Mountain View News Saturday, March 21, 2026 
1313 
SPORTS, FITNESS &SPORTS, FITNESS & 
HEALTHY LIVINGHEALTHY LIVING 
Mountain View News Saturday, March 21, 2026 
1313 
SPORTS, FITNESS &SPORTS, FITNESS & 
HEALTHY LIVINGHEALTHY LIVING 
KNOW THE RISKS 

I can’t stop thinking about a news story I heard this week. It was 
about a 25-year-old man from Costa Mesa who set out for what 
should have been a normal bike ride on a trail in Irvine. 

The young man was mountain biking and stopped to adjust his 
shoe. He lost his balance and fell into nearby brush. That is when 
a rattlesnake bit him on the leg. He was rushed to the hospital and 
doctors treated him with antivenom. But the bite caused severe 
complications. He remained hospitalized for more than a month 
before he died. 

So tragic. And preventable. Fatal rattlesnake bites are rare in 
the United States. Only a handful of people die from them each 
year. Still, the tragedy is a reminder that outdoor exercise, while 
healthy and enjoyable, sometimes comes with dangers people do 
not expect. 

Most people who exercise outdoors worry about things like traf-

Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness fic, uneven ground, or falling. But those who use trails, parks, and 
professional who offers semi-private/virtual fit-

open spaces face another set of risks. Wildlife is one of them.

ness classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit. 
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 

Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness. Rattlesnakes are one example. Southern California has several 

species, and they often live along rocky trails and dry hillsides 
where people like to walk, run, hike, and ride bikes. Most snakes want nothing to do with people, but 
someone moving quickly along a trail can surprise one before noticing it. 

Then there are animals that are much larger. Mountain lions live in many parts of California, including 
areas close to cities. Attacks are extremely rare, but they do happen. Lions tend to avoid groups and 
noise, which is one reason people exercising alone on quiet trails should stay alert to their surroundings.
Especially at dusk and dawn. 

Coyotes are far more common. While they usually avoid adults, they sometimes approach people, especially 
in areas where they have become used to humans. A startled coyote crossing a trail can also cause 
someone running or riding to fall. 

Wildlife does not have to attack someone to create danger. In some parts of the country, people exercising 
outdoors must watch for deer. A deer suddenly jumping across a path can cause a serious accident. Even 
here in Southern California, people sometimes encounter large animals like deer or the occasional black 
bear in foothill areas. 

I know that firsthand. A few years ago while hiking up a hill in Duarte, I suddenly came face to face with 
a bear as I walked up the road. Thankfully, the bear quickly turned and went the other direction. But it 
was a reminder that wildlife really does live in the places where we exercise. 

Animals that are much smaller can also cause problems. Bees and wasps build nests along trails and in 
trees. Someone passing too close to a disturbed nest may suddenly find themselves surrounded by angryinsects. Multiple stings can be dangerous, especially for people with allergies. 

Dogs can also create unexpected hazards. Many trails pass near neighborhoods, and loose dogs some


times run toward people. Even a friendly dog chasing someone running or riding can cause a fall. 

The point is not to scare people away from outdoor exercise. Walking, running, hiking, and cycling are 
some of the best forms of fitness. They strengthen the heart, build endurance, and allow people to enjoy 
parks and open spaces. 

But outdoor fitness takes place in the natural world. That means people should take a few simple 

precautions. 

Stay aware of your surroundings. Keep your eyes scanning the trail ahead and watch the sides of the path 
for movement. Slow down in areas where visibility is poor. Blind turns, heavy brush, and shaded areas 
can hide animals that you may not see until the last moment. And avoid exercising alone in very remote 
areas whenever possible. If something does go wrong, help may not be nearby. 

It is also smart to tell someone where you are going and when you expect to return. Carrying a phone, 

water, and basic supplies can make a big difference if an emergency occurs. 

Most of the time, wildlife simply wants to be left alone. If you encounter an animal on a trail, the best 

response is to slow down, keep your distance, and give it time to move away. 

Millions of people safely exercise outdoors every year. Encounters with dangerous wildlife remain rare. 
Still, the tragic story of this cyclist reminds us that being outside is not the same as working out on a 
machine inside a gym. 

Nature is beautiful, but it can also be unpredictable. When exercising outdoors remember that you are 

sharing those spaces with animals that live there. Stay alert and be as prepared as you can be. 

THE EARTHING MOVEMENT

ALL THINGS by Jeff Brown (Reprint) 

The Earthing Movement refers to the potential positive effects of direct physical contact with 
the Earth's surface (e.g., walking barefoot on grass, soil, or sand). 

