Find inner peace with 'Acuyoga'

Keep yourself centered with some de-stressing techniques

By Daisy Carrington, amNewYork Deputy Features Editor | dcarrington@am-ny.com

June 6, 2007

For those of you who work in midtown, I offer my condolences. The subway ride, which resembles a vacation in a sardine can; the streets packed with slow tourists; and the loud, stenchy, humid summer air are enough to make the Dali Lama scream.

If the brutal reality of city living is getting you down (and it gets us all down occasionally), it might be time to adopt some de-stressing techniques. Enter Juhi Singh, a trainer at Rockefeller Center's The Sports Club/LA. She has developed a yoga/acupuncture hybrid called acuyoga that will keep you centered throughout the day.

"I've designed a unique program that combines acupressure points with specific yoga poses for different ailments," she says.

After a few calming poses, you might just remember why you fell in love with New York in the first place.

1. Full yoga breath
Sit in an upright position. Exhale all the air out of both your nostrils. Bring your navel in toward your spine. Place your hands in a prayer position, firmly pressing your thumbs to your breastbone. Slowly inhale, expanding first your belly, then your ribs, and lastly your chest. Your chest should move out, not up, while your shoulders remain down. Exhale first from your chest, then let your ribs come in, then finally bring your navel in toward your spine. Practice three to five breaths, counting to five on each breath.

2. Legs up against wall pose
Sit with your right hip against a wall and extend your legs. Swing your legs up against the wall and lay on your back. Your buttocks should be as close to the wall as possible. Place your thumbs on your temples (this activates a pressure point called tai yang). Close your eyes and relax. Both the pressure point and the pose help calm and clear the mind as well as ease headaches.

3. Seated eagle pose
Seated comfortably in a chair, bring your arms out to shoulder level with your palms facing down. Move your arms in front of your body, bend them at the elbow and interlace them so that your left elbow rests on top of your right elbow and your hands are in prayer position. Lift your elbows out and up, and place direct pressure with your thumb on the space between your eyebrows (a point known as yin tang). This combination helps ease the mind and alleviates tension in the neck and shoulders.