Traffic. Your impossible-to-shop-for niece. Exorbitant gas prices eating into your budget for said difficult relative. More traffic.

Inasmuch as you want to be jolly this season, nagging holiday stresses sometimes make curling up in your cubicle seem a whole lot jollier. We told our resident yoga instructor, Ann Votaw, what winds us up, and she showed us how to wind down, by striking a simple yoga pose--anywhere.

1.     Try breath-of-fire. When you feel like firing expletives at a curmudgeonly relative, take one long cleansing inhale and exhale. Then quickly breathe in and out like a runner on her last lap. After 30 seconds, resume normal breathing through the nose.

2.     Get grounded in tree pose. While splurging on gas or last-minute gifts at Richard's Passport on Wolfs Lane, stop for a moment. Press the right foot lightly into the left calf, and the calf into the foot (this helps holds your balance). Slowly bring your hands together in a prayer position and breathe. Switch sides.

3.     Find a mantra. While stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, forget Lady Gaga. Silently repeat, "I am safe, I am happy, and I am loved." After several rounds, change the "I" to "you." "You are safe, you are happy, and you are loved." Think of individuals, family members, old school mates, and beloved pets.  

4.   Make your coffee break count. While sipping coffee at Provisions or the new Dunkin Donuts on Lincoln and First avenues, don't rattle off complaints. Instead, mimic your cup with a "cosmic" hand gesture. Place the dominant hand under the less dominant hand, allowing the thumbs to touch and the backs of the hands to rest in the lap. Hold your gaze for five minutes.

5.   Om while you cook. Replace "Jingle Bells" with the sound of "Om" as you pour over the stove. This mantra has many meanings, including acceptance of past, present, and future events. Feel the resonance of the sound, the vibration against your lips, and the silence that follows.

6.     Take a time out. Excuse yourself from dinner and take a breather in another room to soothe your jitters. To begin: (1) press your thumb against the outside of your right nostril (keep air from sneaking in) (2) breathe through the left nostril (3) exhale through the left, (4) press right ring finger against left nostril (keep air from sneaking in) (5) inhale right, and (6) exhale right. Continue 12 rounds representing 12 Days of Christmas. But stop if you feel lightheaded.

7.     Roll your eyes at the clock. Let the clock be your friend when you're running late. Gently circle the eyes clockwise--as a ticker's hands do--without moving your head. Try 10 reps before switching directions.

8.     Leave that fist behind you. Rest your shopping bags and suitcases on the floor and interlace your hands behind you. Keep your elbows straight and your fingers reaching downward. This move opens the chest and relaxes the tops of the shoulders. Allow the right ear to dip toward the right ear, then the left ear to reduce neck tension.

9.     Stand tall. When confronted by pushy clerks and customers who cut lines, press your feet deeply into the floor tiles. This "standing mountain pose," performed with two hip-width legs, has a grounding effect. As you breathe, feel the ground and sink into it more. Nothing can knock you down.

10.  Rest up. When you've had your fill of egg nog and fruit cake, don't think about the calories, jut lie flat on your back in "corpse pose." Relax the eyebrows. Let the hands drop open. Unclench the jaw. Breathe. Hold up to 20 minutes with eyes closed for serenity or open to relieve anxiety.