you’re flexible or not has nothing 
to do with the ability to practice yoga. Poses 
can be adjusted to your flexibility level. As you 
move into a regular practice of yoga, your flexibility 
will increase, as will your balance, range of 
motion and strength. Even if you are, as they say, 
“stiff as a board” this is definitely not a reason to 
shun yoga. 

Myth : Yoga is just stretching.

Fact: Though yoga does indeed stretch your 
muscles, don’t think it’s a walk in the park! While 
some poses look simple and easy enough, they 
actually need balance, strength and stability, and 
a strong foundation. You’ll soon realize that what 
looks like stretching from the outside requires 
you to build core muscles and endurance.

Myth: Yoga is a religion

Fact: No, it’s not a religion, or even a doctrine. 
Yoga is a 5,000 year old practice of meditation 
and a path to spiritual consciousness or, if you 
prefer, a way to quiet the mind and connect with 
one’s inner-self.

Myth: Yoga is for women

Fact: Wrong. Originally, yoga was developed by 
men, for men. Women were excluded from the 
practice of yoga. Now of course, more women attend 
yoga classes than men, to the ratio of about 
4 to 1. So yes, the discipline tends to be female-
dominated, but that is certainly not a reason for 
men to stay away from the joy and benefits of a 
yoga practice.

Myth: I can hurt myself or aggravate existing 
injuries 

Fact: when done properly yoga does not aggravate 
your injuries or chronic pain. It can actually 
help manage the pain caused by existing 
injuries. Your teacher is here to make sure you do 
not push beyond your limits and get injured, and 
most yoga poses have modifications to make it a 
bit easier and adjust to each person’s limitations.

Myth: Yoga is for the young and fit

Fact: This stems from the common misunderstanding 
that yoga is merely a physical exercise. 
Then comes to mind the image of a Cirque du 
Soleil performer: slender and pretzel-like, bent 
in an impossible pose that makes your head spin 
and it actually hurts just to look... Well, yoga is 
for everyone. Yoga is not competitive or comparative. 
Each individual has different physical limitations, 
each of us like some poses better than 
others. Young or mature, thin built or heavier set, 
yoga does not discriminate. The only requirement 
is an open mind.

Myth: Yoga is just another exercise/workout.

Fact: Yoga is a complete discipline that includes 
physical, mental and spiritual practices designed 
to bring about a complete balance in a person for 
their well being. 

Depending on the style of yoga, the physical postures 
of yoga - called asanas - are demanding and 
challenging and will definitely cause you to burn 
a lot of calories. Many people start to practice 
yoga practice through the physical postures, and 
later on become interested in learning about its 
other aspects, but this is entirely up to you.

Myth: I have to be a vegetarian to practice Yoga.

Fact: You don’t have to choose between your favorite 
hamburger and yoga.

Yoga is practiced by millions of people and a huge 
number aren’t vegetarians. Usually people who 
turn to Yoga are looking for a healthier lifestyle 
and become vegetarians for the health benefits 
validated by the mainstream medical community 
to double it up with the health benefits of practicing 
yoga, but it is a choice, not a requirement!

...But really, the best way to find out what yoga 
is or isn’t, is to simply to unroll your mat and try 
for yourself! 

Namasté, René

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

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.


FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR GRANDPARENTS 
RAISING GRANDCHILDREN


Dear Savvy Senior:

Are there any types of financial assistance programs 
that can help grandparents who are raising 
their grandkids? I have two grandchildren 
who are about to permanently move in with my 
husband and me, and we could use some help. 

Parents Again

Dear Parents:

 When it comes to raising grandkids, you definitely 
have plenty of company. Across the country 
about 5.8 million children are living with 
their grandparents, as the parents struggle with 
a variety of problems such as financial hardship, 
drug and alcohol addiction, prison time, domestic 
violence, divorce and more. 

 To help with the day-to-day expenses of raising 
grandkids, there are a variety of government programs 
and tax benefits that can make a big difference 
in stretching your budget. Here’s where to 
look for help. 

Financial Assistance

 For starters, find out whether your family qualifies 
for your state’s Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF) program, which may 
include cash assistance, food stamps and free or 
low-cost daycare. Or, if your household income 
is too high to qualify as a family, ask about the 
“child-only grant” for just the grandchild’s support 
alone. Also, find out if your state offers any 
additional programs like guardianship subsidies, 
non-parent grants or kinship care. Contact 
your state TANF program (see www.acf.hhs.
gov/programs/ofa for contact information), or 
call your county social services office for more 
information. 

 You also need to find out if your grandkids are 
eligible for Social Security, including benefits for 
children, survivor benefits or SSI. You can find 
this out at your local Social Security office, or call 
800-772-1213 or see www.ssa.gov.

 And finally, use benefitscheckup.org, a comprehensive 
web resource that helps you search for 
additional financial assistance programs that you 
may be eligible for, such as lower energy bills, 
discounts on prescription medications and more. 

Tax Benefits

 In addition to the financial assistance resources, 
Uncle Sam offers some tax benefits that may help 
you too like the Dependency Exemption which 
allows you to deduct $3,800 in 2102 on each 
qualifying grandchild. 

 There’s also the Earned Income Tax Credit or 
EITC which is available to those with moderate 
to low incomes, or the Child Tax Credit if you 
make too much money to qualify for the EITC. 

 If you’re working, and are incurring child care 
expenses in order to work, there’s a Child and 
Dependent Care Credit that can help. And, if you 
choose to legally adopt your grandkids, there’s an 
Adoption Credit that provides a federal tax credit 
of up to $12,650 per child.

 There are even education-related tax credits 
through the American Opportunity Tax Credit 
or the Lifetime Learning Credit to help if your 
grandkids go to college. 

 To learn more about these tax benefits call 800-
829-1040, or visit www.irs.gov. You can also call 
the IRS publication line at 800-829-3676 and ask 
them to mail you the following publications: 501, 
503, 596, 970, 972, and Form 8839. 

Health Insurance

 If your grandkids need health insurance, depending 
on your income level, you may be able 
to get free or low-cost health insurance through 
your state’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health 
Insurance Program. See insurekidsnow.gov or 
call 877-543-7669 for more information. 

Legal Issues

 You also need to talk to a family law attorney 
to discuss the pros and cons of obtaining legal 
guardianship, custody or adoption. Without 
some sort of legal custody, you may not be eligible 
for many of the previously listed financial 
assistance programs, and there can be problems 
with basic things like enrolling your grandkids 
in school, or giving a doctor permission to treat 
them. 

 If your need help locating affordable or free legal 
assistance use findlegalhelp.org, or call the Eldercare 
Locator at 800-677-1116 for referrals. 

Savvy tip: To find support with other grandparents who 
are raising their grandchildren, visit the AARP GrandCare 
Support Locator at giclocalsupport.org where you 
can search for support groups in your area. 

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.