I have been ill for over a month.  With my visit to Buenos Aires for 5 1/2 weeks in October/ November I have had pneumonia 2X, and been ill 3X.  I dance close to the limits of my health, and sometimes go beyond them.  I find that my ability to dance and learn Tango at an increasingly accelerated rate depends greatly upon the state of my body – my health and fitness level.

I am sure that this little revelation is not news to most of you.  However, what may be news to some of you is that sometimes cultivating greater skills in Tango requires attention on the body, not Tango.  In other words, I am at a point in my Tango learning where I must change my body’s health, fitness, and structure to maximize learning as well as being a productive Tango professional.

I want to note how important it is in accelerating Tango learning that we must go outside of Tango.  Tango brings up many issues, and our growth in Tango directly depends on how we process/ deal with these issues.  Issues may come up in the arenas of emotional, physical, spiritual, mental, social and political.

My next steps:

• Get down to 12% body fat with a body weight of 160 lbs. (this requires a loss of @23 lbs. of fat and an increase of 10 lbs. of muscle)
• Train with Kettlebells to dramatically increase core strength and flexibility, and reduce my kyphosis
• Train in YOGA to dramatically increase flexibility and body awareness
• Track my food intake to determine macro-nutrient ratios and tweak for optimal metabolic activity and therefore fat loss
• Work with pulmonary specialist and my general doctor to determine course of action to strengthen lungs and immune system

I intend to take pictures of my body to track the changes.  I did this once before when I did the Body For Life Challenge.  As I write these words of my intentions, I am quite aware of how sick I have been.  Even the thought of exercising right now as I cough is daunting.  However, I realize how important my health and fitness is to growing in Tango and being able to dance to the wee hours at milongas.

What are your weak areas or unprocessed issues that keep you from maximizing your ability to learn Tango at an accelerated rate?  What would you do to experience greater dances, connection and Kisses from the Divine (Tango Bliss)?