Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 14, 2015

10

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 14, 2015 


THE JOY OF YOGA


DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE

WAKE UP TO A 

GLASS OF LEMON WATER!

Pranayama begins 
at your very first 
yoga class. First, 
we learn to close 
the mouth and just breathe through the nose, 
becoming aware of the breath. Just listening to the 
sound of the inhale and exhale is helpful. Noticing 
the rhythm of the breath is next, is it smooth? Are 
the inhales equal to the exhales? You hear these 
questions asked in class all the time. 

 Our breath tells a lot about how we’re doing too. 
Is the breath shallow? Are we holding the breath? 
Are we just sighing out our exhaustion? Shallow 
breath could indicate anxiety, nervousness, fear, 
even excitement. Lots of sighs? Sounds like a mom 
who needs a break. 

 Great thing about the practice of pranayama. 
We can use it almost anywhere. At one point in 
time I was working in a busy office, totally stressed 
out. Someone suggested taking ten deep breaths at 
the top of each hour, taken with control. This was 
perfect for me. And it helped quell those anxious 
moments. Just like that I had a one-minute 
pranayama practice that I could do at work! 

 Add some asana (yoga poses) with the breath; 
and boom, Magic! Using pranayama and asana 
together can produce amazing results. And at 
times, become what’s called a “moving meditation” 
benefiting body, mind, and soul. 

 We start out very simple , and then progress to 
many, many other forms of pranayama. 

In this practice, we deepen our focus, awareness, 
and sense of calm. We might even find ourselves 
pausing to breathe before reacting and answering a 
question. At that point, we know it’s working. 

Namaste, 

Keely Totten

If you are like me, 
you are always 
looking for easy ways 
to improve your 
immune response, 
lower inflammation 
and improve mood. 
Drinking lemon 
water first thing in 
the morning is one 
quick and easy way 
to accomplish all of 
the above. 

Since lemons 
are packed with vitamin C, B, calcium, 
iron, magnesium, potassium, enzymes, and 
antioxidants, they do all sorts of things to 
help strengthen our bodies. The vitamin C 
strengthens the immunes system which will help 
you to fight colds and flus whiling improving the 
body’s ability to absorb more iron from the food 
you eat. 

Lemons have the ability to remove uric acid from 
our joints. The build-up of uric acid is one of the 
major causes of inflammation so have a glass 
before and after a workout for better recovery. 
There’s been lots of talk about having an over 
acidic body. We know an acidic body can cause 
inflammation which is involved in obesity and is 
the root of most other diseases. Lemons to the 
rescue. They are one of the most alkalizing foods 
on the planet.

Lemon water provides beneficial effects on 
our brain and nerve health as well because of 
its high levels of potassium and magnesium. 
Because lemon water is loaded with these 
minerals, it can give you the boost you need 
to fight depression and stress. It creates 
mental clarity and focus. Have a stressful 
job to go to every day? Think about adding 
lemon water to you morning routine. 

There are many other beneficial reasons to 
drink lemon water. It is a simple, low cost 
and benefits your body and your mind. 
Warm lemon water is best because hot or 
cold lemon water will take more energy to 
digest. 

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


BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


5 REASONS WHY YOU 
NEED AN ESTATE PLAN 
REVIEW

Lots of people bring me their existing estate plans 
to review. Sometimes I get to deliver the good news 
that their documents are well drafted, their assets 
are properly protected, and their plans are up to date 
with the current laws as well as their present family 
situation. Unfortunately, more often than not, I have 
to tell them one or more of those essential planning 
elements is lacking or even missing altogether. 
Of course the silver lining is that they caught the 
problem before it was too late to do anything about it.

 I recommend every estate plan be reviewed at 
a minimum of every three years (and I do that for 
my clients’ plans as an added value benefit – at no 
additional charge). If you haven’t had your plan 
reviewed within the last three years, you should. 
And here are 5 triggers that mean it’s time to review 
your existing estate plan now, no matter how long it’s 
been:

 Family changes. Marriage, divorce, birth and 
death are four family changes that should prompt 
an immediate estate plan review. If one of your 
beneficiaries dies, you will need to remove them from 
your estate plan. A new child or grandchild means 
adding beneficiaries. If your daughter gets a divorce, 
you will likely want to remove her ex from your estate 
plan but keep their children in. These circumstances 
can also trigger changes to those people designated 
as guardians, executors or agents.

 Health changes. The state of your own health may 
dictate changes to your estate plan, especially when 
it comes to long-term care. You may want to help a 
family member who has no other resources for long-
term care, or if you yourself suddenly need long-
term care, you may need to provide a trustee with 
new instructions on the kind of care you want – i.e., 
staying at home with in-home help or paying to live 
in a senior living facility.

 Work changes. You may suddenly want – or need 
– to retire, which could necessitate withdrawing 
funds from your IRA to support yourself instead 
of contributing more. If you have a family business, 
you may want to sell it or perhaps convert a sole 
proprietorship into an LLC or corporation, which 
could mean a significant change for your overall 
estate plan.

 Market changes. If the total value of your securities 
and retirement plans has fluctuated by more than 20 
percent, this should prompt an immediate estate 
plan review. A significant gain could provide you 
with assets you may want to gift to children or 
grandchildren to reduce or remove estate taxes.

 Law changes. Tax and estate laws change all the 
time, so reviewing your plan to ensure you are 
taking advantage of any new changes that could 
benefit you, or revising your plan so those changes 
do not adversely impact your estate, is critical.

 To review an existing estate plan (or create a plan 
if you don’t have one already), call our office today. 
As the holiday season approaches, there really is no 
better gift you can give yourself and your family.

 Dedicated to your family’s wealth, health, and 
happiness,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on 
a mission to help parents protect what they love 
most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., 
Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an 
appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a 
legacy of love and financial security for your family 
by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.GarlettLaw.
com for more information.


SHARE INTERESTS WITH LISTLY

Recently I’ve discovered a cool tool called List.ly. 
It allows you to share interests and build lists with 
other people in an interactive way. It works great 
with Facebook and Twitter. 

 Basically, you start a list on list.ly and it posts 
to your Facebook account so that others can add 
to your list. People are making lists of restaurants, 
favorite iphone apps, tv shows, best cameras, gift 
ideas etc. It’s an interesting way to curate content 
and share ideas with others.

 To get started, go to list.ly. Connect with your 
Facebook account. Select “Make a List.” Add a 
few links to your list and then share to Facebook 
to encourage participation. I just started a list 
called “Unique and fun places to visit in Southern 
California.” I can’t wait to see what ideas people 
share!

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own 
HUTdogs, a creative services business that 
specializes in Internet Marketing strategies and 
Social Media. They offer social media management 
services and help their clients build a strong 
on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for 
trending news in social media, internet marketing 
and other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/
hutdogs.

 Sign up for their upcoming classes, webinars 
and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/
workshops/schedule