One of the handiest and easiest tools that Yoga can provide for our daily lives is BRFWA (pronounced "briff-wah") which stands for Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow. My fellow Kripalu graduates and yogis of all stripes can attest to the amazing results of following these simple steps.
Take any situation which may create anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, liberally apply BRFWA and instantly these yucky emotions clear and your true emotions come to the foreground.
For example, I am not too fond of elevators. The tight quarters and jerky movements make me terribly nervous. If I breathe my heart rate slows, I relax and the knots in my tummy subside, I feel the physical sensations which get me out of my head, I watch myself from that compassionate witness seat and allow the true emotions (which are that I am not in control of the situation) to come to the fore. At the end of the day my fear of elevators is really a larger fear of being out of the drivers seat. My physical wellbeing in that moment relies on engineers, repair people and operators who I have never met and for me that is nerve wracking. However, life is about accepting those things that we cannot control, from the mundane elevator rides to the horrible acts of nature (like the recent tornadoes) to the wondrous mishaps that make our days worthwhile (like seeing baby geese waddle around their mama). It is a package deal and why not use BRFWA to get through the parts we are not so fond of...
And that is the power of BRFWA. Go try it! Or just take the stairs ;)
