Tango Lesson: Always Keep Your Heart in Front of "His"

Even when a follower is performing a molinete (windmill) around her partner, she must pivot sharply from her waist, in order to keep her chest aligned with her partner as he rotates on his axis. No matter the distance in between, the connection of lead and follow is maintained as the "hearts remain aligned".

As discussed earlier, the lead and the intention of the dance arises from the heart. And once a dancer discovers the truth, it's as pleasing as the first time you balance upon your two-wheeler! Just like balance, lead and follow is an invisible force which results in the spontaneity of a beautiful and unrehearsed dance.

Dancing heart to heart is like communicating face to face. And, as we are all well aware, communication is far more than words. Our facial expressions and body language convey so much more than even the most carefully chosen and articulated speech. Similarly, the listener's response is conveyed long before the speaker's pause, through eye contact and posture.

Yet, many of us choose to continue looking at our "smart" phones, while responding to questions from our family members or friends. And some doctors prefer to look at computer screens rather than converse with their patients.

At our home and in our practice, we recognize this challenge, and have implemented the following practices:

1. If I am cooking, I turn off the stove and face my husband when he is speaking to me.
2. When I need to speak with my husband, he closes his laptop and faces me.
3. If my husband has a question, I place my phone, face down, upon the table or counter top.
4. Before going to the exam room, we interview our patients, face-to-face in our office.
5. We have positioned our desk computers at an angle so we can remain with our "hearts" aligned with our patients during the evaluation.