|
Hey, gang!
As a little kid, flying reindeer fascinated me. Nothing to do with Santa’s sled or potential gifts. Instead, I envisioned herds of them gathered around a solitary North Pole from which Santa merely recruited. When I queried my older siblings, they never seemed as excited as I was. As I got older and was told that flying reindeer didn’t exist, I didn’t believe them. I admire that young boy who resisted.
I was different in a world full of flying reindeer. That universe was bigger, full of greater potential. I also thought new sneakers made me jump higher and run faster. Truthfully, they probably did.
Believing is a form of practical magic. It changes things. As I write this, do I believe that flying reindeer exist? No, not exactly. But I believe in a world where they might exist. I believe in an open-ended universe, and this belief hurts no one. I’m happier in that world. I now wonder if, when reindeer near the North Pole take majestic leaps through the air and float just a little longer than seems possible, that they might not be flying, if only temporarily. Perhaps it’s me that limits what’s already been given.
I wonder if we limit our bodies like we limit reindeer. I know that many of our adaptive yoga students begin that way. They come having already accepted that reindeer don’t fly, not even temporarily. But once this changes, they begin to transform. We show our students untapped potential in the more subtle parts of their nervous systems. Their conditions or disabilities do not miraculously reverse, but they do learn to lighten and glide better in the bodies they have. For the process to begin, they need only to reclaim a sense of youthful wonder and start working.
I have a challenge for you this Holiday season and into 2025. I challenge you to open your body’s universe and allow that some reindeer just might fly.
Happy Holidays!
| 
