I get the danger of not maintaining my health and structural integrity. This is a danger sign in front of a hot pool at Yellowstone National Park. One must watch their footing or they may be scalded to death if they walk off the designated path.

On Monday morning I awoke feeling much better than I had in 5 weeks of illnesses and medications.  And then as I bent over to pick up my laptop, an intense sharp pain dropped me to the floor where I stayed for an hour and a half before I was able to crawl to my bathroom.  I spent that day and the next day in bed, calling my neighbors to come over to bring food and water.  I could not move without severe pain.

On Wednesday, I could finally move a bit more to my kitchen briefly, and with enough Vicodin, I was able to get to a doctor for x-rays.  Nothing structurally had happened.  I just had an acute sprain of my sacral area.  I had to cancel my Midwest Tango Teaching Tour.  I was so bummed.

Today, I am reflecting on how just a few days ago I had blogged on the importance of my health.  Yeah, I get it!  What is even more important than training with dance partners or watching videos or going to festivals or taking classes is building my health and structural integrity.  I have been in bed with enough pain and lost out on enough dancing to get it.  GOT IT.

I have only danced 5 hours since the end of the Denver Memorial Day festival, so by the end of this week, I will have danced the least amount in 2 weeks since I started dancing Tango.  How did this happen?  Because I had been so sick in 5 weeks, I hardly exercised.  Then when I went to pull weeds for an hour, I over did it.  I did not engage my core, and I was not checking in with my body.

How many of us overdo it by dancing to all hours of the night without building up our strength or checking in with our bodies?  It is so easy for me to overdo it while I am experiencing my Tango Trances.  This overdoing it reminds me of a perennial spiritual challenge: to experience bliss consistently requires groundedness, where we have a life that is working, where we are responsible and maintain balance in all areas of our life.  If one goes for bliss without groundedness, one usually experiences big problems.  I have met wonderful spiritual people that cannot balance their checkbooks nor maintain a healthy relationship with their significant other, or they are in horrible health.

I have been warned about being out of balance …