chapter four
Road Rage Relief
Road rage is kind of a retro term. It stuck with us after a slew of Los Angeles media reports in the ’80s, but today, we use the term to describe all those special, stress-related behaviors that only seem to show up when you get in a car and drive. They get extra special when you’re a daily commuter.
You know those ridiculous drivers who cross three lanes to cut you off and slam on the brakes, right? They’re raging (yeah, just a little). Don’t be that driver, and don’t let that driver make you rage. Instead, keep your eyes on the road and use these Happy-Go-Yoga poses to feel more calm, comfortable, and collected each time you get behind the wheel for short drives or long road trips.
Think of them as your mind-body GPS system, keeping you safe and sane behind the wheel while guiding you to your destination of a healthier self.
The poses in this chapter have an added description, HGY Travel Advisory, so you can know when it’s best to do them. Now you can be a yogi and a responsible driver at the same time.
In this chapter:
Car Kali
■ empower
■ refresh
■ inspire
Time is ticking and you’re late to your destination. Rather than drive like a crazy person, dodging cars and breaking laws, get a little crazy like Kali, the goddess of empowerment and transformation, for a more peaceful state of mind. She’s known to clear the bad to make way for the good.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Do this pose at a stoplight or while stopped in traffic.
1. Press your foot firmly on the brake or engage the emergency brake (this is important).
2. Cross your arms and hold on to the wheel.
3. Inhale a big, powerful breath into your body. Fill yourself up.
4. Stick your tongue out, exhale quickly, and make an ugly face and a fierce, monster-like noise when you let your breath out.
5. Right away, check back with the traffic in front of you to make sure you don’t add to the gridlock.
About Car Kali
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Car Kali (KAH-lee) liberates you from soul-draining frustration on the road. The goddess Kali is known to annihilate evil, which is not always a pretty sight. In fact, she’s sometimes straight-up scary. Making a monstrous noise and ugly face stretches out your face muscles and skin, then releases you into a calmer place. The big noise will help you release feelings festering within. You have to be willing to go there with Car Kali, to make some real noise and get fierce in your expression. Transformation doesn’t happen if your Car Kali sounds like a kitten purr.
Nimble Warrior
■ relieve
■ de-stress
■ strengthen
Dodging in and out of traffic with the other road warriors, you’ve done your fair share of gripping the steering wheel—to the point your hands are cramping. Guess what? The power is in the palms of your hands for a little more peace rather than pressure. Be nimble and quick, and you can do this safely while you’re waiting at the light.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Best done when the car is stopped.
1. Hold the steering wheel with both hands.
2. Hold the wheel with the left hand while you release the wheel with your right hand.
3. Make a tight fist with your right hand and turn your fist so your wrist faces up.
4. Spring open your fist with the palm up. Keeping your wrist facing up, make another fist, and spring open. Make another first, and spring open (so, three times).
5. Then, take hold of the wheel with both hands.
6. Breathe in slowly. Breathe out slowly.
7. Hold the wheel with your right hand.
8. Make a fist with your left hand.
9. Repeat steps 3-6 with the left hand, then hold the wheel again with both hands as in step 5.
10. Breathe in. Breathe out.
11. Repeat as hand cramps occur.
About Nimble Warrior
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Nimble Warrior is inspired by a hand-flipping motion, commonly done when moving between two poses in the Warrior series: Warrior II and Peaceful Warrior, transitioning between ferocity and peace. By making a tight fist and then releasing it quickly, you’re enhancing the release of blood flow to the muscles, joints, and tissues of the hands and wrists, which have been frozen in your grip of the wheel. Your arm muscles get in on the action as you flip the palm and make the grip, so there’s a little strengthening in there for your biceps and triceps, too, in case traffic prevents you from getting to the gym (or yoga class) that day.
Road Hips
■ relieve
■ strengthen
You’ve been behind the wheel for quite some time. You need a bathroom break and a stretch that’ll help keep you perky for the rest of the road trip. Pull over at a rest stop or scenic viewpoint to relieve stiff hips and knees—and give your legs some energy for another stretch of road.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Do this pose at a rest stop, scenic pullout, or similar place.
