Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 11, 2014

Mountain Views News Saturday, January 11, 2014 
9HEALTHY LIFESTYLES Mountain Views News Saturday, January 11, 2014 
9HEALTHY LIFESTYLES 
THE JOY OF YOGA 
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CLASS 
Ok, you're ready to start. Or ready to get back to class. Which one is right 
for you? At Yoga Madre, we have many classes to choose from: Gentle, 
Beginning, Mixed Level, Vinyasa Flow and Restorative. 

Gentle: This class is designed to help those who may have limited mobility 
and need movement without undue pressure on the joints. The pace 
is careful and slower. It's perfect for someone recovering from an injury 
(but doctor released for activity). Also appropriate for expectant mothers 
or for those brand new to yoga. Many of the yogis attending Gentle 
are not new to yoga, so you may receive the benefits of their experience 
and the teacher may introduce varying practices for the class including 
pranayama techniques and energetic practices. 

Beginning: This class is right for a brand new yoga student who has no 

significant trouble spots in the body. The pace of the class is slower, with 
much of the alignment of the poses explained in greater detail. Poses in this class may be challenging. 
Expectant mothers can also take this class. Many attendees of the Beginning level classes have 
been doing yoga for a while and appreciate the pace, challenge of poses, and relaxation techniques 
implored. 

Mixed Level or Vinyasa Flow: More advanced yoga poses and pranayama are introduced to build 
on our foundation laid at the Beginning level. This class is right for the practitioner who has been 
practicing a while and is ready to expand their practice. At a minimum, one should have attended 
a few Beginning classes before attending Mixed Level or Vinyasa Flow. Seasoned practitioners who 
attend while expecting or recovering from injury have a knowledge of their body and know how to 
adjust their practice. 

Restorative: This class is for everyone, beginner to advanced. Many props are used and poses are held 
in a deeper, supportive way. This class is a compliment to a more active or fast-paced practice during 
week. The challenge in this class, is the challenge to slow down. Many yogis love this class as it restores 
the body and gets them ready for the week ahead. A wonderful bookend to any weekend. 

Now you know, so choose the best class for the unique YOU. 

Namaste, Keely TottenTeacher of Beginning & Vinyasa Flow Classes 


Dr. Tina is a traditional 
naturopath and nutri-
tionist at Vibrant Living 
Wellness Center 


6 BENEFITS OF ORGANIC FOOD 

It is becoming increasingly more apparent that nutrition is a cornerstone 
of health. There are studies coming out every day that show how good 
nutrition can reduce the risk of developing many diseases. That also 
means that those same diseases are preventable through healthy eating. 
One big way to increase your family’s nutrition is to eat organic foods 
whenever possible. Here are eight reasons why you should try eating 
organic foods. 

1. Study after study consistently show organic food is higher innutrients than traditional foods. Organic produce is higher in vitaminC, antioxidants, and the minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron.
2. You may reduce your cancer risk by eating organic. The US 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of herbicides,
90% of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides as potentially being 
cancer causing. It is reasonable to think that the rapidly increasingrates of cancer are at least partly linked to the use of these carcinogenicpesticides.
3. Organic food grown on small organic farms help promote small 
business. Most small organic farms are independent family farmers 
making livelihood for their family. Small organic farming is a domestic version of fair trade.

4. Have you ever noticed that organic vegetables and fruits seem to spoil much faster than 
conventional produce from the supermarkets? The reason is that many foods are irradiated. Radiationkills bacteria thus extending the life of food. What it also does is alters the life force or nutrition of 
the food. 
5. Organic foods are better for the environment. Conventional farming methods erode soiland use dangerous pesticides. Of course we are told that the pesticides used today are harmless butisn’t that what was said about DDT? DDT is still being found in all of the worldwide waterways.
By buying organic foods, you are creating a positive impact on the environment, the animals, andall of us. 
6. The taste of organic fruits and vegetables in my opinion is superior to any conventionalproduce, which makes it the most important reason to eat organic. Many fine restaurants feelthe same way and that is why they use organic produce in their menus. Many conventional fruitsand veggies look beautiful but have virtually no taste. Many organic farmers give credit for theiroutstanding produce to the soil. Strong mineral rich soil leads to well-nourished plants, which inturns gives us food with a high nutrient content and great flavor. I find the taste of fresh organicproduce irresistible!
7. 
Try adding some organic produce to your diet and find out just how beneficial and enjoyable healthy 
eating can be.


JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS 
Happy Tails 
by Chris Leclerc 

Technology is terrific! No really, I think it is just 
great, and typically I am willing to go along with 
just about any new idea coming down the pike 
that might make life easier to navigate. However, 
I do think that some of today’s technological 
advances have the potential to, slowly but surely, 
steal our ability to think for ourselves the way we 
used to have to do. What ever happened to simply 
using one’s head to work out a problem rather 
than asking an exponential number of strangers 
who happen to be on-line, for the answer? And, 
how much has our relatively new-found, newly-
formed dependence on the super-highway of data 
exchange that we call the internet taken from 
our natural ability to think and solve problems 
independently?

 I agree that some of life’s challenges have been 
made more surmountable in recent decades, now 
that we have access to instant answers to questions 
that used to take a lot more time and energy to 
answer. But, is it really necessary to reinvent every 
cog in the wheel of human thought? I think there 
is a fine line between what most now consider 
tobe a remarkable resource for information, and 
what could soon become an addictive means for 
getting from point A to point B with limited or 
no effort on our own part. And, who’s to say that 
the answers we gain from our good friends at 
Google or on Wikipedia are worth their weight 
in gigabytes? Let’s face it, a wise web-user will 
still employ his or her own common sense when 
asking the net to resolve a problem or answer a 
question that really matters in life.

