What is facial yoga? Plus, 5 exercises to try at home. Like going to the gym to keep your body in shape, these yoga-inspired exercises are said to tone your facial muscles to keep you young.
You know exercise makes you look and feel your best. But will stretching exercises to the face have the same effect?
Maybe. That’s the idea behind facial yoga, a growing trend that claims to give a facelift without the need for surgery, needles or even expensive skin care products. Some have turned to face yoga as a do-it-yourself method for younger-looking skin.
What is facial yoga?
Firstly: Face yoga doesn’t involve the usual Savasana or downward facing dog pose that you already know from your yoga practice. “Yoga” is just a catchy way of saying facial exercises that help move your facial muscles into certain positions – just like yoga for your body. The idea is that doing these facial yoga exercises will keep your face firm and youthful, lifting sagging and sagging areas.
“The goal is to create a self-care moment in which you improve blood circulation for a healthy glow and relieve tension,” says Dr. Elsa Jungman, founder of a skin-focused skincare brand. tension as well as facial tension. microbiome and a face yoga advocate based in San Francisco.
Most people have facial tension, whether it’s facial expressions or screen time. “All of these daily activities create patterns in the way we use our face and the specific muscles we use,” says Dr. Jungman. “That’s why we wanted to focus more on releasing and softening our face to remove these patterns and any facial tension.”
The touted benefits of face yoga
Facial yoga is said to help counteract these effects. According to two popular programs, Happy Face Yoga and Face Yoga Method, facial yoga helps:
- Release tension, which can minimize the appearance of stretch lines
- Strengthens and tightens facial muscles to finally open eyes, lift cheekbones, and firm jawline
- Increase circulation and blood flow to the skin making the skin glow
- Lines and wrinkles
- Resist the effects of gravity
Some dermatologists say there is some truth to these claims. “The goal of facial yoga is to boost your skin’s blood and oxygen supply,” says Deborah Longwill, DO, board-certified dermatologist at Miami Dermatology Center in Florida and co-founder of Doctor’s Daughter. , which improves the lifespan of cells”. . Skin Care. “This leads to glowing, rejuvenated skin.”
Lucy Chen, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Riverchase Dermatology in Miami, also claims that you can reduce visible signs of aging by toning your muscles through specific exercises. body for the face.
However, it should be noted that there isn’t much research on facial yoga or facial exercises. The most promising and often cited support comes from research published in JAMA Dermatology. In the study, a group of participants between the ages of 40 and 65 did facial exercises for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks. Then, for another 12 weeks, they do the exercises three to four times a week. At the end of 20 weeks, study participants saw an improvement in fullness in the upper and lower cheeks. They also looked younger at the end of the study, with two dermatologists estimating the average age of the participants to be 50.8 at the start of the study and 48.1 at 20 weeks.
However, as the JAMA Dermatology study authors noted, their sample of participants was small, the results were modest, and the study did not include a control group. And keep in mind that facial exercises won’t change your skin’s texture, according to Harvard Health Publishing, although moving and stretching scarred skin during facial yoga can reduce the appearance of scars. appearance of scars.
Potential risks of facial yoga
Relying on facial yoga for your anti-aging regimen can also backfire. Some experts suggest that grimaces this way can actually lead to more wrinkles.
“Many facial wrinkles – for example, crow’s feet, smile lines, and forehead wrinkles – are the result of repetitive action of the muscles of the face, such as the muscles of the face,” says Dr. Chen. frown or smile. “Some people wonder if regularly pulling on the face and working those muscles can create wrinkles.”
Consider botulinum toxin (Botox), which works by “freezing” facial muscles to minimize the appearance of wrinkles. With face yoga, you’re doing the opposite, and if done too vigorously or incorrectly, Chen says facial yoga can actually accelerate signs of aging.
Not to mention sweaty hands carry dirt, oil and bacteria that can clog pores and cause breakouts. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends not touching your face to help prevent acne.
5 face yoga exercises to try at home
Want to try? Here are five exercises used in the JAMA Dermatology Study. Jungman recommends starting out with 5 to 10 minutes a day, then gradually increasing to 15 to 20 minutes a day as part of your skin care routine and self-care practices.
Cheek lift
Open your mouth and form an O. Place your upper lip over your teeth and smile to lift your cheek muscles. Gently place your index finger on your cheek muscles, just below your eyes. Relax the cheek muscles to lower them. Then smile again, remembering to push the muscles towards your eyes. Repeat the lowering and lifting of the cheeks 10 times. On the 10th rep, you lift the muscle as high as you can and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat three times.
Happy cheek sculpture
Smile without showing your teeth and purse your lips as if trying to expose as much of your lips as possible. Try smiling with the corner of your mouth, you will feel a slight burn at the corner of your mouth. Press your index fingers to the corners of your mouth and slide your fingers up your cheekbones while pressing on your muscles. Lift the muscles up the cheekbones, toward the corners of the eyes. When you reach the top of your cheekbones, hold the pose for 20 seconds and feel the muscles in your cheeks tightening. Keep a smile on the corners of your mouth as you do this. Repeat three times.
Eyebrows
Press three fingers under each eyebrow to force your eyes to open. Smile while trying to lower your eyebrows above your fingers. Sockets. Then close your eyes and roll your eyeballs overhead. Hold the pose for 20 seconds and keep smiling. Release and repeat three times.
Firmer jaw and neck
Open your mouth and make an “aah” sound. Fold your lower lip and corners of your lips into your mouth and hold tight as you bring your lower jaw forward. Using your lower jaw, slowly lift as you close your mouth, pulling your chin about 1 inch each time you lift and tilt your head back. Open and close your lower jaw 10 times. At the 10th spoon, your chin should be facing the ceiling. Hold this pose for 20 seconds and think about the corners of your face. Repeat three times.
Temple developer
Press your fingertips to your temples as you close your jaw, clench your teeth, and tilt your chin up. Grind your teeth and focus on the temple area, thinking about trying to move your ears back. Hold for 10 seconds, then clench your teeth and hold for 10 seconds. Your temporal muscles must flex with each contraction. Relax and then repeat three times 바카라사이트.