If you’ve never heard of face yoga, you’re not the only one. I wasn’t even aware this practice existed before finding this post on fave beauty blog Into the Gloss. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the benefits of face yoga, I want to preface this by saying that self love and self acceptance are extremely important in the aging process. That doesn’t however exclude wanting to look our best and using tools to allow us to accomplish this.
At 43 years old I’m starting to see the consequences of spending too much time in the sun when I was younger and even (brace yourself for the horror) using tanning beds (what can I say, it was another era). Since then, I’ve discovered how important daily application of SPF is but some of the damage was done unfortunately.
I invest in face creams to keep my skin looking its best but what I’ve learned from various face yoga articles is that it starts from the inside out. The facial expressions and muscles used for this are in big part responsible for the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and sagging of the skin.
The good news is: we can reverse some of those signs of aging with daily face yoga exercises and I’ve found the way to incorporate this practice easily.
I like doing my face yoga when driving, while watching TV or even while working (alone of course) so that I don’t necessarily have to set aside a 10-20 minute chunk of time for this practice.
If you search for “face yoga” on You Tube you will find a plethora of how-to videos but the one below featuring Ranjana Khan (a former model, current jewelry designer and wife to designer Naeem Khan) is a fave. The video takes you through a series of face “poses” that are supposed to tighten the skin around problem areas (crows feet, laugh lines, jowls).
Being a curious girl who is willing to try almost anything at least once, I decided to give it a go and did the face exercises along with her. I should give you a fair warning, you can’t take yourself too seriously if you are going to try this out as Ranjana mentions at the beginning of the video.
There are a lot of silly faces and funny moments but I see it as part of the process. Having a good laugh and letting it all go are great stress relievers. Plus, I figure, if I can look as glowing as Ranjana Khan does at 57, it’s worth looking a bit bonkers for 3-5 minutes.
Here are the main “problem areas” face yoga focuses on: forehead wrinkles, “eleven” lines, crow’s-feet, laugh lines, neck and jaw line.
This Goop article on face yoga does a good job of explaining how certain exercises help to “turn back the clock” and reduce the signs of aging.
If you don’t want a full on video but you’re a visual gal like me, I often refer to this article with photos when I need a reminder of the key “poses” to do on the daily.
Let me know if you give this practice a try and if you were able to stay committed. Any new routine starts as discipline but turns into habit when you repeat it often enough (at least 30 days in a row). Geneviève xo
Feature photo: goop.com