When women get to a certain age, we start to concentrate a lot more on anti-ageing. Of course ageing is inevitable and we shouldn’t ever feel bad about it, but have you heard of face yoga? You haven’t? Then read on. Face yoga involves massage and exercises that stimulate the muscles, skin, and lymphatic system. This technique is designed to soften and relax your face muscles to help reduce tension, stress, and worry.
The benefits of face yoga have even been compared to a natural facelift that enhances your overall well-being as well. In addition to the possible reduction of the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, face yoga may promote increased lymphatic drainage leading to reduced puffiness and improved circulation. It sounds good, right?
Interestingly, many of the benefits of face yoga lie in the fact it simulates chewing. The importance of chewing to the proper development of the mouth and jaw – and the respiratory system as a whole – was popularised in ‘Breath’, a 2020 bestseller by American author James Nestor. So, keeping some sugar free gum with you to chew on at intervals throughout the day will not only keep your breath minty fresh and neutralise any bacteria but it may also help to keep you looking youthful too. There has been extensive research on chewing gum and behaviour and one area that has received considerable attention is chewing gum and stress reduction.
A 30-minute facial exercise program sustained over a few months is said to improve the facial appearance of middle-aged women, resulting in a younger appearance with fuller upper and lower cheeks. As the face ages, our skin naturally loses elasticity and fat pads between the muscle and skin become thinner.
Here are 5 yoga exercises for you:
Puff out your cheeks
Inhale through your mouth, puff out your cheeks, hold , and then exhale.
Lift those brows
Lift your brows upwards while pressing them downwards with your fingertips. Repeat this 10 to 12times per day. This will help to tone those muscles, relax tension, and lessen the appearance of wrinkles.
Smile and Kiss
Extend your lips as far as possible, as if you’re going to kiss, and then do a huge grin. Do at least 15 repetitions. This workout targets your cheeks and chin at the same time.
Eyelid stretches
Raise your brows and look upwards at the same moment. Then, while still looking up, softly close your eyelids. This stretching exercise can help keep our eyelids tight as we get older because they tend to droop.
Breathing
The skin and body, as well as our moods, are affected by respiratory changes. For example, shallow breathing makes the skin appear paler. Stress in today’s world constantly disturbs the natural breathing pattern. Deep breathing techniques, such as abdominal breathing and alternative nostril breathing, can help restore this equilibrium.
