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re you seeing some signs of aging on your face? Perhaps you want to prevent them before they even happen. While aging is normal and inevitable, there are ways you can take to slow down the appearance of sunken cheeks and furrowed brows.
If you practice yoga and have perfected the child’s pose, you may be interested in doing face yoga to plump up your face. Before we get down into the exercises, let’s first discuss what face yoga is.
What is face yoga?
Face yoga is the practice of doing a series of exercises to tone the muscles in the face, which weakens as you age; hence, reducing the significant signs of aging. More than that, it’s also a great way to alleviate stress. It works by increasing the blood flow in the face, which helps bring out a more vibrant and healthier complexion.
You may be skeptical about its effectiveness, for it seems its just wishful thinking. But a study shows that for some women, doing facial exercises regularly for weeks result in fuller cheeks and a younger appearance.
This face contortion exercise is done for just a minute or more each day. For those who think they may get more wrinkles by doing this, know that frown and smile lines start to develop when you frown or grin for hours a day. Face yoga only takes a brief period of time. In the study mentioned above, no new wrinkles were observed after the experiment.
Facial muscle toning and strengthening can be done by applying pressure with your fingertips or using facial tools, or by making certain facial expressions that target specific muscles. Note that face yoga can’t completely eliminate all lines, but it can slow down or change the drift.
Benefits of face yoga
Aside from its anti-aging effects, below are some of the other benefits of face yoga.
- It helps release tension. Yoga helps make you calm. If you’re feeling a little too overwhelmed with what’s going on, sit quietly and do a couple of face yoga exercises to de-stress and tone your face.
- It can help get rid of the double chin. Neck and jaw facial exercises help eliminate that dreaded double chin that sags with aging. In Asian cultures, neck exercises are believed to improve youthfulness.
- It’s 100% natural. If you’re an advocate for natural living, face yoga is perfect for you: no needles, no undesirable ingredients, no toxins, and no harmful chemicals.
- It costs nothing. Unlike expensive creams and cosmetic procedures, facial yoga is completely free. If it costs nothing and only requires a couple of minutes of your day, why not give it a try?
Face yoga exercises you can try
Relax those tension-filled muscles and expressions, and give your face that natural facelift. Here are some face contortion exercises you can do one minute or so a day. Let’s get started!
1. Double V
The skin around your eyes ages quickly. This facial exercise works to improve your crow’s feet and sagging eyelids. Do this at least eight times a day for best results.
How to do it:
- Make a peace sign with both of your hands. Put your middle fingers on the inner edge of your eyebrows and the pointer fingers on the outer edge.
- Look to the ceiling. Apply moderate pressure as you lift the skin below the eyes upwards into a squint.
- Repeat about eight times and finish it off by squeezing your eyes closed tightly for 10 seconds.
2. Natural neck lift
This exercise helps with the loose skin in the neck and jaw. Do the exercise at regular intervals.
How to do it:
- Tilt your head back gently. You’ll feel a little stretch in your neck, and your will lips puff out, intensifying the stretch.
- Lay your fingers on each side of your neck, and caress the skin down to the collarbone.
3. Cheek lift
This exercise is designed to tone and strengthen the cheeks and push it against your skin’s natural gravity. It also defines your upper lip.
How to do it:
- Open your mouth and form a long “O.” Fold your upper lip over your front teeth.
- While holding the “O” form, smile to lift your cheek muscles.
- Place your index fingers lightly over your cheeks, right on top of the muscles sitting directly under the eyes. Relax the cheek muscles as you return to the original position.
- Smile again. Make sure to use the corners of your mouth to do so as you push the muscles toward your eyes. This one is a cheek lift “push-up.” Do it ten times.
- On your 10th cheek “push-up,” hold the cheek muscles up as high as you can and maintain the position for 20 seconds, after which, release and relax.
- Repeat this exercise three times.
Summing it up
Face yoga serves as your natural remedy against wrinkles and aging. Like other types of yoga, face yoga aims to tone the muscles and circulate the blood while giving you some meditation. As with other yoga exercises, this may take more practice before you get the hang of it.
Also read:
Face Yoga & Its Incredible Anti-Aging Effects Best Exercises to Try at Home!
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