Everything You Need to Know About Face Yoga

What exactly is Face Yoga?

As a part of the ongoing quest to successfully age gracefully, people are looking for more and more natural options that are also wallet-friendly to help them look and feel their best selves. An increasingly popular method is practicing Face Yoga, which is known to benefit and stimulate not only the muscles and skin but also the lymphatic system, through massage. It helps reduce tension, stress, and anxiety, among others, by softening and relaxing the muscles present in your face. 

A small study has revealed that the exercises that Face Yoga demonstrates help improve the appearance of your face. As it is a natural alternative, it brings about results that last much longer than, say, fillers do. The massages and exercises target various muscles in your face, neck, and shoulders. Another study has found that practicing Face Yoga helps improve the structure and build of your face by strengthening the muscles that are present in your cheeks, jaw, and chin and under your eyes. Those who practice it reportedly love the fact that it makes them look much younger than their years. 

The founder of Danielle Collins' Face Yoga, Danielle Collins, describes that balanced face yoga consists of exercises, relaxation, and techniques employing acupressure, apart from massaging. It's also recommended to focus on your overall well-being, by sleeping well, eating healthy, and obviously, exercising the rest of your body, too. 

The best way to go about this is to create a routine that targets a specific area of concern in your face, such as crow's feet, frown lines, or a double chin. Alternatively, you could choose to focus on concerns that are related to lack of sleep, anxiety, and stress. Collins says that regularly practicing Face Yoga has been proven to yield positive long-term changes. The best part? There are several tutorials available online that makes it accessible to everyone. You can choose to learn the technique from either an instructor through individual sessions, workshops, or even week-long courses. 

How do you practice Face Yoga?

Ideally, one should practice Face Yoga twice a day everyday - once in the morning, to help wake your face muscles up, and once before you hit the bed, in order to release all the worry and tension accumulated in the face through the day. It can even be for as little as five minutes!

You can try and do four-five poses for 20 seconds each, per session. All you need to do in advance is a little warm-up, after which you can proceed with targeting your desired muscles. 

One thing to keep in mind is that you should go easy on yourself. You may find yourself holding your breath without meaning to, or even tensing up when you're trying to hold that pose. Due to the fact that the muscles in your face are so tiny and delicate, it becomes hard to separate and isolate your target muscles. Which is why experts recommend that beginners should start off with toning the bigger muscle groups - such as the neck and forehead area - before focusing on the smaller muscles, such as the ones near the eyes.

Here are 5 poses for beginners that you can take a look at!

What are the Benefits of Face Yoga?

Apparently, the benefits of Face Yoga run further than just skin-deep. Apart from giving your face a natural lift, practitioners also claim that it enhances your overall well being. Research supports these claims, too! Collins talks about how Face Yoga is a known method to promote healthy, glowing skin. She says, "Face yoga helps to lift and firm the muscles under the skin, which smooths lines and wrinkles. Massage helps to boost circulation, improve lymphatic drainage, and release tension. Acupressure techniques boost circulation and relieve stress, which can aid in preventing headaches, releasing sinuses, and enhancing the quality of your sleep. Additionally, practicing face yoga helps relax face muscles that go into overdrive producing the expressions that we display on a regular basis, and side by side prevents sagging and frown lines by toning weaker muscles. 

Some of the Face Yoga practitioners report that it helps in

• Controlling face muscles
• Promoting good nostril breathing
• Firming the neckline
• Reprogramming muscle memory
• Making your face look more symmetrical 
• Increasing lymphatic drainage
• Reducing puffiness
• Improving circulation  
• Reducing the appearance of dark circles
• Improving Confidence
• Reversing saggy appearance

A  few years ago, a study conducted among middle-aged women went on to investigate the effectiveness of various facial exercises that are known to reduce the appearance of aging. For the first 2 months, participants were told to practice 20-minute sessions of exercises on a regular basis. Thereon after for the next 3 months, they were told to do the same sessions, but every other day. 

Most women showed significant improvements when it came to the fullness of their faces, and reported being very satisfied with the visible results. 

Yet another study tried to prove the benefits of facial exercises in improving the mental health of an older age group. The results were impressive because after practicing 30-minute exercises that consisted of rhythmic facial movement and muscle yoga twice a week for 3 months, they reported positive improvements related to their mental health, facial expressions as well as tongue muscle power!  

However, in 2014, a review of the same literature included half a dozen studies about the benefits on face yoga and other facial exercises for the rejuvenation of the muscles in the face. The researchers came to a collective conclusion that a lot more research was required and that the results were subjective since they only relied on the study authors and participants to determine the success of the exercise. 

Which Celebrities Practice Face Yoga?

Megan Markle

We've all been envying the Duchess of Sussex for her toned facial features, but little do we know about her secrets. No, the credit isn't entirely given to genetics! She practices Face Yoga by doing several anti-aging exercises on a daily basis to help keep her skin tight and tone her facial muscles. "On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jawline are waaaay more sculpted," she says.

Jennifer Aniston

Everyone has to agree with the fact that Jennifer Aniston looks like she ages backwards. She tells her fans that she takes care of herself and drinks a lot of water in order to keep herself hydrated. She also mentions that she incorporates Face Yoga into her exercise regimen, along with occasionally getting some micro-current facials. She says, “It’s like a little workout for your face.”

Madonna 

Madonna is well known for being able to maintain her youthful appearance and having defied the ruins of time - and guess how! Practising facial exercises for more than a decade, obviously. She even has a personal face exercise instructor who helps guide her regarding which poses work best for her features. 

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth is yet another adored celebrity who doesn't use the benefits of botox in order to keep her face looking fresh and youthful. She makes use of Face Yoga to tone her face muscles and maintain her enviable facial structure. 

Cindy Crawford

Crawford is a well known supermodel who also maintains her youthful looks with the help of face exercises. She says, "You can do these exercises anywhere, but I usually do them as part of my workout." No wonder you don't look your age, Cindy!

Natalie Portman

Natalie also relies on Face Yoga to maintain her youthful looks with the help of her facialist who gives her customized poses to do at home. 

Ashley Graham

By massaging and exercising her face regularly, this well known Americal model keeps her skin looking tight and youthful.