Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 21, 2013

10

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Mountain Views News Saturday, December 21, 2013 


THE JOY OF YOGA

THE FIRE PIT


HERBAL SUPPORT CAN BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM!

This time of year, the herb Echinacea can be very helpful. Echinacea root 
is an immune stimulant, which means it helps the body to resist infections 
more efficiently. It is both antimicrobial and antiviral. Echinacea is a very 
pretty purple flowing plant that has been used to support the immune 
system for more than 1000 years. It is helping the body’s natural defense 
mechanisms. When your immune system is up to par, you can be prepared 
for anything. 

This time of year we are trying to squeeze more in to our free time than we 
would normally which adds stress to our body. Our immune systems are 
challenged and are not working up to par. Of course, I recommend rest 
and keeping properly hydrated but adding the support of Echinacea can 
be a real benefit. 

Echinacea supports healthy upper respiratory tissue and throat tissue. 
This time of year most of us can benefit from taking a quality Echinacea 
supplements especially if you are traveling by plane. The air on a plane 
is recirculated so if you are traveling with someone who is already sick you will be exposed to their 
germs while on board the plane. Echinacea enhances your natural immune response by optimizing 
the function of white blood cells. White blood cells are responsible for getting rid of invaders that 
would challenge your immune system. 

Not all Echinacea supplements are the same. A good way to know if you are taking a high quality 
Echinacea supplement is to chew it or open a capsule and mix it with a teaspoon of water and swish it 
in your mouth, you should experience a strong tingling sensation in your mouth. 

I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday!

Fire is a central part of the practice of yoga. In traditional tantra –hatha 
yoga, there are 3 kinds of fire (agni), digestive fire, transformational fire 
and ceremonial fire. First there is jathara agni. This fire is one that we 
create in the belly in order to more easily digest. It is referred to as the 
inner sun. There are exercises and food that stoke this fire. Mantra is 
also used. Because we digest thought and feeling in addition to food, 
attention needs to be paid to cultivation of this fire to keep us happy. No 
one wants a sludge of food, feeling or thought hanging around. We want 
to effectively process what comes in and then get rid of what has become 
toxic. The belly is the center where joy and happiness come from. This 
is not just my idea, Western science is now seeing what the yogis have 
known all along – that serotonin is actually manufactured in the belly. 
It is the center of our inner universe really. It’s just like the sun. It gives 
us warmth, and a powerful digestive process turns food into cells and 
energy. With a strong digestive system comes a strong metabolism. It’s a fascinating process. Our 
asana practice can help us generate this heat in the belly. Ginger is a fabulous aid in digestion too.

Our “gut” has it’s own ability to guide us. That “gut feeling” is real. You can actually feel queasy when 
something is not right. This is one of the reasons we advocate a relaxing meal. No TV, computer or 
standing up while eating. The parasympathetic nervous system needs to kick in so you can digest 
peacefully.

We all know that a deep belly laugh is the best kind. Joy comes from this center. Keeping it healthy 
is key.

Over the next few weeks we will discuss the other two kinds of fire. But for now and during the 
Holidays especially, keep up that warm glow in your belly. Get into class and melt away the stress, 
burn up the calories, create some joy in your center and have a lovely Holiday.

See you in class. Namasté, René

Dr. Tina is a traditional 
naturopath and nutritionist 
at Vibrant Living 
Wellness Center


JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS


HUG’EM AT HOME, 

BELT’EM IN THE CAR

LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND,,,

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

...To share the holidays with? 

So is Lottie! Her roomie, Ruffles, was just 
adopted and she knows it’s now her turn. She 
is approximately 2 ½ years old and weighs 
9.5 pounds. 

She is a very sweet, lovable, and very 
energetic brindle Chihuahua girl who is 
friendly with both people and other dogs. She 
can be a bit shy when she first meets new 
people but she is such a joy to be with and will 
bring lots of laughter and fun into your life! 
Based on our experiences, she loves running 
on her walks, playing with other dogs, and 
chasing, retrieving and playing with toys. 

 

Because she is an energetic dog who loves 
to keep busy, we think she could be easily 
trained to direct all of that energy. She is 
looking for an active family willing to take 
her out on adventures and walks. She 
dreams of having her own yard to play in! 
She is spayed, up to date with all routine 
shots and ready to move in. Please consider 
making this gal part of your family and enjoy the holidays together!

 

She currently resides at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society located at 851 E. Grand 
Avenue in San Gabriel. We are located off San Gabriel Blvd., north of Mission and south 
of Las Tunas. 

To arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Lottie (aka….. TC08843), please stop by any time from 
10:00am to 4:30pm Tuesday thru Sunday. 