My recent thoughts and concerns about the 
potentially problematic results of our dependence 
on high-technology was prompted by an ad I saw 
(on the internet, of course) for a newly developed, 
or, to be more accurate I should say, a newly 
developing device called “No More Woof ”. The 
device is designed to read the mind of a dog and 
interpret the dog’s thoughts into human language, 
so the human can know and respond to what the 
dog is thinking. Really? I mean, come on…really? 
First of all, from what I understand, No More 
Woof is nothing more than an oversized tightly-
fitted headset with EEG censored appendages 
that curve around and press down on the dog’s 
forehead, where they supposedly pick up on the 
dog’s thought patterns.

Theoretically, the data gathered by the sensors is 
then transferred to the interpretative voice device 
located elsewhere on the headset, which then 
sends out an audible verbal message to the human 
through a tiny speaker. For example, if the animal 
is having stressful thoughts of abandonment, the 
verbal response might be, “Where are you going, 
how long will you be gone?” and if the dog is 


NO MORE WOOF 


Too weird for words, or too precious 
to pass up? 

feeling curious or concerned, perhaps because of 
a change in the human‘s typical daily activity or 
behavior, the message might be, “What‘s going 
on, are you (we) OK?”.

 Although the inventor/manufacturer, a 
Swedish group known as The Nordic Society for 
Invention and Discovery is careful to iterate that 
the product is still in the developmental stage; “a 
work in progress“, as they like to call it, they do 
clearly claim that the EEG micro-sensors are able 
to pick up on what the animal is thinking and 
that the messages given in human language are 
accurate interpretations of those thoughts.

 I don’t know about you, but when I first heard 
word of this new canine mind-reading device, my 
thought was, “Even if this thing does work the 
way they say it does, I already know my dogs are 
going to be curious about where I am going and 
when I’ll return each time they see me pick up my 
keys and head for the front door.” This is made 
clear by the look on their faces or by a sudden 
change in their body language. But, then again 
it might be kind of neat to know if my dogs are 
stressing out about something I am not yet aware 
of, such as an impending storm or an earthquake 
soon to occur.

 Some thoughts my dogs have are made all-too 
obvious by their behavior and facial expressions, 
but some are not so clear. In fact, it would sure 
be great to know if my pets are experiencing 
pain, because most animals have a pretty high 
threshold for it and they do a great job of hiding it 
from their humans. If I could have known earlier 
that my previous dog Lady was hurting months 
before I let her “go to sleep“, I might have made 
that very difficult decision much earlier, for her 
sake. 

Anyway, the idea of inventing and marketing 
a device that can read a dog’s mind and interpret 
it into human language is intriguing, but at the 
same time kind of creepy, if you ask me. Say, just 
say this thing takes off and every dog owner goes 
out and purchases one for their pet. Will it change 
the way they interact with the animals that they 
already know and love so much?

 And, what about the dog’s perspective on 
wearing a device that tells all its inner thoughts 
and secrets? Will the constant human voice 
response to every thought they have drive them 
crazy? It might even drive the human crazy to 
hear some strange voice calling out the dog’s 
thoughts every time they turn around. Maybe, 
just maybe the dog would like to keep some of its 
thoughts private. Ever think of that?

 Only time will tell if the No More Woof device 
becomes a hit and yet another “must-have” 
household pet appliance to add to the growing 
list of high-tech gadgetry littering our every day 
lives. Meanwhile, I suppose we’ll just have to 
guess what our dogs are thinking when they look 


up at us with 

those precious, 

pouting pup’s 

eyes, tilt their 

head sideways 

and place a paw 

on top of our 

foot. After all, 

who doesn’t 

already know 

that means they 

love us? 

LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND,,, 

Looking For A Feline Friend?? 

Then meet Goliath! So named, notbecause of his size, but because hehas a big and sweet personality! He 
is a naturally shy guy who doesn’t 
usually rush over to meet visitors.
He loves to jump up into theclimber by the window and bask inthe sunlight, but wave a feather toyin his general direction and he is onit! If you tell a staff member thatyou would like to meet him, you’llfind out that he is a great cat andwould very much like to be part ofyour family. Please stop by and ask 
for him! He is neutered, up to datewith all routine shots, house trainedand ready to move in. Please stopin and consider making this gentle guy part of your family! 


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

To arrange to meet Goliath (aka….. AZ02666), please stop by any time from 10:00am to 4:30pm 
Tuesday thru Sunday. His adoption fee is $99 which includes his neuter 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 Goliath. 

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

PET OF THE WEEK 
CAPTAIN: ANIMAL ID 
#A4664280 
Meet Captain, a debonair pup whose good 
looks are sure to steal anyone’s attention! 
Captain (A4664280) is an awesome one year 
old tan neutered male Norfolk Terrier mix 
puppy who was found in West Covina on 
December 29th and brought to the Baldwin 
Park Animal Care Center. Weighing fifteen 
pounds, this sociable boy walks okay on a 
leash and is most likely housebroken, but 
he would benefit from additional training. 
Cuddly and attentive, Captain quickly 
became a volunteer favorite. This eager to 
please puppy gets along well with other dogs 
and we are sure he will love children. Captain 
is a fabulous indoor companion for anyone 
in any living situation. To watch a video of 
Captain please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTHTy9WNoKI 
To meet Captain in person, please see him at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). He is currently available now. 
For any inquiries about Captain, please reference his animal ID number: A4664280. The shelter 
is open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is 
a high-intake shelter with a great need for adoptions. For more information about Captain or the 
adoption process, contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha at 
Samantha@hope4animals.org. To learn more about United Hope for Animals’ partnership with the 
Baldwin Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the many dogs of all breeds, 
ages, and sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/ 
about-us/shelter-support-program/.