DECEMBER 28, 2017 // 7
On New Year’s, free hikes at
Oswald West, Sunset Beach
Yoga teachings:
thought-provoking
by any stretch
For the seventh year in a
row, the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department is
partnering with America’s
State Parks to offer free
guided “First Day Hikes”
in state parks across Ore-
gon on New Year’s Day.
Information about spe-
cial hikes hosted at Oswald
West State Park and Sunset
Beach State Recreation
Site is below.
Hikers can register for
the hikes at the Oregon
State Parks Store. Online
registration is new this
year, though not required,
and will help park staff
plan and provide them
with participant contact
information should details
change.
Participants should dress
in layers, wear sturdy shoes
and bring water as well as
a camera or binoculars for
wildlife viewing.
Share photos of First
Day Hikes via Twitter and
Instagram by using the
hashtag #ORfirstdayhikes
or tagging “Oregon State
Parks” on Facebook.
ASTORIA — Clatsop
Community College and
Fort George Brewery are
pleased to announce the
January event in the 2017-
18 first Thursday Ales &
Ideas community lectures.
On Jan. 4, Instructor
Ute Swerdloff presents
“Yoga: More Than a
Stretch! Looking to the An-
cient Texts.” Doors open
with food and beverage
service at 6 p.m. Seasonal
beers will be on tap, and
food and additional bever-
ages will be available for
purchase (but no purchase
is required).
The Fort George Lovell
Showroom is located at
14th and Duane streets. in
Astoria. Minors are wel-
come. Come explore the
transformative power of
yoga as experienced by the
ancients in ways that still
have relevance today.
With the arrival of the
New Year, many people
are looking for ways
to improve their lives.
Enhancing physical health
and mental well-being tops
the list for many. Yoga and
meditation are practices
that serve that need.
Yoga, at least the phys-
ical aspect, has enjoyed
great popularity in recent
years. Millions of Ameri-
cans participate in the prac-
tice of some form of yoga.
For most people, yoga
has become synonymous
with physical flexibility
and stretching — a means
to address their aches and
pains, or to reduce stress,
or to improve their waist-
lines.
However, this physical
aspect is only one limb
of the discipline of yoga.
Swerdloff will describe
how yoga includes social
and individual ethical
permitted on a 6-foot leash.
Hike up to the Kramer
Memorial overlooking Short
Sand Beach. Learn about
Matt Kramer, a reporter for
the Associated Press who
used his talent to help win
the day for Oregonians.
For more information,
call 503-368-5943.
Sunset Beach
DWIGHT CASWELL PHOTO
Short Sand Beach in Oswald West State Park
Oswald West
The Oswald West hike
starts at 10 a.m. at Oswald
West Shop.
The 1-mile hike is con-
sidered a relatively easy one.
We recommend the hike for
children at least 8 years old.
The terrain is not suitable
for child strollers. Dogs are
The Sunset Beach hike
starts at 10 a.m. in the Sun-
set Beach parking lot.
The easy 6-mile hike
takes place along the Fort
to Sea trail. We recommend
this hike for children at least
12 years old. Dogs are per-
mitted on a 6-foot leash, but
not child strollers (the trail is
narrow and unimproved).
Our trek will include
areas of reforested shore
dunes, dune lakes, open
meadows and areas of
maturing pine and spruce
forest. We may see elk,
blacktail deer, winter bird
species and the occasional
cow.
For more information,
call 503-861-3170.
A very Dragalution New Year’s Eve
ASTORIA — Come join
your Dragalution family and
friends as we put on a show
to ring out the old and usher
in the new at the Columbian
Theater in Astoria 10 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 31. Doors open
at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $15
cash at the door. Only people
21 and older may attend.
The party will be hosted
by Daylight Cums and Dida
DeAngelis, with musical
numbers by the Cums Family,
the belly dancers of the Asto-
ria Arts & Movement Center;
solos by Teri Yuki, Ginger
Vitus, Annie DePressant,
Arty Choke; songs sung by
Dinah Urell, Walter Trumbull,
Martin Buel, Daric Moore,
Richard Bowman, Kevin
Violette, Deac Guidi and Dida
DeAngelis; and musical beats
by DJ imcodefour.
We have a fun night
planned and can’t wait to
celebrate with you. So get
ready to dress to express, and
share in an evening of love
and celebration as we step
into the new year!
ELLY CONDIT PHOTO
The stars of Dragalution
COURTESY CLATSOP COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Instructor Ute Swerdloff
principles, along with
the physical practice and
breath control to make the
practitioner more fit to
become spiritually aware.
Her presentation seeks
to paint a more complete
picture of yoga, its paths
and goals as disclosed in
the Upanishads, Bhaga-
vad Gita and Patanjali’s
yoga sutras. Looking to
the ancient texts of-
fers thought-provoking
treasures that point in
the direction of practice,
self-inquiry and surrender
to a higher reality.
Swerdloff will help
audience members
conceive of yoga in a
whole new way, perhaps
as a full-spectrum health
agent with potential for a
transformative experience
involving the entire being:
body, mind and spirit.
Swerdloff is a long-
time yoga practitioner and
teacher. Her apprentice-
ship to become a certified
Iyengar Yoga teacher has
ignited her passion for the
history and philosophy of
yoga. She teaches yoga
at Clatsop Community
College. She also presents
“Stand Up & Stretch” on
Coast Community Radio.