Her adoption fee is $120 which includes her spay surgery, a microchip, first vaccinations 
and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to call us at (626) 
286-1159 for more information on Lottie. 

See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for information and photos of all our available 
pets. 

 
Like most dogs, my own canine 
companion, “Tatertotts” loves to 
go for a ride in the car. In fact she 
enjoys riding along and playing 
the passenger part more than 
just about anything else in the 
world. For Tater, a cruise around 
town with the top down is a little 
bit of heaven. She seems to enjoy 
tagging along while I run my 
errands even more than chasing 
squirrels in the back yard, howling 
happily at Frank the mailman, 
or harassing the landscape 
maintenance men working in the 
yard next door! Although she can 
be a bit of a handful, and quite 
a challenge when it comes to 
socializing in public, I do my best 
to accommodate Tater’s desire to 
go for a drive so she can hang her 
head over, let her enormous ears 
flap in the wind, and bay from the 
bottom of her heart at other dogs 
passing by.

 Before I adopted Tater, I had 
another dog named “Lady” who 
also loved to tag along every time I 
went for a drive. I will never forget 
the day, about 25 years ago, when 
I had Lady in the passenger seat 
with the windows down. She was 
hanging out with her front paws 
bent over the top of the window 
opening (as she always did) and I 
stopped at a red light on the corner 
of PCH and Catalina. We were 
waiting for the light to change when 
she suddenly jumped out of the car 
and started running randomly, 
chasing a bird through the corner 
park located on the south side of 
the street. If you are at all familiar 
with that area, you know it is a very 
busy, 5-point intersection with lots 
of fast-moving traffic coming from 
all directions. It is most certainly 
not a safe place for a dog to 
roam free, so I immediately 
put my car in park, left it 
where it was, and ran after 
Lady, yelling for her to get 
back. Fortunately, I did succeed in 
catching up with Lady and within 
minutes we were back in the car 
(with the windows up), continuing 
on our journey.

 Of course it upset me that 
Lady chose to jump out and chase 
that bird, but I had no right to be 
angry with her. It was my fault that 
she even had the opportunity to 
react that way and do what came 
natural for her. I knew better than 
to reprimand her for taking chase 
after a flying bird. I mean, that’s 
what she was bred to do! I spent 
the rest of the day beating myself 
up for having been so stupid 
and neglectful about properly 
protecting my beloved “daughter-
dog“ as a passenger in my car. It 
was a lesson well-learned, and 
fortunately Lady was not hurt 
during the ordeal. The experience 
made me much more aware of 
the risks involved with having a 
dog loose and un-restrained while 
driving a motor vehicle.

 These days I drive a convertible, 
which presents an even higher 
safety risk for an unrestrained 
dog. Not only is it a safety hazard, 
but now it is against the law 
to transport a dog in an open 
vehicle without a safety restraint. 
(LA County Vehicle Code Sec. 
23117 - Dogs In Open Vehicles). 
Several years ago, before the pet 
restraint law had been passed, I 
went shopping for a device I could 
use to “bungee” Tater down while 
traveling in the car, but there was 
no such thing on the market at the 
time, so I got creative. I purchased 
a heavy duty harness and used a 
leash to loop through the top strap. 
I then wrapped the leash around 
the back of the car seat, leaving just 
enough wiggle room for comfort 
but not enough to allow Tater’s 
head to touch the windshield. It 
works wonders! At first she was a 
little tentative about wearing the 
harness, but within a few days she 
became much more confident in 
the car with her “safety belt” on, 
in fact now she refuses to ride 
without it!

 A higher level of pet safety 
awareness and new legislation to 
regulate the safe transportation 
of animals in motor vehicles has 
apparently inspired pet supply 
manufacturers to come up with 
some excellent ideas for pet 
safety belts, leaving no excuse 
for a caring, conscientious pet 
owner to take their dog for a ride 
without a restraint. One pet supply 
company, “Pet Buckle” came up 
with an excellent product concept 
designed to connect to “Latch 
Bars” that are installed in the back 
seat of many vehicles.

 The primary purpose for latch 
bars, which have become somewhat 
standard in new vehicles, is for use 
in securing child and infant car 
seats, but the creative crew at “Pet 
Buckle” realized it was a perfect 
resolution to the problem of 
connecting a dog restraint in a way 
that would be both comfortable 
and secure. There are a number of 
other products available in today’s 
market, offering something for 
everyone, regardless of weight, size 
or shape, so the next time you take 
your precious pup out for a cruise 
around town, make sure he/she 
is restrained safely and securely 
in a doggy seat belt. It could help 
save your pet’s life, or even your 
own life in the case of an accident. 
Let’s all try to be conscientious 
care-takers of our best friends by 
being responsible for their safety at 
home, outdoors and in the car.