24 asaNa Magazine | March 2017
You had a heart trans
plant a few years ago.
How important is an
active, healthy life
style?
I had a heart transplant eight
years ago. Being active and having
a healthy lifestyle has always been
extremely important to me. As a
matter of fact, it is what saved my
life. I believe that exercise is key,
stretching is a must and eating good,
healthy food can and does affect
every aspect of who you are and what
you do. I would not be here today if
I was not in as good shape as I had
been. Dancing and working out has
always been for me a place where I
can let go of the outside world and
connect my mind, body, and spirit. I
had a rare autoimmune disease that
went misdiagnosed for three months.
It began with a rash and in a matter
of two weeks destroyed all of my
muscles. In just a few days I blew
up to two hundred pounds, from one
hundred ten pounds and was dead on
life support. I was never expected to
live and was placed on the transplant
list as an experiment. I received my
heart in ten days on my birthday.
Before your heart
transplant you were a
top contemporary jazz
dancer. What fitness
routines did you do to
keep in shape?I started dancing at age three and
did study ballet at the Metropolitan
Opera House in New York City until
I was fifteen where I found dance
forms that allowed me to best express
myself. For me the best workout
is a great dance class. I danced
professionally for years in NYC.As for other fitness routines: One
of my greatest achievements was