If you feel fed up every time you look in the mirror and are faced with a tired image with sunken cheeks and drooping skin looking back at you, then it’s high time to take stock of the situation. Aging is a natural process that cannot be stopped; yet, it can be slowed down by taking proper care of your body. Mahayana Isabelle Dugast has year of experience of nutrition, wellness and beauty from all over the world, from the most ancient and esoteric treatments of the east to the most up to date and mainstream. She qualified with the Association of Natural Medicine in the UK in 1993, and moved to Ireland in 1994 where she co-founded ‘The Crystal Connection’ healing centre. She has built an extraordinary wealth of information and has created a treasure trove of practical advice and youth maintaining secrets. Mahayana runs regular workshops where she helps people focus on good health and well being, and how to live their lives in a more fulfilling way. A French national, who has lived in Cork for 15 years, Mahayana has recently published a ‘Complete Rejuvenation Manual for Men & Women, called ‘Anti-Ageing Secrets’. The book covers ‘basic rejuvenating secrets’, ‘free rejuvenating secrets’, ‘unusual rejuvenating secrets and costly rejuvenating secrets’, as well as recipes, exercises and rituals. This 42-year-old mother of three sons invited RSVP into her home to share some of her tips and secrets on how we can look and feel much better for longer – she started by suggesting ways people could slow down the ageing process.
‘You should start by working on your gratitude level by simple writing down the things that you are grateful for at the end of every day, it may be that you are grateful to your children or your husband of grateful for having had a good day. I know it might seem unusual in a book about anti-aging but believe me when I tell you that a bit more self-awareness will work wonders for keeping you looking years younger, after all, peace looks beautiful on everyone! Following that, I would recommend learning what foods are good for you and learn to enjoy them. It’s really just about re-training and it is much easier than you might think. For example, try to break the habit of rewarding yourself with a plate of chips or chocolate cake and replace treats with something that is a little better for you. Food is meant as a medicine to heal and feed the body, it is not supposed to be something we eat when we are unhappy. ”Treating ourselves” with a bottle of wine and some cigarettes is like killing ourselves. Instead, give up the cigarettes and cut down on the wine and treat yourself with a day at a spa once a month by saving all the money you formely spent on cigarettes. It’s really about educating the thought process from what we’ve been fed by the media and to re-training ourselves into the simpler things.
We have become very image conscious and frightened of growing old, why do you believe this is the case?
Yes we are overly image conscious, everybody seems obsessed with how good they look and the whole subject has developed into a huge business that is feeding off people’s insecurities. People need to realise that they can feel and look wonderful just by lifestyle changes and that they don’t need to spend a lot of money on expensive creams or beauty or cosmetic procedures. The way you feel, the state of your health and well being and your emotional health determines how good you look. Sadly a lot of people think it works the other way around, for instance, if someone is running around really stressed or completely tense and upset, they wear it on their faces and body and no amount of surgery or Botox is going to make them look well. Beauty really is from within.
Cosmetic surgery has really taken off in the recent years. Can you tell if somebody has had work done?
Hopefully not, but more often than not, you definitely can, especially if it has been excessive. A little freshening up with a small bit of Botox or a little filler is not going to be a problem, but some people get addicted to it and overdo it to the point that it completely changes the shape of their face. There comes a time where it is more gracious to accept where you are at gracefully, there is no point in trying to look like a 30 year old when you are 60, instead simple look like a beautiful and fresh 60 year old. The thing about the Celtic Tiger is that some people went overboard on cosmetic surgery and now that we are in recession people are coming back to themselves and to the more simple things in life, out of necessity I might add. Through the loss of ‘material stuff’ we are learning again to be content with the small things and the more natural elements of life rather than the fantastic things, and believe me, when it comes to anti-aging products, the simpler and the cheaper are often the best. You don’t have to spend vast amounts of money, yet we have been programmed to believe the more we spend, the better the results. That is not the case. Those creams that people buy for hundreds of euros won’t stop the aging but there are some things you can do to slow down the process.
Your book is full of so many anti aging tips and secrets – what are your favourite ones?
Give up guilt! You can change you lifestyle but if you indulge in some food or drink that ‘isn’t good for you’ from time to time, don’t feel guilty as this will only serve to make you feel worse. So if you feel like a doughnut or a piece of chocolate cake, have it and enjoy it! Don’t feel guilty and start regretting it, moderation is the secret to health and happiness. We are so far removed from what is good for us, many people are addicted to junk food like burgers, chips and fried food; there is a lot of that type of food eaten in this country. The reality is that we end up liking it because we’ve been programmed into liking things that are not natural to us, we should be eating more natural foods like salads and vegetable juices. There is nothing better than a pint of good vegetable juice to clear your skin. Lemon, celery, carrot, apple, garlic and ginger are all very beneficial to clear the autoimmune system. You know the line ‘you are what you eat’, well that is true, and I would add to this that you are what you think and how you feel.
What foods do you recommend to slow down the aging process?