1. Stand still and tall (take advantage of the scenery).
2. Cross your right foot behind the left foot; try to have the full surface of both feet touch the ground. (Your right pinkie toe will probably be near the heel of your left foot.)
3. Inhale and reach your arms toward the sky.
4. Exhale, put your hands on your hips, and fold over toward both feet without bouncing, pushing down, or straining to touch your toes.
5. Keep both legs straight (or bend your knees slightly if you’re tight in your back or hamstrings); keep both feet planted evenly as they stay crossed.
6. Stand back up, switch sides, and try to keep breathing smoothly.
About Road Hips
Road trips make you feel free to roam wherever your wheels can take you, but sitting behind the wheel for that long can trap your hips in a position that aggravates your lower body. Happy-Go-Yoga’s Road Hips combines a forward bend that releases your lower back with a leg crossing to restore some suppleness in the iliotibial (IT) band, a band of tissues that runs from the top of the hips down the outside of the thigh. Tightness in the hips can travel around the lower back and down to the knee, common places of stiffness during long road trips. A few quick Happy-Go-Yoga Road Hips sprinkled throughout your trip, and you’re good to go the distance.
Rearview Mirror
■ relax
■ de-stress
■ calm
■ brighten
Today has just not been a pretty day, and unfortunately, it’s written all over your face. Examine your expression in the car’s rearview mirror for a reality check. Soften the facial expression you see in the mirror to send a signal to yourself to relax. You’ll be surprised at how quickly this one works.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Best done when you are stopped at a light, firmly braking.
1. When you’re at a complete stop, check yourself out in the mirror.
2. Ignore things like your hair, makeup, etc. Focus on your facial expression.
3. Look at the space between your brows. Is it furrowed? Lift your inner eyebrows to remove the wrinkles.
4. Look at your jaw. Is it clenched? Force a loose grin to get rid of the jaw lock.
5. Are your eyes angry? Think of how you would look at a person you love and put more of that into your gaze.
6. Notice how your face looks and feels a little nicer this way.
7. Give yourself permission to feel a little better right then and there and stay that way longer.
About Rearview Mirror
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Rearview Mirror gives you a way to let your body tell your mind to calm down quickly. Your body and your mind have a reciprocal relationship. When your body is healthier, your mind works better. When your mind is balanced between activity and rest, your body functions work better—digestion, sleep, and so on. You know the saying “seeing is believing”? You might not believe you’re cranky, pissed, or stressed, but your face might say it for you. One look in the rearview mirror of your car will tell you all you need to know. You can tell your body—with your face—to leave the bummer day behind you and never look back.
Unlock Gridlock
■ focus
■ calm
■ relieve
■ balance
Gridlock is in full swing, and your right leg is doing a dance: Accelerator. Brake. Accelerator. Brake. Brake lights and horns all around have made your eyes weary and overstimulated. Rebalance your seat and your sight to unlock some ease in the moment.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Start when your foot is on the brake at a stop.
Your Seat
1. As you sit in the driver’s seat, punching the pedals, notice that your right side is probably farther forward than the left, since you’re actively using that entire side of the body in stop-and-go traffic.
2. The next time your foot is on the brake, use the resistance of the brake pedal to push your right hip backward, toward the seat back, and even it out with your left hip.
3. If the backs of your shoulders are far away from the seat back, adjust the seat forward so you’re sitting more upright, stacking your shoulders directly above your even hips.
Your Sight
4. Notice how intensely you’re glaring at the brake lights in front of you while people honk around you.
5. Start to reduce the intensity of your stare as it jumps from one thing to another.
6. Feel your gaze soften, and imagine your eyelids—and the skin around your eyes—softening as well, but keep your eyes open and alert.
7. Start to see the situation as a whole moment that is what it is, rather than a collection of several irritating things that keep happening.
