An Inside-Out Approach to Healthy Aging
I've asked my friend Dr. Maud Meates Dennis to share how she discovered a key to make these rewarding prime time years last longer.
I write to you each week- and I hear back from you in your comments- about our intention to age gratefully and keep living in the contentment we’ve found for as long as we can. Once you finally find the joys of self-acceptance, community, giving back, and being “in flow” doing what you love, you don’t want to see this prime of your life interrupted by a physical setback.
It’s true-many people are diagnosed with a major illness or disease despite living a very healthy lifestyle. But on a daily basis, there is much we can do to proactively stay healthy longer and prevent limiting our freedom in our latest prime of life phase.
Cognitive decline is another of the ominous results of aging that can hit us out of nowhere. My mother’s life changed radically with the onset of dementia in her early 80s. There’s some research that says due to genetics, I am more likely to suffer dementia, too. But I don’t feel that it is automatically set on the GPS of my future. I’m not giving in now to thoughts of hopelessness and negativity about what may happen.
Recent research has found that though dementia runs in my family, there’s so much I can do to delay my own cognitive decline if (and I mean if) that does happen to me.
One of the most powerful tools to stay feeling younger longer and keep many age-related illnesses at bay is right inside us. Our thoughts and our mindset have the power to keep us physically healthy for more years.
From my collaborations with many other pro-age writers, activists, and influencers, I’ve met Dr. Maud Meates Dennis, a now retired physician from New Zealand. She has combined her medical background with her own age 50+ journey of heartbreak and physical decline to now focus her efforts on awareness and solutions to “disconnect” a person’s chronological age (over which we have not control) and their biological age. This process makes it possible to reduce your age internally so it can remain more youthful than your actual age.
She’s my guest columnist this week to share with you her story of how a difficult time at midlife revealed to her a new path to her latest phase of prime time and her program, Defy Age Limits. Read her story below:
That moment was a turning point. I realized that despite what my external world looked like, I could still feel joy that was sparked by my thoughts.
I was approaching 50 when I first considered the impact of aging. Up until then, life had been moving forward without much thought about the future.
I spent the first half of my life on a hamster wheel—working long hospital hours, ignoring self-care, and never thinking about my future health. But then a combination of tragedy and the onset of menopause pushed me down to a low point both emotionally and physically.
My stepson, Josh, died in a tragic motorbike accident. It felt as if the shine had gone from life. Soon after I began feeling the onset of menopause, and I felt like my body had got a mind of its own- and one that was at odds with me. I felt as if I had no control over my body and often my emotions.
I hated the feeling of helplessness.
Then one day, something shifted. While I was driving in the city, I saw the snow-capped mountains rising majestically in the distance. The snow was glistening in the sun and the sky was blue with no clouds to be seen. I was overwhelmed by the natural beauty I saw and, for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt joy.
That moment was a turning point. I realized that despite what my external world looked like, I could still feel joy that was sparked by my thoughts. It caused me to wonder, if I could control my emotions, maybe I could take control of my physical state as well?
I felt empowered. it was a huge shift.
Shortly after this shift, I discovered Dr. Bruce Lipton and his book, The Biology of Belief. Suddenly everything clicked in my mind, and I realized I have the power to influence my biology and reprogram my cells so I could determine how I looked and felt - irrespective of my age and beyond what DNA or genetics forecasted for me.
Dr. Lipton’s book shares his experiments and those of other leading-edge scientists along with the latest research in cell biology and quantum physics. These discoveries have unraveled the profound connections between the mind, body, and spirit. It is now widely recognized that genes and DNA do not control our biology. Instead, they are controlled by signals from outside the cell, including energetic messages emanating from our thoughts and emotions.
In short, I learned that our bodies can be changed as we retrain our thinking.
This book led me to immerse myself in the study of epigenetics and energy medicine. I spent thousands of hours reading, studying, and learning steps to rejuvenate my cells. Not just to feel younger and live longer but to free myself from worries about aging so I can live a vibrant, healthy life at every age.Not just to feel healthier but to free my thoughts from the limitations that aging can bring to us.
Your Thoughts Can Hold the Key to Healthy Aging
Many studies support the power of the mind in increasing longevity and health as you age. One study from Yale University showed that having a positive perception of aging in your 50’s can extend your life by seven and a half years. That’s a huge increase in longevity with just thought!
Harvard University professor Ellen Langer conducted many studies demonstrating how mindset affects health in general as well as aging. In one study looking at chambermaids in New York City hotels, she showed that simply believing their work counted as exercise improved health parameters of the participants without any additional effort. Conversely, she found that just 15 minutes after listening to negative words about aging, people’s walking slowed.
Perceptions about aging in your thoughts can add years to your life and health to your years or they can lead you to act and feel older. Isn’t it amazing to know you can choose a more positive aging experience?
So, let’s say you choose to take control and defy age limits - what does that even look like?
Defying age limits involves uncoupling your chronological age from your biological age. Your chronological age determines the number of candles on your cake, while your biological age (aka metabolic age) determines how you look and feel. These two don't have to match. In fact, as your chronological age increases, you want your biological age to be slowing or even reversing - what I call a biological age reset.
You've probably heard of people who are aged 60 but have the body or metabolic age of a 40-year-old. That’s a biological age reset.
Your biological age is determined by the health and efficiency of your cells. You have control over the health and efficiency of your cells, and keeping them healthy is referred to as cellular rejuvenation. Cellular rejuvenation isn’t about going backwards or trying to relive an earlier age. It’s about giving yourself more time—time to feel vibrant, to thrive, and to live a longer, healthier life.
I like to think of healthy aging like an intricate piece of choreography with many movements coming together to create a beautiful dance. There’s a lot that flows together in the final piece, but we learn it step by step.
A lot of people are eager to proactively manage their health and pursue cellular rejuvenation, but there’s so much information it can be overwhelming or even confusing to know where to start. There’s always another advertisement for the ‘next best miracle molecule’ in terms of healthy aging. And yet, the miracle is really our body and what goes on inside.
We have trillions of cells with billions of reactions per cell per second. Some reactions are specifically designed for cellular rejuvenation. We can activate these cellular rejuvenation mechanisms by what we do. These things we do are
referred to as “biohacks,” or protocols, or maybe just healthy aging habits. They reprogram the cells to be healthier and more efficient, thus rejuvenating them.
I like to think of healthy aging like an intricate piece of choreography with many movements coming together to create a beautiful dance. There’s a lot that flows together in the final piece, but we learn it step by step.
One of the keys to unlock the body’s natural healthy aging mechanisms is to truly notice our thoughts and what they are saying to us. This awareness is the key to proactively shifting our thoughts and improving their quality.
Some other simple steps to begin cellular rejuvenation are embracing daily gratitude and developing a routine of deep breathing. I’m a believer in the power of breathwork to transform mental and thus physical health. Finally, there are simple tweaks that can be made to lifestyle which act at a cellular level. I’ve seen firsthand what it’s done for me and those I’ve shared my systems with.
Please drop a comment below with any questions or share your own experience with cellular rejuvenation and what it’s done for your health. You can also find me at Defy Age Limits.
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'Our thoughts and our mindset have the power to keep us physically healthy for more years.'
What an interesting and helpful perspective, Sally, thank you for bringing us Dr. Maud's work, I will look forward to reading The Biology of Belief. I am acquainted with the perspective that how we think can affect how we live in our bodies, but this added scientific validation of how a positive outlook works at the cellular level is so helpful, and inspiring. I particularly paused at this line, because I am all about aligning these three elements: "These discoveries have unraveled the profound connections between the mind, body, and spirit."