7 Face Yoga Asanas You Can Do Anywhere, Anytime For Healthier, Younger-Looking Skin
We invest in our body by running, walking, or exercising in some way every day to stay fit, sculpted, and looking toned. Now, extend the same idea to your face and you've got face yoga. An exercise that runs deeper than serums, moisturisers, and retinol creams, face yoga is a unique and beneficial practice to keep your skin looking younger for a longer time.
It can help prevent sagging, reduce ageing signs like fine lines, wrinkles, laugh lines, and also, activate the blood flow in your skin. Good blood circulation = Glowing, smooth, supple skin. Consider face yoga nature’s anti-ageing solution, and try and incorporate it into your daily routine—after all, it can literally be done anytime, anywhere!
Simply Put, What Is Face Yoga
Just like yoga asanas that work on your body, face yoga is about activating your facial muscles to make them appear more toned and improve your skin’s flexibility (elasticity).
So, how does face yoga work?
Face yoga uses a variety of massages and exercises that specifically target your face, neck, and shoulder region. A 20-week research undertaken to study the effectiveness of facial exercises in delaying the signs of skin ageing revealed that they are indeed helpful in maintaining the youthfulness of your skin. They strengthen the facial muscles of your face, making you look younger for longer. People who regularly practice face slimming exercises and exercises to reduce face fat have seen visible results.
8 Benefits Of Face Yoga For Healthy Skin
Following a daily face yoga routine has more benefits than one. Let’s take a look at them:
- Eases facial tension
- Improves mental health
- Strengthens facial muscles
- Tightens your skin
- Diminishes fine lines
- Softens your wrinkles and crow’s feet
- Increases blood circulation
- Reduces puffiness
7 Face Yoga Asanas You Can Do Anytime, Anywhere
Ideally, you should incorporate face yoga into your routine once a day, and better still, it should be right after you’ve applied your skincare products—morning or night.
Another great tip is to use facial oils to hydrate the skin and improve its elasticity before you start. For example, this Destress & Pain Relief Oil by EPIONE is a fantastic essential face oil to add to your face yoga practice. It works as a muscle relaxant, reduces skin stress, and has a calming effect on your skin.
Once you've applied the oil, begin your practise by slowing down and breathing with self-awareness; slow, steady, deep breaths, in from the nose, out from the mouth. Then, relax your shoulders, neck, and your entire face. Now, try these face yoga asanas based on the areas you wish to target:
-
Face Yoga To Get Rid Of Under Eye Bags & Puffiness
Step-by-Step:
- Press both of your middle fingers together at the inner corner of your eyebrows and then with your index fingers.
- Apply some pressure to the outer corners of your eyebrows.
- Now look towards the ceiling to lift the skin below your eyes upwards, and then squint, and then relax. Repeat this six more times.
- Wrap up by squeezing your eyes shut tightly for 10 seconds.
- Face Yoga To Get Rid Of A Sagging Neck & Chubby Jawline
-
Step-by-Step:
- Tilt your chin to the top right side of your body at a slightly upper angle. Now pucker up your lips like you're kissing someone.
- Hold this pose for five seconds and relax. Repeat three times.
- Do the same with the left side of your face.
- Next, jut your lower lip out as much as you can and then pull the corner of your mouth downward.
- With the chin facing up, place your fingertips on your collarbone. Hold this pose for four breaths.
- Face Yoga For Lifted & Sculpted Cheeks
-
Step-by-Step:
- Put your index fingers and middle fingers near the bottom of your face.
- Now slowly glide your fingers up your face with the index fingers, going up the smile lines and then stop around the nose.
- Next, slide the middle fingers up the rest of your cheeks.
- Your fingers will move into a V-position as they slide up your face. Repeat this for a whole minute.
- Face Yoga To Release Neck & Upper Back Tension
-
Step-by-Step:
- Gently tilt back your head and then use your fingers to tap across the front of your neck lightly.
- Gradually move up and cover your cheek area, along with the mouth. Go gently under the eyes, and onto your temple. Do this for a whole minute.
- Face Yoga To Reduce For Forehead Lines
-
Step-by-Step:
- Put your middle and index fingers of both hands on the hairline on your forehead.
- Slide those fingers down toward your eyebrows while pressing down firmly with the length of each finger.
- Simultaneously lift your eyebrows while you do step 2. Hold for 10 seconds, take a deep breath and release.
- Do this three times, holding the last one for a bit longer. Do the sequence one more time if you want to.
- Face Yoga To Prevent Droppy Eyelids
-
Step-by-Step:
- Place your middle fingers on the inside corner of your eyes and your index fingers on the outside of your eyes (the same as in crow’s feet yoga).
- As you squint with your lower eyelids you can feel the muscles under your fingertips tighten.
- Do this ten times while you keep your upper eyelids open.
- Hold the final squint for a bit longer and repeat the session once.
- Face Yoga To Reduce Your Double Chin
-
Step-by-Step:
- Keeping your posture upright and your neck straight, press your lower lip over your upper lip.
- Now, smile and lift the corners of your lips.
- Next, use your palms to rub the underlying muscle as firmly as possible a few times.
- Do this for a minute. If you start feeling a strain on your neck, stop.
All these yoga asanas also double as exercises to lose face fat. The facial exercises reduce face fat and also help give you a more slender-looking neck, improve your skin's appearance, and relax the tension in your upper back and shoulder muscles.
4 Do’s & Don’ts Of Face Yoga
The following tips will ensure you get the most out of your face workouts. Time to get your notepad out:
- Become More Aware Of Your Face
This small everyday habit makes a big difference in how you treat and perceive your face. It's not just the exercises that affect it. Whether you're drinking from a straw or touching your face throughout the day—all these activities initiate much-needed movement of your facial muscles, ensuring that they stay fit.
- Drink Warm Water For Hydration
Drink warm water every day to hydrate your skin from the inside. Not that water at room temperature should be avoided altogether, but lukewarm water is a better substitute to make your skin cells work better. This, in turn, enables your skin to stay plump and fresh.
- Be Gentle With Your Eyes
Make sure that you're treating your under-eye and the region around your eye with utmost care while you do your facial exercise, and also when you’re applying your skincare products. The skin around your eyes and lips is extremely thin and delicate, which is why it’s so prone to wrinkling, discolouration, and dark patches.
- Don’t Sleep On Your Side
Sleeping in the wrong position can cause wrinkles due to prolonged nightly compression on one side of your face. This compression leads to the skin forming lines and deep creases like crow's feet. It also causes smile lines and laugh lines to appear on your face. Young lines disappear quickly but they can morph into permanent wrinkles over time.
Face yoga is a holistic practice. There is so much more that you can do on your own like face oil massages, DIY masks, and healthy eating to help your skin age gracefully and prevent any signs of early ageing. So the next time you're watching TV or sitting at your desk, try and get at least one face yoga asana in to use your time cleverly.