As Astar Young was approaching the age of 65, it occurred to her that she didn’t have any plans in place for the years ahead. “I’ve always had a 5- or 10-year plan, from the moment I started work,” she says.
“I don’t know why I didn’t factor in 65. It was this distant number, then all of a sudden it was coming at me and, for the first time in my life, I had no idea where I was going.”
Young is an Auckland florist with her own YouTube channel, Astar’s Place. Adynamic woman who has always had energy to spare, she was alarmed to realise she had been subconsciously viewing 65 as the autumn of her life, the start of an inevitable decline.
Deciding to overhaul her health, she embarked on acleansing juice fast. It didn’t go well. Then, through friends, she was introduced to Paulina Giraldo-Perez and Raphael Aggio –aka Dr Pauli and Dr Rapha – two Auckland-based biological scientists who have stepped away from academia and started a health coaching practice, Konciencia.
Learning more about their programme, Young and her partner, civil engineer Steve Protheroe, 69, were keen to give it a go. “It is very much science-based,” explains Protheroe. “When they described the outcomes that they hoped to achieve for their clients, I thought I could benefit.”
Since the couple signed up in January last year, the Konciencia programme has transformed many aspects of their lives. “There was
