We all know that physical exercise keeps you looking healthy and feeling your best. But what about doing workouts for the face, especially Face Yoga. Can they have similar effects? While many people have been looking for alternatives to their usual facials and procedures in favor of staying home and minimizing their risk of contracting COVID-19, some have turned to face yoga as a do-it-yourself approach to younger-looking skin. So you may even have seen many facial yoga before and after photos on social media. In this article, you will find all the information about facial yoga as well as best face yoga exercvises.
Does Face Yoga Cause Wrinkles?
This type of exercise does not resemble the traditional yoga with the usual Savasana or Down Dog. It involves facial exercises that move the muscles on your face into certain positions — yoga for the face. The idea is that performing these exercises will keep your face looking toned and young, lifting areas that are sagging and drooping, and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. “The aim is to create a moment of self-care where you improve blood circulation for a healthy glow and reduce stress and tension in your face,” says Elsa Jungman, PhD, a scientist, microbiome expert, and proponent of facial yoga based in San Francisco.
Everyone holds tension in their faces, whether through facial expressions or too much time in front of a screen. “All these daily activities cause patterns in how we use our face and the specific muscles we recruit,” Dr. Jungman says. “This is why we want to focus more on releasing and softening our faces to let go of these patterns and any held facial tension.”
Benefits of Facial Yoga
Facial yoga is said to help counter those effects. According to the claims of many facial yoga programs, face yoga can help to:
- Fewer headaches and less eye strain
- A release of stress and tension
- A new energetic appearance to the face with a healthy glow
- A holistic feeling of wellbeing which can benefit the mind and body
- Strengthen and tone facial muscles to ultimately widen eyes, raise cheeks, and firm up the jawline
- Increase circulation and blood flow to the skin, which makes the skin glow
- Smooth fine lines and wrinkles
- Counter the effects of gravity
- Reduce the appearance of scars
Does Face Yoga Really Work?
The basic premise of Facial yoga is that it helps to increase blood circulation to the face, neck, scalp and hair, enriching every cell with more oxygen and nutrients. At the same time, the technique supports the mind-muscle connection by using a variety of hands-on techniques such as massage, acupressure points, visualization and yoga breathing techniques.
Some dermatologists say there’s some truth to these claims. “The goal of face yoga is to increase the blood and oxygen supply to your skin, which improves the life of the cell,” says Deborah Longwill, DO, a board-certified dermatologist at Miami Center for Dermatology in Florida and cofounder of Doctor’s Daughter Skincare. “This leads to glowing and rejuvenated skin.”
Lucy Chen, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Riverchase Dermatology in Miami, also says you could reduce visible signs of aging by toning the muscles through specific facial exercise training. The process of changing the appearance of the skin on the face will depend on the regularity of the exercises. It is recommended to practice at least once per day. Alongside these exercises: good hydration, healthy eating habits, 8 hours of sleep per night and regular daily exercise for the body are also ways to optimise the effects of Face Yoga for a more youthful appearance.
Face Yoga Method
Beyond the benefits of changing the appearance, Face Yoga feels really good. After a few simple exercises, the face feels more toned as well as tingly and more vibrant. And certainly the increased circulation to the muscles not only improves their functioning, but one can feel more if they are constantly holding tension in the face. It is often these facial expressions that stick with us in the form of wrinkles or drooping of the skin. And of course practicing these exercises regularly brings our awareness to our breath helping us to breathe better and relax more fully. For a few examples of Face Yoga exercises try these:
Time needed: 15 minutes
A few examples of how to do Face Yoga Exercises:
- “The Kiss and Smile”
Definition of the lips, cheeks and jawline: Hold your head level and look straight ahead. Relax the jaw and tongue, breathing in and out through the nose. Make an exaggerated kissing position with your lips. Then make an exaggerated smile pulling the corners of your mouth as far as possible to your ears. Repeat 3 times. Return to the relaxed jaw and tongue position again for 3 deep breaths.
- “The Eye Squint”
Reducing puffiness of the lower and upper eyelids: Hold your head level and look straight ahead. Relax the jaw and tongue, breathing in and out through the nose. Place your two index fingers on the outer corners of the skin of the eyes. Gently pull the skin towards your temples and squeeze your eyes shut and open 3 times. Return to the relaxed jaw and tongue position again for 3 deep breaths.
- “The Lion”
Tonifying the neck and chin: Hold your head level and look straight ahead. Relax the jaw and tongue, breathing in and out through the nose. Then take a deep breath in and as you breath out, open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue as far as possible and make and exhaling sighing sound. Return to the relaxed jaw and tongue position for 3 deep breaths. Repeat this for 3 rounds.
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AUTHOR: ANNE
Hi! I am Anne. I am a fitness and wellness coach with over 25 years of experience in the Swiss Romande area. I am a Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher for 500 hours and for Training Teachers in Continuing Education. I am passionate about helping individuals reach their highest potential and dedicated to attaining and maintaining fulfilment and happiness in every aspect of life.
