If you thought the secret to everlasting youth was held in a syringefull of Botox, then you were wrong.

While many women consider dabbling with syringes and the surgeon's knife in pursuit of youth, it turns out a bunch of Tibetan monks have had the answer tucked under their robes for centuries the Five Tibetan Rites.

This yoga routine is based on a ritual of five exercises and its anti-ageing effects are rumoured to be more powerful than Ann Robinson's plastic surgery.

The exercises were discovered by a British army colonel at the turn of the last century while he was living in a Himalayan monastery.

Years later, when he returned to Britain in his 70s, the old man looked like a spring chicken.

Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of the colonel's babylike complexion.

But there is always Brighton yoga teacher Julie Ridout.

The 36 year old, who looks more like a 20 something, could be living proof of the anti-ageing effects of the Five Tibetans or good genes.

You can find out for yourself at Julie's weekly yoga sessions at the Acupuncture Clinic, Hove.

She says once you discover FiveTibetan Yoga there's no going back.

"It's hard to explain but it just makes you feel amazing,"says Julie, whose first student was Zoe Ball.

"The good thing is that anyone can do them. As long as you practise them every day you'll get the results."

As well as turning back the clock, the five moves are said to boost energy levels and combat aches and pains.

The monks believed their exercises worked by making the body's seven chakras (energy centres) vibrate at the right frequency.

They thought these seven energy centres corresponded to seven endocrine glands which control ageing and body function.

By developing a system of exercises for the chakras, they could renovate these glands.

The five moves spinning, abdominal lift, the camel, table top and downward dog into the cobra are meant to be repeated 21 times for optimal results.

There is supposedly a sixth Tibetan rite but practitioners of this move are meant to be celibate and vegetarian.

"In a monastery, being celibate and vegetarian isn't too much of a problem but in the Western world, it's not really possible," laughs Julie.

Five Tibetans yoga classes are held on Tuesdays and Fridays, 11am-noon and Wednesdays 2-3 pm, at the clinic, Portland Road, Hove.

A one-hour class costs £5. Call Julie on 07930 314588 or the Acupuncture Clinic on 01273 722422. Or visit www.5tibetans.co.uk