12 inches higher
A friend of mine was telling me about an amazing tour of Radio City Music Hall she took during her last New York City trip. Her group got to go behind the scenes (literally) and see the whole place, including the costumes, Rockettes dance room, got to spend time on the actual stage, and did a meet-and-greet with a real Rockette. So cool, right!?
She shared something fascinating that she learned on the tour, which has been on my mind since I heard it. In the dance room, they reported that intentionally had the barre installed 12 inches higher than the standard barre the dancers were used to. This conditions them to have even better posture and it gets their kicks even higher.
This simple strategy of adjusting "normal" upward pushes the dancers to greater levels of excellence, one kick at a time.
Choosing a higher standard for ourselves -- whether spiritually, physically, professionally, or in our relationships -- has the same effect. We set a higher standard and let that become our "normal," then little by little we stretch and grow to meet it.
As impressive as the Rockette kick lines are, our stretching experiences have an even deeper purpose than entertainment. They open up channels for more joy and connection in our lives -- with our loved ones, our communities, and with God. Studying the life of Jesus Christ is a great way to raise our personal barre, as His life was a crystal-clear channel we can model ours after.
This requires intention and practice, but the results are well worth it the 12 inches of added effort.
