As a yoga instructor, I hope also to be an eternal student – someone who continues to absorb, grow and branch out in ways that help me evolve as a teacher and a person. I find it both instructive and amusing to learn about some rather unconventional types of yoga such as puppy yoga and some other, rather silly trends as well. Another concept that I find interesting is of facial yoga or face yoga. This is something that claims to help slow down the skin aging process, reduce tension and eye strain.
What is face yoga?
If we exercise all other parts of the body, why not the face as well? The kind of face yoga that new age gurus recommend may not exactly be what was prescribed by ancient texts; however, it could be beneficial. As we stretch and workout different parts of the body to tone and shape muscles, we can do the same for the face. Not doing so could mean weak, slack or flabby facial tissue. Experts believe that we tend to unconsciously clench muscles in our face. The forehead, jaw, temples may become tense and stressed without us being aware of it. This may cause niggling aches and pains.
So, the aim of facial yoga is to give the muscles of the face a proper workout. This can help improve blood circulation and even help to tone and tighten the skin and underlying tissue is the understanding. At the same time, the exercise and stretching can help relax the neck and face, reducing stress. Some face yoga experts also claim that this can help to accentuate the facial bone structure and reduce some of the subcutaneous fat.
How to do face yoga
Some of the recommended facial yoga exercises are:
The jaw stretch – this requires you to pucker the lips, move them to the side and then lift and move your jaw towards that same side and then do the same on the other side. This is thought to target the jowls or the unwanted double chin.
Puffing out the cheeks – Fill up air in both cheeks and then transfer the air from one to another cheek before letting it out from between pursed lips.
Make a fish face – You know how kids suck in their cheeks and do that thing like a fish? That can help stretch and work out the cheeks.
Stick out your tongue – Let it go out as far as possible and you will notice that you’re using quite a few of your lower facial muscles.
Neck exercises – Doing neck rotations, sideways stretches, looking up at the ceiling and then bringing the chin down towards the chest can also be a part of the facial yoga routine; helping stretch and tone all the muscles in the area.
Finger-tip face massage – I find that it also makes sense to use gentle pressure and circular strokes to massage the facial skin regularly. It helps with circulation and keeps the skin firm and smooth. One good idea is to do this each day for a couple of minutes while washing the face, concentrating for a few seconds on each portion of the face.
Face yoga is doable anywhere at any time – at home, in office, while driving etc. If you’re self-conscious about doing it in front of others, try it next time you take a bathroom break!