About Unlock Gridlock
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Unlock Gridlock helps you change the way you sit and see so your body and eyes get relief from intense stop-and-go. As you bring your right hip back to match your left, then your torso over your hips, you line everything up so your spine and back muscles work together, rather than against you. Unlock Gridlock borrows this technique from two of yoga’s warrior poses, in which your pelvis is encouraged to be “squared” (like in a grid) in the same direction for balance and alignment in the spine. Unlock Gridlock also invites you to unlock your hard stare, softening it to create a Drishti (DRISH-ti), a point of gaze or focus, which is a yoga technique to create awareness that is attentive but not strained by external stimulation. In Unlock Gridlock, this gaze is Urdhva Drishti (OORD-vuh DRISH-ti), a gaze to infinity, helping to organize your concentration, movement, and energy for infinite ease, despite the fact that traffic gridlock can feel like an eternity.
Road Warrior I
■ strengthen
■ empower
■ focus
■ calm
The wait for the toll bridge is long. You need your inner strength to sit through the wait. Squeeze the steering wheel when it’s slow to get a grip on the situation and feel the will of a warrior—strength, focus, and calm under pressure.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Do Road Warrior I when traffic is slow, moving only straight forward at a crawl (at the most).
1. At a time when you don’t need to turn the wheel, hold the steering wheel at nine o’clock and three o’clock.
2. Keep your elbows bent.
3. Use your back muscles to lower the tops of your shoulders down and back, as if your shoulder blades could move closer together behind you.
4. Squeeze your elbows and upper arm bones toward your ribs, as if you’re trying to clutch a purse or file under your arm.
5. Keep your grip on the wheel at all times!
About Road Warrior I
Road Warrior I adapts the arm form of a standing pose called Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I: VEER-uh-buh-DRAHS-uh-nuh) and combines it with the strengthening of a very challenging, powerful pose called Four-Limbed Staff Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana: CHAT-ur-AHNG-uh dun-DAHSS-uh-nuh). In class, we might squeeze a block between our hands to create engagement in the arms and shoulders for Warrior I and squeeze upper arms close to the ribs to strengthen a pretty long list of muscles in Four-Limbed Staff Pose: shoulders, back, upper and lower arms, and chest. In Road Warrior I, the steering wheel is that block and helps create the same kind of endurance against resistance. Since we’re trying to find road rage relief, it might seem odd to create more power and endurance while on the road, but the brave warrior (on the road or not) doesn’t have to fight all the time. Sometimes, it’s about the strength to endure quietly, whether it’s at the toll bridge or anywhere else.
Road Warrior II
■ relieve
■ de-stress
■ empower
■ calm
Hold on to your steering wheel! Powerless and frazzled, you’re hunched over, getting ready to share your aggression with everyone else. Don’t yell, flip the bird, or engage in bumper battle. Focus on two spots on your body to find the strength and calm of a warrior, minus the rage.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Start when you’re stopped or at slow speeds, then maintain for any MPH.
1. Inhale and lift your shoulders as close as you can to your ears. Exhale and let them drop gently.
2. Inhale, lift your shoulders to your ears, and this time, exhale and roll your shoulders toward the seat (your head and body will move back a little), and let them drop gently.
3. Imagine the center of the top of your head lifting to the roof of the car, but keep your chin neutral.
4. Combine steps 2 and 3 more softly and smoothly, matching your shoulder lifts, rolls, and drops to your breathing.
5. Repeat a few times. Sit taller as you relax your neck and widen the front of your chest.
About Road Warrior II
Skilled warriors can be peaceful and compassionate, using their minds to overcome opposition without violence. Borrow a technique from the very popular pose Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II: VEER-uh-buh-DRAHS-uh-nuh). Road Warrior II helps your body relax, yet remain alert and not edgy, even if it seems like everything’s working against you on this trip. Breathe deeply to calm and relieve your tight neck and shoulders while opening space across the chest to encourage a kinder heart toward other drivers. Virabhadra is the name of a fierce warrior, so don’t worry, you’ll still be fierce in the right way, when the time is right.
Get Toe’d
■ relieve
■ strengthen
■ refresh
You’ve finally, finally arrived, and now you need a little pep in your step to get going. Step out of the car to balance your energy and energize your legs and feet. Lock the car door (then check the parking signs carefully so you don’t actually get towed). Do this exercise, then proceed to your destination.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Do Get Toe’d when you get out of the car and street traffic is not whizzing by.
