You and Your Gene Genie (don't let yourself go!)

Preface: This isn't the first time I have referred to David Bowie lyrics in this collection One Things you can Pick. And it may not be the last. Just making sure you know I know. Oh, and if you want background music as you read: Bowie Video circa 1972

In the quest to be true to yourself and become all you can, to evolve and manifest the best in you and so on, you're bound to have run into a certain pack of stubborn dudes from inner space known to hang out in your cells' nuclei. I'm talkin' about the notorious DNA gang. You know--fancy threads, secret codes you can't crack, hardly any sense of humor....

Also known as your genes. Here at blog time we have word on up to about 20,000 of them and counting*, each responsible for different little bits of you, able to be mixed and matched in seemingly endless combinations. Many experts won't even estimate how many human traits might be owed to genetics, but some estimate at least 60% of everything you are is nature over nurture.

But nurture does have one significant power that can trump nature in a variety of ways. Unlike DNA, nurture is not predetermined. You are NOT a done deal. When it comes to your genes, you can't really change what they say and usually you can't change what they do. But you can change how they show up in your life, and where, and when, and how much if at all. You are a work in progress. Indeed, you have a magical genie inside of you that will hear your wishes and grant many of them (within reason) if only you will work at the wishes in the right way.
Let's try it.

Oh, Genie of the Genes. Hear my wish. I want smaller feet.

Okay, so there's a good example of a wish that is not within reason. Some of the notorious DNA just has to be lived with and worked around. Foot size is one of them. I know, Japanese girls endured foot binding to try to keep their feet small way back when. But that was not working with Gene Genie's power; that was manipulating and deforming for no good reason.

Let's revise. Your wishes must be within reason, and for good reason.

For example, you can't change the genes that determine the color, texture and thickness of your hair. But you can change your hair. Nurture it, so to speak, with a box of hair dye, a flat iron or perm, and voila, you've gone up against the DNA gang and won this round. This wish was within reason. (Lyric connection alert: he says he's a beautician...)

You also can't change the genes, if you have them (and about 33% of you do**), that come from European ancestors, which carry a predisposition to certain aspects of obesity. Something to do with how your body stores stuff as fat and certain chemical processes that tell these fat burners or storers to switch on or off. But can you rub your partly European tummy and make a wish?

Oh, Gene Genie, I wish not to fall victim to obesity even though I have the genetics that encourage that sort of thing.
POOF! You are now Amish.

See, Amish people have that gene a lot of the time, and they have had it for a long time, because Amish people have historically married other Amish people. There's a lot of strong genetics as a result. But guess what? For good reason, Amish people are way less obese with fewer health risks overall than the non-Amish locals in town. This is because the Gene Genie responds very well to the regular physical labor and clean diets of the typical Amish lifestyle. (Lyric alert expanded: he says he's a beautician and he sells you nutrition...)

We all were born with gifts and challenges. When you run into a stubborn showing of the notorious DNA gang, go Amish on its butt. Say, your've got a body type you don't like, or a health condition or a slower metabolism than you'd prefer; what you need is to call upon your inner genie. Get the Gene Genie's attention! Pick One Thing: within reason, for good reason. And do the work while you make your wish know. Don't let DNA bully you. Be a rebel, rebel. (See Preface)

* You can learn more about those crazy smart molecular biologist types and all they have to say about your DNA as part of the human genome project via the the NCBI via the National Institutes of Health...and you can also see a really basic map of the genomes themselves, which I must admit is really underwhelming at first, here:
Human Genome Map and More

** You can read a Time magazine article on the study that showed how the old-fashioned lifestyle of the Amish indicates that behavior can trump genetics, here: Amish People Overrule Some Prevalent Genes

And if you're still interested in proving to yourself that you do indeed have a Gene Genie, consider this study, the results of which are not yet published. Same heritage of Indian tribes, similar genetics, but different lifestyles, looks like Westernized living is losing again...

Put On Your Red Shoes

I've been mesmerized by this photo, searching for it repeatedly, and posting it here without express permission but with the utmost respect and admiration for its owner, the Pennsylvania Ballet. This shot is from the Ballet's website for the 2009/10 season. Just look at it, ahhh....And then look again--yes, those are both male and female bodies on that stage in those skirts.

As I gawk at the sight of these dancers from behind, I remember the phrase "ballerina back" (closely related to ballerina butt, but higher up). The backs of dancers are traditionally so well-developed and defined. In bodybuilder terms we might call them "cut". So what's the deal with dancers' workouts that helps them achieve these enviable backs?

For male dancers, it's a little more obvious. Pro ballet men regular lift weights-- heavy weights actually--in the form of human bodies (their female partners). But for a woman, and for the corps of men who don't get much pas de deux (steps of two) work, those ballet backs still stand out as remarkable.

This is the answer, then, as far as I can figure it:

1. They hold their arms up a lot. Every day. Their arms, plus gravity, equal enough weight to stimulate muscle development of the shoulders and back.
2. They do some cardio via their dancing, but it's in intervals of varying intensity. Dancers are interval trainers. They go slow, then very fast... they alternate body weight exercise with powerful jumps and leaps... they work hard, and get sweaty and tired and sore. They are fine work horses, and it shows.
3. They don't have a lot of body fat, and especially no back fat, as a result of numbers 1. and 2. And they take care of their bodies with proper athlete nutrition. Or at least, it looks that way. If they ate too little, they'd be skinny. If they ate too much or ate a lot of junk, they wouldn't be able to do what they do for long enough to make it on to this level of stage posing.

Can we imitate? In some ways, sure we can. But if we have a sedentary or lightly active job, versus a physical one that requires lifting and arms up and sweating and intense intervals of various type of exercises, then we probably can't expect to be quite where these ballerina backs are at. Plus they're probably all between the ages of 20 and mid-thirties, tops. They make doing what it takes to be in this sort of shape the main focus of their lives, too.

But all that aside, we can imitate to a certain degree. If you like good back, lift more, and use your arms out in front, out at your sides and up over head more. Eat well and eat enough. Train in intervals of intense cardio, full body power moves, and body weight strength moves.

Orrrrrr.... you could sign up for some ballet classes, maybe? Whatever you choose, if you Pick One Thing and that Thing is Your Back, make sure you take some time to check it out from behind once in a while. We spend so much time looking at the fronts of ourselves, it's nice to focus on the beauty from rear sometimes.

Enjoy the view!