Have you thought Face Yoga is a new quickly rising trend? Well, then you’ll be surprised to hear it’s actually not.
Face actually exercise dates all the way back to the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Some historians claim face exercise kept her jowls at bay. Even Jack LaLanne, TV’s “godfather of fitness,” was a proponent of face exercise. “You know why so many of you students look older than your years?” LaLanne asked his audience. “And why your jowls are hanging and your chin is hanging and your neck’s all craggy looking? … Because your muscles are out of shape!”
Today many celebrities swear on face exercise including Madonna and Cindy Crawford. Meghan Markle, for example, uses face yoga exercises to keep the volume in her cheeks.
WHAT IS FACE YOGA?
Face yoga is a workout for your facial muscles. I know, how are you supposed to work out with your face right? Well, we all know that training the body muscles gets them toned, in shape and helps release tension. So why would our face be any different?
You have more than 50 muscles in your face all closely connected. The muscles on the face are similar to those in the body. With one exception some of the facial muscles also connect to the skin and so help us express our emotions through our mimics while rounded muscles surrounding our mouth, eyes and ears help us speak, eat, blink and hear.
Due to lack of proper facial movement some muscles on the face get too tense, while some muscles become weak and atrophied. Atrophied muscles are dramatically influenced by the gravitation and aging process and so they soon start to sag and lose volume. This is the reason why you begin to see wrinkles and double chin on your face sooner than expected. But don’t fret! Face Yoga exercises help us get our muscles back in shape.
You only have to learn to do it right.
Your face consists of 70% muscle and bone, 10% fat and 20% skin. By doing face yoga you are taking care of the biggest portion and so affecting not only the position, volume and strength of the muscle but also the distribution of facial fat pads which are surrounding the muscles and bone density. Yes, regular face workout helps improve bone density as well as the body workout does.
HOW FACE YOGA AFFECTS YOUR MUSCLES?
If done right, face yoga in the first place helps to release tension from the overworking muscles. Due to super stressful lifestyles our muscles (especially masticatory muscles + muscles of the forehead and area between the eyebrows) become tense. This is not only creating the so-called “bulky jaw” and forehead lines but can also lead to teeth grinding, headaches, migraines, dizziness, …
On the other hand face yoga activates atrophied muscles, strengthening them and building volume.
This is why practicing face yoga in the longer term (approximately 6 months) brings prominent improvements in your facial form and structure.
HOW CAN FACE YOGA AFFECTS YOUR SKIN?
The skin closely connects to the muscle. To get a better picture, start imagining the skin as the balloon and muscles as the air that fills it. If there is enough air in the balloon, the balloon is going to be tense and prone. If there isn’t enough air in the balloon, it will lose its shape and start getting wrinkly and spongy. It’s the same with our skin. If the muscles are toned, lifted and voluminous, the skin will have a place to lay on and stay smooth.
Working out your face muscles also improves blood circulation bringing more oxygen and nutrients not only to the muscles but also to the deepest layers of the skin. This process helps to improve the production of collagen and elastin making your skin more prone but most of all glowing!
HOW CAN FACE YOGA AFFECT YOUR WELL-BEING AND HEALTH?
I love facial exercise not only because it helps to reduce wrinkles and slows down the aging process but mostly because it has helped me to feel better. Improved circulation in the brain enhances concentration, memory, keeps headaches at bay and boosts my energy. Some exercises also help me to relax and unwind after work.
When I was dealing with my hormonal imbalance, I started to research a lot about how the glands work. I learned that 3 of our most essential glands are located in our skull. They are named the Hypothalamus, Pineal and Pituitary gland.
We often refer to the Pituitary gland as the “master gland” because its hormones control other parts of the endocrine system, namely the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, ovaries, and testes. Hypothalamus is responsible for our reaction to stress while the Pineal gland produces the biggest antioxidant and rejuvenating hormone – melatonin, which also helps us sleep better.
Chinese medicine teaches us that we are born with glands that resemble juicy grapes but when we die they are dried out looking like a raisin. Our goal is to keep them active by continually improving blood circulation and oxygen to every cell.
As the saying goes “beauty comes from the inside.” When our blood and energy are flowing, and when our hormones are balanced we radiate health and positivity. That is when we start to glow from within and live a happy, balanced life.
HOW TO DO FACE YOGA IN THE RIGHT WAY?
As Face yoga is so super effective and does not cost a fortune to learn, it is gaining recognition and popularity super fast. This is why searching for the right exercises and workout routine can be overwhelming yet it is crucial to get good quality exercises (based on facial anatomy and muscle connections) and the right workout plan. You can find many exercises on the internet but unfortunately most of them are not structured well and so do not bring good results.
As the muscles on the face are strongly interconnected doing one exercise “here and there” focusing on your critical area only just won’t work. This is why you should follow a well structured program which activates all facial muscles step – by – step. From the outer muscle layers all the way to the smallest muscles in the inner muscle layers.
How to spot good quality face exercise? Each facial exercise should focus on creating resistance and opposite resistance as this is the only way where the muscles can be built and strengthened. When a beginner make sure you choose the exercises that are done slowly and in a static way (holding the pose as long as you can). In that way you will be able to control your movements and focus on activating + releasing tension from the muscles. This is also how our Glowinface exercises and workout programs are structured. Our client’s results speak for themselves. You can feel safe in our hands.