DEFYING THE AGEING SCRIPT
I became a ‘pensioner’ last year, and it hit me rather uncomfortably that I am now officially considered ‘old’.
Since both my parents died when I was in my 20’s, I’ve never really had an internalised map of what ‘old age’ looks like, and my default mode is to ignore it. But I’ve nevertheless begun to notice the creep of certain ‘age-appropriate’ ads on my Facebook wall, carrying as they do, the assumption that age dictates an inevitable slide into decline and decrepitude.
Is this, I wonder, a reflection of reality or does it smack of some subtle but pernicious societal programming?
NEW PERSPECTIVES
Far from being in denial as some have wryly suggested, it turns out that science is on my side; age is not in our DNA – at least, not in the way we’ve been conditioned to believe – and the fact is that chronological age (the number of candles that are on your cake) and biological age (how well your body actually functions) are two very different things.
“Ageing is not a preordained programme locked in our DNA” – that’s one of the eye-opening messages that Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan delivered at the Milan Longevity Summit 2025. His perspective validates the core approach of evidence-based preventive medicine, which postulates that the best way to extend our healthspan is not found in expensive young-blood infusions certain billionaire biohackers would have us believe, but in the pillars of healthy living.
Ramakrishnan’s message is clear: ageing is not inevitable in its trajectory.
THE MYTH OF GENETIC DETERMINISM
It’s true that DNA affects traits like eye colour, height, and susceptibility to certain diseases. But when it comes to ageing, genetics is but a small part of the picture. The rest is determined by environment, lifestyle and belief – and this is heavily influenced by social conditioning.
THE POWER OF BELIEF
From a young age, we absorb subtle and overt messages about what it means to grow old. We’re told to ‘act our age’, to expect to decline after mid-life, and to retire when we’re ‘past our prime’. Mainstream media reinforces the idea that youth is vitality and age is irrelevance, and over time, this conditioning becomes internalised, influencing how we think and behave.
Yet, a groundbreaking study at Yale found that people with positive beliefs about ageing lived 7.5 years longer on average than those with negative perceptions. Another study showed that people primed with negative stereotypes about ageing walked more slowly and performed worse on memory tasks – often within minutes of exposure to such messaging.
That’s not biology. That’s psychology.
REWRITING THE SCRIPT
The science of Epigenetics shows that DNA is not a fixed blueprint; instead, it’s more like a flexible manuscript that is moulded by our thoughts, behaviour, and environment. This means that our body does not inherently ‘wear out’ over time, but that it responds to the signals and energy that we feed it.
Emotional and psychological stress plays a far greater role in the ageing process than we’ve been taught. Unresolved traumas, chronic stress, and negative thinking disrupt the body’s natural ability to repair and regenerate, and these emotional weights manifest physically, creating cellular errors, imbalances, and eventually, the symptoms that we associate with ageing.
But when freed of these burdens, the body is capable of maintaining vitality for far longer than most of us imagine. Ageing, therefore, is not a biological certainty – it is an emotional and mental construct.
THE MIND/BODY INTERFACE
This means that your lifestyle choices can literally change how your genes express themselves. If you believe ageing equals decline, your biology mirrors this belief. But if you believe ageing equals growth, vitality, and reinvention, that too becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
Your body is not a machine with a set expiration date; it is a living, regenerative system designed to renew itself constantly. Skin cells regenerate every few weeks, your liver renews itself within months, and even your bones rebuild over several years. On a cellular level, your body is in a perpetual state of renewal. So why doesn’t this perpetual regeneration translate into vitality throughout your life?
Consider this: if your body is constantly renewing itself, why wouldn’t it be possible to feel as vibrant at 60 or 80 as you did at 25? The answer lies in changing the mental and emotional programmes that dictate your body’s behaviour, and this entails rebelling against the belief that decline is inevitable, and replacing such limited thinking with thoughts of growth, vitality, and renewal.
Nourish your body with high-vibrational energy – clean food, pure water and fresh air. Release unresolved emotional baggage and embrace practices that raise your energetic frequency, such as meditation, movement, gratitude, and connection to nature.
THE POWER OF BELIEF
Your body is resilient, regenerative, and capable of vitality at any age, and a belief in this biological and psychological reality opens the door to a new paradigm that significantly slows – or even reverses – what society teaches us to perceive as the ‘normal’ ageing process.
LIVING IN A NEW REALITY
This isn’t about pretending time doesn’t pass or striving for an unattainable ideal. It’s simply about stepping into the present moment and reclaiming your body’s potential. It’s about recognising that your age is not a limitation but a reflection of how you think, feel, and live.
GROWING BOLDER, NOT OLDER
Choose to honour your body’s incredible capacity for renewal and live each day with the awareness that you are not bound by time, but empowered by your thoughts, emotions, and choices. Let go of the old narrative and step into a reality where ageing is not a limitation but an opportunity to deepen your connection to life.
You are not defined by the number of years you’ve lived. You are defined by the energy, beliefs, and vitality you bring to each moment.
Our world needs the wisdom, panache and verve of feisty and spirited elders.
Time to rewrite the script…
USE IT OR LOSE IT
Re-writing that script will entail making some changes, and my Regenerist biohacking retreats are designed to help you do just that.
Here are some of the changes I advocate to my clients :
Move daily – preferably something functional and strength-based like Pilates or weight lifting
Eat intentionally – favour veggies, healthy fats and protein, and be gentle with ‘treats’
Consider natural immune boosting infusions and herbal and vitamin supplements
Stretch your mind daily by doing difficult, uncomfortable cognitive tasks
Love your body enough to protect it
And above all, let’s stop being afraid. Age doesn’t define us unless we let it.
OUR ETHOS
Energy work is at the heart of all our retreats. It offers a myriad of benefits that go beyond mere symptom relief, and constitutes a powerful tool for promoting overall well-being, from physical health and emotional healing to spiritual growth and self-empowerment. Whether used as a complementary therapy or as a standalone practice, healing transforms lives, unlocking the power within and helping our clients enjoy more balanced, fulfilling, and vibrant lives. If you’ve tried therapy, counselling or prescription medication and you are still struggling with unresolved symptoms, do please get in touch. This may be the breakthrough you have been looking for. You might like to read our many testimonials for evidence of the efficacy of our work.
