My knee
hurts. It’s been hurting ever since I learned how to lead a pasada, a tango move in which the leader invites the follower to pass over his outstretched foot. I think I’ve finally figured out what’s wrong
with me: I don’t know how to walk.
I find this statement comical. In the many workshops I’ve attended, the
instructors are always telling us that we need to walk naturally, particularly
the foreign born teachers. I don’t think they realize that walking is not a
natural activity for Americans.
We drive
everywhere. I once heard a British comedian make a joke about how to identify
an American. It was simple, he said, all you need to do is ask them one
question: walk or drive?
We are
also averse to the human condition known as 'sweating'. As billions of dollars
in advertising has informed us over the years, sweating is to be avoided at all
costs.Thankfully, products have been created to help us remedy this awful condition often resulting from
walking too much, too fast and too far.
I guess that's why antiperspirants are an $18 billion industry.
The
dried sweat of Americans is a markedly reprehensible aroma. There’s good reason
for this: we don’t eat well. Fortunately, our poor diets help sustain an even
larger industry that is helping us spread our culinary habits around the globe.
When we
sweat, our odor tends to take on the fragrances of the food we consume. If all
you eat is fried food and processed meat, it is probably best that you don’t sweat
in the presence of people with whom you wish to make a good impression, like
your tango partner.
I
remember the first time my aching knee became a problem; I was attending a
workshop in NYC led by an instructor named Dragan. He analyzed my movement and correctly
concluded that I was putting too much weight on my extended leg. If I
positioned my weight appropriately, I suffered no pain. If I did it wrong, the
ache became excruciatingly obvious.
That was
five years ago and now the pain has returned. Oddly enough, it only hurts when
I walk. When I backpack, jog or dance tango, there is no problem. I must
conclude that I am doing something wrong in the process of walking.
At
fifty-three, I am realizing that it is necessary for me to retrain myself in
some fundamental facts of life, like walking and eating.
My diet now consists of raw, or slightly cooked, vegetables, legumes and nuts,
such as beets, radishes, tomatoes, peas, walnuts, etc.
As for
my walking, I am no longer trying to find the closest parking spot to the store. I am incorporating tango techniques into my movement: rotating my
hips and shoulders, focusing on pushing off the standing leg and keeping my frame
straight and centered over the weighted leg.
Once
again, I find that Tango is not just a great metaphor for life, it is a guide
for all on how to live our lives better.
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