Top Potential Benefits of Touching the Earth 

1. Improved Sleep Quality
• Grounding may help regulate cortisol levels (a stress hormone), promoting a healthier 
sleep cycle and deeper rest. 
2. Reduced Inflammation 
• Some studies suggest that physical contact with the Earth can decrease chronic inflammation, 
a key contributor to many diseases. 
3. Lower Stress and Anxiety
• Grounding appears to calm the nervous system, reducing stress and inducing a sense of 
calm and well-being. 
4. Better Blood Flow and Circulation 
• Contact with the Earth's electrons may improve blood viscosity, which could support 
heart health. 
5. Antioxidant Effect 
• The Earth’s negative charge may help neutralize free radicals in the body, acting as a 
natural antioxidant. 
6. Enhanced Mood and Mental Clarity
• Many people report feeling more balanced, focused, and emotionally grounded after 
spending time in direct contact with nature. 
7. Pain Reduction 
• Some small clinical trials have shown reductions in chronic pain (such as from arthritis 
or fibromyalgia) after regular grounding practices.
Scientific Status 
While some peer-reviewed studies support these effects, the scientific community remains cautious, 
and more large-scale, rigorous research is needed. The practice is considered safe, simple, 
and low-cost, with no known harmful side effects. 

The Earthing Movie or Down To Earth on Prime or Youtube is an award winning documentary 
that reveals the scientific phenomenon of how we can heal our bodies by doing the simplest 
thing that a person can do-standing barefoot on the earth. reveals the scientific phenomenon of 
how we can. 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 


Lori A. Harris 


UNLOCK YOUR LIFE 

STRONG AND TENDER: THE FULL TRUTH OF 
HARRIET TUBMAN AND OF YOU 

Women's History Month is an invitation not just to celebrate heroines, 
but to learn from the whole of who they were. 

When you think of Harriet Tubman, I imagine you think of her bravery. 
Her steel. Her refusal to quit. 

But do you ever picture her as a young bride? 

Author and National Book Award winner Jason Reynolds once de


scribed Tubman's face as "in-capable of smiling." That's a powerful 
tribute, likely born of genuine awe, and makes me wonder. Was he reacting to her weighty legacy, 
or simply a common misconception? It's often forgotten that early photography required long 
exposure times, making it difficult to capture a smile, which might explain why people in old 
photographs rarely appear to be smiling. 

The full Harriet was something more. 

Ann Petry's landmark biography, Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Rail-road 
(1955), offers us a portrait that complicates the monument. The young Araminta Ross — who 
would become Harriet — dreamed of marrying John Tubman, a free man. She loved his laugh,
his lilting whistle. She sewed a patchwork quilt by hand for her wedding trousseau. She wanted 
freedom and love. 

Both. She wanted both. 

That "both/and" is not a weakness. Psychological research on what Dr. Susan David of Harvard 
Medical School calls emotional agility shows that the ability to hold complexity to honor desire 
alongside duty is a marker of resilience, not fragility. People who suppress their needs in the service 
of a role (caregiver, leader, helper) don't become stronger. They become depleted.
Harriet learned this the hard way. 

John Tubman never supported her dream of freedom. "If you try, I will report you," he told her. So 
she left — carrying the one prize possession she had, that hand-stitched quilt — and gifted it to the 
first woman who sheltered her on the road north. Love given forward, even in grief.
Because she truly loved him, she returned for John. He laughed in her face. 

The laugh she had so loved now slapped her.
So she poured herself into work, the work that changed the world. 

She defied every odd. She went back again and again. She saved her family from being sold "down 
the river." She freed her elderly parents. She scouted for the Union Army, led the Comba-hee River 
Raid that liberated more than 700 enslaved people, and spent her final years fighting for women's 
suffrage. An amazing legacy. 

And yet, she never stopped wanting tenderness. That desire never left her. Late in life, she finallyfound it in a second marriage, in her community in Auburn, New York, in the home for the elderly 
she founded with the last of her resources. 

She did the work that was hers to do. And she tended her heart. Here is what I want you to sit with 
this Women's History Month: 

We celebrate the strength of the women who came before us. We should. But we do them and ourselves 
a disservice when we extract only the parts that confirm what we already believe: that greatness 
requires sacrifice of self. That the work matters more than the worker. That need is weakness.
It isn't. 

The research on sustainable high performance, from organizational psychologist Adam Grant to 
Dr. Kristin Neff 's pioneering work on self-compassion, consistently shows that the most effective 
helpers, healers, and changemakers are those who extend to themselves the same grace they extend 
to others. Self-compassion is not self-indulgence. It is the source. 

So this month, as you honor the heroines in your lineage and in your life, I'm inviting you to 
recalibrate. 
Remember and tend to your heart.
Put your shield down, just for a moment. Look for something to be in awe of. Notice what is good 
and let yourself celebrate it. Feel the full weight of your own desire for love, for rest, for joy, for the 
life you actually want and don't rush past it.
Reject either-or thinking.
You are allowed to be strong and tender. Dedicated and nurtured. Purposeful and at peace.
Go for the love. Answer your calling. Attend to your needs. Watch what opens up when you do.
Harriet carried a quilt to freedom. What are you carrying? 

P.S. I'd love to meet you in person! Stop by the Clarity Corner at the Sierra Madre Wistaria Festival 
on March 28th. Come say hello.