1. Stand by your car, and use the open door and/or the side of the car for balance, if you need it.
2. Stand on one foot.
3. As you exhale, lift the other knee. Point and flex these toes by moving the ankle.
4. Immediately afterward, put the heel of that foot on the ground, and imagine your toes are windshield wipers. As one unit, wave your toes side to side and let your whole leg rotate at the same time.
5. Switch sides.
About Get Toe’d
According to Chinese traditional medicine and many other holistic health practices, when your feet are well, you generally feel energetic and vibrant. Places in the feet correspond to vital organs and tissues in the body. When you do Happy-Go-Yoga’s Get Toe’d, you give your feet some extra movement to help the blood circulate, nourishing your entire body through your toes and feet. Get Toe’d is Happy-Go-Yoga’s take on a challenging pose called Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (oo-TEE-tuh HAHSS-tuh PUH-DUN-goo-STAH-suh-nuh), which helps create powerful leg muscles as you stand on one foot and lift the other. It also helps you develop better poise and balance, which you might actually need in case your car happens to get t-o-w-e-d. If so, refer to chapter 10, “Global 24/7,” to help meditate and let go.
Parking Karma
■ love
■ connect
■ brighten
It’s such a bummer to get back to your car and have a ticket because you were just a few minutes too late to catch the parking attendant. Perform this random act of kindness to make someone else’s day a lot brighter. Doing something kind will make you feel good, too!
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Give Parking Karma after you’ve locked your car, when you’re heading toward your destination.
1. Make sure your own meter is paid up.
2. Notice someone else’s time about to run out.
3. Put a little spare change into that car’s meter and buy that person a little time.
4. If you have a second, leave a nice note on the windshield. It might say “Bought you a little extra time. Pay it forward to someone else next time!”
5. Feel like you did a good deed, smile, and move on with your day.
About Parking Karma
Karma means action—mental, vocal, and physical—from a pure place. In the Western world, we sometimes say, “Oh, that’s karma” when we think someone gets what they “deserve,” but from the Buddhist perspective, karma is a little bit more like taking noble action based on an opportunity to help in the present, no matter what has happened to you in the past and without expecting something in the future. You might even decide to extend this way of thinking—and your karma—beyond parking and into other parts of your life, too! That’s definitely good karma.
Hey DJ
■ balance
■ de-stress
■ relieve
■ brighten
You’re running around with the kids and the dog in tow, trying to get everything on your list done. “Welcome to the Jungle” is blaring out of your car stereo, and the whole moment is bringing you to your knees. Here’s an idea: Have a glam DJ moment to find emotional balance. Change your environment, and change your mood.
Happy-Go-Yoga
HGY Travel Advisory: Do Hey DJ anytime you can safely change your music and keep your eyes on the road.
1. Keep paying attention to the road ahead.
2. Reach for the stereo.
Option A: If you’re listening to the radio, change the station or the music genre. Avoid heavy metal, hard rock, or angry rap. (Depressing lyrics are good to avoid in this moment, too.)
Option B: If you’re listening to music on your connected device, change the song and listen to your favorite bouncy pop or R&B jam, uplifting Broadway tune, or regal and powerful classical piece.
3. Sing, hum, and feel more sane and balanced right away.
About Hey DJ
According to Ayurveda, the five-thousand-year-old sister science to yoga, you can use sound to balance your mood.
■ If you’re in a heated, tense situation or the summer weather is scorching, choose music that decreases that hotheaded feeling (because that’s ultimately bad for everyone while you’re behind the wheel).
■ If your energy is dragging or your wipers can’t keep up with the winter rain, don’t choose music that’s somber. You’ll be fully bummed out by the time you reach your destination.
By the way, when you hum or sing along, you are healing yourself from within. According to health professionals who use sound as therapy, you actually stimulate some vital organs and part of the inner ear that can help improve balance, posture, and ease of movement. Hear, hear!
