Yoga class helps cab drivers relax

Andrew Vollo knows what a 12-hour shift behind the wheel of a taxi can do to a guy’s back. “I started driving a cab when I was working my way through Queens College,” the 54-year-old says. “I drove a taxi for 15 years, and I had a lot of pain.”

He started studying Tai Chi, Yoga, Nei Kung and Feldenkrais, he says, “And I also learned how to breathe properly. My pain started going away. I felt terrific. I said to myself, ‘Let me incorporate all these disciplines, and design something for the guys.’”

Now, he’s offering a “Taxi Yoga” class at LaGuardia College, where he’s also director of the NYC Taxi and FHV Driver Institute.

Gabreil Albarati attended Vollo’s Taxi Yoga class April 12. “It was like magic, really, it was that good,” the 45-year-old Yemen native said.

“I could see Gabreil was in pain when he walked in the door,” Vollo said. “I could see it in his face.”

“The yoga that we did, it helped,” Albarati continued. “It is a good thing to go. I don’t always have the time. I’ve driven a cab for almost two years. Most people haven’t heard of yoga in Yemen.”

“The class was really good,” attendee Paramvir Kakania said. “I’m a young guy, 22, but I got back pain. I drive cabs on the weekends. I would go again to the class, I just have to make time. It calms you down.”

“The first thing I ask the class is, ‘What are you doing in your car?’ ” Vollo said. “If you’re sitting on your wallet, first of all, you’ve got a problem. You’ve also got to support the lumbar section of your back. Then I talk about breathing, how important it is to breathe properly. You’ve got to breathe from the belly. Just with those few things, it’s gonna change how a driver feels in the car.”

Cristian Zamfir said, “I’m getting my taxi license right now, and I never did any yoga before. I did hard sports and the gym because I was in the navy until two years ago. This helped me out a lot. I say, ‘Okay, this move is doing something!’ Now I am doing some exercise at home.”

“I still drive a yellow cab, by the way, on Sundays,” Vollo said. “I have to keep a hack license to do this job, and it supplements my income. So when I’m out there on Sunday, you’ll see me at Battery Park City doing my exercises on my break. I don’t believe in ‘You’re getting old’ and this and that.”