More and more people are practicing it, including celebrities whose young looks we envy. What are we talking about? Face yoga. Madonna, known for her perfect face condition, a minimum of visible wrinkles has been using it for 20 years. Her yoga master, Eddie Stern claims the best way to preserve a young look is … a relaxed face.
Probably a lot of us also feels like we could use some help turning back the clock, right? Why not instead of relying solely on professional anti-aging treatments – try something different!
What is it?
Face yoga is a kind of face gymnastics that aims to restore the skin’s firmness, improve blood circulation, eliminate toxins, smooth and prevent wrinkles, and as a result, lighten the skin and rejuvenate it.
First of all, face yoga is based on a holistic system of techniques derived from yoga and Ayurveda. It combines elements of meditation, reiki and massage techniques. Its scope includes face exercises, face massage, acupressure, and relaxation. Most noteworthy, speaking of facial yoga, the most important thing we should know is that it is a natural weapon in a fight with wrinkles. The face has over 50 muscles that can be practiced just like any other. Face yoga techniques are designed in a way to exercise them. First increasing muscle strength, and secondly stimulating the production of collagen and elastin in the middle layer of the skin.
First effects
Thanks to regular training, face muscles increase their volume and their tension improves. The first effects can be seen after 2-3 weeks – the skin is visibly tense thanks to the natural lifting. Importantly, the exercises can be performed at any time and almost anywhere – in front of the morning toilet, in the car while standing in traffic, in the evening while watching TV, and even at work in front of the computer monitor. All you need to do is spend a few minutes on exercises that help keep skin firm and alleviate the effects of aging.
How does it work?
It’s primarily work with face and neck muscles. In total, we use 57 muscles, thanks to which we say whether we blink, but also express emotions. Muscles that we do not exercise with age lose their strength and firmness, which affects the appearance of wrinkles on the face. Wrinkles, as we know, are the result of repetitive movements of muscle contraction for many years. Exercises of facial muscles work in the same way as muscles in the body. Thanks to specially developed techniques, we increase their strength, thanks to which we slow down the process of losing muscle mass. The skin combined with facial muscles, thanks to strengthening their strength and firmness, looks smooth and youthful for many years. By slowing down the process of muscle tissue degradation, muscles retain their firmness for longer, and this translates into slowing down the process of wrinkle formation.
How to start practicing facial yoga?
If face yoga is new to you, before you start individual exercises, take a few lessons with an instructor who will explain how to do the most important exercises to avoid hurting yourself. In addition, as a professional, he will assess which parts of the face require the most intensive training and which exercises will help to overcome imperfections.
Once you’ve mastered the basic techniques and information about yoga, there’s nothing that prevents you from starting independent exercises. At the beginning, however, it is worth to do them in front of a mirror to control muscle movements – this will avoid possible bad habits in the future. Remember to always exercise carefully and without hurry and keep moderation. Too often raising eyebrows, wrinkling the forehead and smiling may work the opposite and deepen wrinkles!