Is stooping inherited?
A son often stands and walks like his father. If the father stoops, chances are the son has also developed a stoop — or at least shows clear signs of developing one. So yes, stooping is inherited. The real question is: “How does the inheritance work?”
Is stooping inherited genetically?
Whenever we talk about inheritance, we tend to assume it’s a genetic thing, encoded in our DNA. However, genetics is not the only mechanism for passing characteristics from father to son. A complete list of kinds of father-to-son inheritance would have to include at least:—
- genetic inheritance
- ideas that the father has taught his son
- mannerisms the son has copied from his father
- traits they share from living in the same environment
- legal inheritance of money and possessions
Which of these is the mechanism for inheriting a stoop? If you think about it enough you’ll see ways in which all of them could be. Even inheritance of possessions (or the lack of it) could cause the son to copy his father’s stoop!
So which is the most common reason for inheriting a stoop?
The real reason why we stoop
We all constantly pick up quirks and mannerisms from the people around us: accents, facial expressions, reactions to common events, food tastes, personal preferences — and postural habits.
Picking up such mannerisms is as natural — and difficult to avoid — as breathing the same air, eating the same foods and drinking the same water. If the people around you walk with a stoop, you will naturally copy them unless you do something to prevent it. Usually, by the time you realise there is a problem your habit of stooping has become so much a part of you that it is virtually impossible to get rid of.
Debunking the “stoop gene”
So why do people immediately tend to imagine there must be a “stoop gene” that some have and some haven’t? Two reasons:-
- People who have developed the habit of stooping rarely find out how to get rid of that habit again. That permanence can easily seem a good enough reason for believing in the inheritance of a “stoop gene”.
- A lot of so-called thought is itself just a mannerism, a “thought-tick” that people catch and copy from the people around them. Such mannerisms often gain credibility from the mis-application of well-known scientific theories. The “a gene for everything” explanation of inheritance is one such mannerism. It takes a little real thought to realise that the idea of a “stoop gene” is not as well-founded as it appears on the surface.
Now we’ve demolished your “stoop gene”, let’s get rid of your stoop
Now you know you’re not the victim of a family “stoop gene” how do you go about getting rid of your stoop?
First you need to know the nature of the stoop mannerisms that you’ve inherited. These mannerisms are habits. These habits are so deeply entrenched that few people ever do get rid of them. Yet here on BackMagician.com and on SmilingBackMethod.com you’ll find exactly what you need to grow out of your stoop.
First steps to getting rid of your stoop
You need to mount a two-pronged attack on your stoop: Learn the Smiling Back Method of the Alexander Technique and practise Semi-Supine.
- The Smiling Back Method of the Alexander Technique: start by reading this article. Then continue by using the Further Resources listed below
- Semi-Supine: start here, with my previous post. The rest is in my free ebook: The Hows & Whys of Semi-Supine”.
Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley
If you want to get the best kind of help, come to me for an introductory lesson in Liverpool.
If you’re too far away, then the next best thing is to get personal lessons and advice from me online at Repoise.com, my on-line school. (Both far-away and local pupils use Repoise).
In more detail:–
If you’re in Liverpool (or can get to Liverpool)
- There’s nothing better than individual lessons. My practice is at 37 Hope Street, Liverpool L1. Ring me on 0151 708 6172 to book an initial consultation and first lesson. (Leave your number so I can get back to you).
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If you’re short of funds, you can still have first class training from me — though it will require a little more work on your part.
The thing to do is have an individual, in-person lesson just once a month. That will entitle you to also get regular on-line lessons from me through Repoise. That way, you have the best of both worlds: in-person lessons and very regular, even daily, on-line Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley from me. That’s a real bargain because Repoise costs the equivalent of three lessons a year to everyone else.
Ring me on 0151 708 6172 if you want to arrange this.
- I occasionally run group lessons. If you’re interested in these, go here for details.
If you’re further away and can’t get to Liverpool
- There’s still nothing better than individual lessons. Here’s where you can find a teacher near you in the UK or elsewhere
- I suggest you also get direct day-to-day guidance from me by joining Repoise.
If you’re having plain Alexander Technique lessons from someone else, you still need to discover the Smiling Back Method of the Alexander Technique. You’ll get a lot more out of your lessons when you do.
Next: Can a person who’s been bed-ridden for 3 months stand for more than 10 mins?
Hello
I have been getting your smiling back emails for 3 weeks now, but I find it hard to understand what the articles want one to do…how to flatten your belly by letting go etc.
I dont understand how anyone could possibly learn from these articles.
I get nerve pain similar to sciatica on my left side.…I am alright when I get up in the morning and for some hours afterwards , but then I start getting this nerve pain while standing. I tried acupuncture,chiropractic and now some physiotherapy exercises, which i am told will helpme manage my stenosis. So far nothing has changed much. Would Alxander technique help, and also would I have to shell out hundreds of pounds to learn this.
PLease advise.
Yours sincerely
Hello Urmilla,
You’re quite right, it is very hard to understand how to get rid of habits without direct, personal experience of doing so. It’s not impossible, though: if you spend a lot of time reading my articles and practising them to the best of your understanding. (I’m talking about years of dedicated practice here).
It’s much, much easier to learn from the articles if you’re getting (or have had) Alexander Technique lessons yourself. People who do tell me they find my articles enormously useful.
If all you do is to “manage” the bad effects of your habits of movement, then it stands to reason that you are not going to get very far — whatever method you use to do that management.
If, instead, you have Alexander Technique lessons, then, though they’re expensive, each and every lesson will help you — and produce change for the better.
In the end, the benefit of each lesson lasts a lifetime — unless you deliberately undo them. That being so, the benefit you will get from each lesson should far out-weigh its cost.