Sprouting seeds. They are extremely easy to do and the benefit of eating them are nothing short of miraculous. A handful of sprouted seeds contains as much vitamins, minerals and enzymes as a regular serving of vegetable. You can get alfalfa, broccoli, lentil and mung bean seeds; you don’t need a sprouter, but make sure that you buy organic seeds. When they are ready to eat the tops are full of chlorophyll, another precious super-food which can rejuvenate the liver, has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, particularly useful for people who have arthritis or suffer from skin complaints. It is also a much sought after antioxidant, which will prevent the signs of aging. You can buy them in any health food store. Water is important, but one or one and a half litres a day is sufficient. A nice glass of homemade vegetable juice and a smoothie a day will give your body and skin plenty of moisture and will have you looking glowing.
What is the worst thing that a person can do in terms of ageing?
I would have to say smoking: there is nothing good that I could say about smoking, nothing at all. You can tell a smoker from their skin, because it looks dull, full of premature lines and it is dry. Smokers look and sound tired. Smoking is damaging even if it is only one cigarette a day. Excessive drinking is very aging also and terrible for one’s health. I come from France and we have a glass of wine or two with dinner. This helps to process heavy proteins is generally good for you; again we are talking about moderation. Drinking all night and particularly drinking spirits is very bad. The binge drinking, which is very common here particularly at weekends, is very, very aging and very bad for anyone’s health. We all know that so the choice is there…
What about your own lifestyle and diet, do you follow a very healthy routine?
I eat healthy 80% of the time, fish and meat twice a week. Then, 20% of the time, I eat treats and good quality gourmet food or even a home-made burger chips. It is important to treat your body with respect; after all, it serves you pretty well, another thing to be grateful for! Whoever says they have an addiction to salt, alcohol, chocolate or cigarettes, I dare them to try the 80%/20% suggestion. They will feel so much better that they will realise that feeling good is also addictive!
You also make your own skin creams?
Yes, there are many recipes in my book. My favourite is one for people aged 35 onwards, it has got a natural base of Aqueous cream, which is available in all chemists, added to this is evening primrose, avocado or a little bit of carrot oil, or if you don’t have any of that you can use olive oil. People have beautiful skin in the south of France because they use a lot of products made from olive oil, which is packed with vitamin E, very nourishing for the skin. In my cream I also use Rose and Frankincense essential oils, inspired from a recipe used since Egyptian times, it is absolutely wonderful to rejuvenate the skin.
Have you any tips on how to get rid of the dreaded cellulite?
I will tell you something, I have cellulite since I was 16 years old and I have tried everything but nothing works for cellulite. You may be really slim and still have cellulite and any cream that claims that it will eliminate cellulite will not work. I know because I have tried them all. You can reduce cellulite and make it appear less obvious but be clear that nothing can completely eliminate it (except surgery maybe). Exercise and diet is very important, particularly for those over the age of 30, so they can age gracefully. So it is fair to say that cellulite simply has to be accepted and made peace with. You have to live with it and learn to love it as part of your fabulous body. Men don’t mind cellulite, seemingly, it is us women who hate it. You can use things to increase the blood circulation, but the cellulite itself will not disappear. There are oils you can use like Rosemary, Ginger, Cypress and Lemon essential oils to improve blood circulation. I also design tailor-made body stimulating creams that will increase lymphatic drainage, so as to prevent any further build up of cellulite. The full elimination of cellulite is not obtainable through using a cream, you might as well know the truth, I wouldn’t like to disappoint people.
You also run workshops, can you tell me about those?
These are about personal empowerment. They run over weekends and cover improved well-being and self-awareness, learning to love and be loved, the ability to put your mind at your service instead of the other way around, the ability to access inner-peace and drive your own destiny, and to shrink all self-limitations. This seminar, spread over three month period, enables the student to develop their creative ability and access their full potential so that they can start living the life that is meant for them. Quite an experience!
Why do you think women are so obsessed with age while men don’t seem to be?
We have been conditioned to believe it. For instance, it is a know fact that actresses find it more difficult to get work over the age of 40 while older men are thought of as being sexy. Think of the grey haired George Clooney or Sean Conery! We look at older men and we see experience and find it charming and attractive, yet, most older women in our society until now were thought off as ‘past their prime’. What a shame! There is so much beauty in a woman who knows who she is. I think that this is changing however, as more and more mature and powerfully wise women are here to teach otherwise.
Do you find that men are taking more of an interest in how they look these days?
I think that they are just starting to take better care of themselves, which is really nice! They are not afraid of using moisturisers and scrubs, and why should they? When it comes to hair loss, what can I say: there are lots of sexy bald men out there, but some have a real self-esteem problem when they start to lose their hair. In that case, if it is going to affect the men’s confidence or lifestyle, we live in an age where everything is possible. Hair implants or any other cosmetic procedures may be used to boost one’s physical self-confidence, however it should be understood that no amount of cosmetic alteration will replace the well-being that comes from gaining personal empowerment. Peace, self-awareness, well-being and self-confidence are all attractive features, and are all available for anyone seeking to live a good life and develop to their fuller potential. Real success unfolds from within.
Interview by Paula Lenihan.