N E W S OCTOBER 12 op-ed Inquiring Photographer: COMPILED BY JOHANN HAMILTON Will you be voting in the upcoming board elections? No, but I’d like to in the future. I’m new here and don’t know enough about the candidates. SANDY AIEVOL I always vote. I may not be happy with the outcome, and I don’t like that we can never get a quorum, but yes, I’ll be voting. STACY BRANT Yes, because I like to have input into who makes the decisions that affect me. JOE MANDRACCHIA No, because I don’t think anything’s going to get done anyway, regardless of how I vote. BENNY ARLIA “We’re All About You” PUBLISHER & EDITOR Victoria Schneps-Yunis ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Joshua A. Schneps EDITOR IN CHIEF Toni Cimino I would, but I don’t follow it enough to know enough about the people running. LOGAN O’CONNOR Of course I’m going to vote. I’m going to do it because we live in a democratic nation and I will believe in the democratic process. BOBBY COHEN LeHavre Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd. Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 Sales Fax: 718-631-3498 e-mail: editorial@queenscourier.com ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Decio ARTISTS Stephen Reina Nirmal Singh Ron Torina Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by the LeHavre Courier. All letters sent to LEHAVRE COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Only letters with a name given will be accepted. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of LEHAVRE COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to LEHAVRE COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. LEHAVRE COURIER assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold LEHAVRE COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. L E H A V R E A matter of balance BY ROSEMARIE AUGOUSTATOS The author is a certifi ed yoga and Matter of Balance instructor. Do you know who is most at risk of falling? If you guessed the older adults, then you are partially correct. Children also have a high risk of falling. However, older people have the highest risk of death or serious injury arising from a fall and the risk increases with age. One in three seniors aged 65+ falls each year, and this number increases to one in two by the age of 80. Nevertheless, falls are not an inevitable part of aging and are also largely avoidable. Physical exercise and balance training have shown to be benefi cial for fall prevention in older adults. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, there are four things you can do: 1. Begin a regular exercise program; 2. Have your health care provider review your medicines 3. Have your vision checked 4. Make your home safer (improve lighting, install handrails and grab bars, keep often used items in easily reachable cabinets, etc.) Since 6 out of 10 falls occur in the home, making simple changes in the home as well as personal and lifestyle changes can prevent many falls. Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal Senior Center located in Flushing provides an integrated approach to assist older adults to implement these changes that helps reduce the chance of falling. Besides daily Tai Chi classes, the center provides gentle chair yoga classes as well as programs geared to fall prevention such as Matter of Balance. The Matter of Balance is an evidence-based program addressing physical, emotional and environmental factors that may cause a fall. In addition to exercise, participants will: 1. Learn fall prevention strategies 2. Develop a personal plan to carry out fall prevention strategies 3. Make step by step changes in their daily lives, which help reduce fear of falling Julia Harrison, former city councilmember and current participant of the program retrofi tted her bathroom to make it more available and safer for her to use as a result of what she learned during the course of the Matter of Balance program. Elsa Gerus is an avid dancer was diagnosed with stenosis of the spine. There were times when she was unable to stand upright. Since completing the Matter of Balance program, she has incorporated the movement exercises as well as meditation in her daily life. Elsa is now not only able to stand straight but is back to dancing again. The Matter of Balance program is offered at Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal Senior Center in Flushing and Peter Cardella Senior Center in Ridgewood. If you are interested in learning more about the programs available for seniors, contact your local senior center or you may call Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal at 718-886-5777 and Peter Cardella Senior Center at 718-497-2908. For more information on senior health offered by the National Council on Aging, visit www.ncoa.org/improve-health/ 12 LEHAVRE COURIER | OCTOBER 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM
LH102013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above