A Complete Guide to Face Yoga : How to Do It and What Benefits and Results to Expect

If you have been wondering what face yoga is, you are not alone. Everyone seems to be talking about it these days. We decided to get to the bottom of things and answer all your questions, once and for all. Team Cosmo spoke to the people at House of Beauty, who offer a deep muscle facial yoga service, and got you all the deets you need to know. Read on to learn more.

 

So... what's the deal with face yoga?

 

No matter what your age is, youthful, fresh and glowing skin is considered the holy grail of beauty. Everywhere you look, makeup and cosmetic brands, beauty experts and dermatologists are offering us products and procedures to make our skin look young and fabulous. What we do need to remember in our quest for youthful-looking skin is that a lot of it depends on what lies beneath the surface! Diet and exercise have a huge impact on the way we look. So, just like we work out our body muscles to stay fit and sculpted, it’s important to work the 41 muscles of our face as well. Each of these muscles, when toggled and nudged in the right direction prevents sagging, increases blood flow to the face thus improving absorption of any cream or oils we may apply, nourishing and toning our face. The right face yoga exercises help keep wrinkles away around our eye and lip areas. For example, the lioness face yoga exercise (which we will learn in a bit) is the perfect fix to proportion our eyes, that tend to droop and become smaller as we grow older. Similarly, the face yoga jaw corrector pose helps in reducing the chin fat and keeping double chin at bay. Intrigued and ready to get on board? Read on to learn when and how you can add face yoga to your skincare and fitness routine.

 

How often do we need to do be doing our face yoga exercises?

Wondering if you are supposed to spend half your day exercising (first your body, then your face!)? Then, do not worry. Face yoga exercises need about 5-10 mins daily about 5 times a week and can be done as a quick add-on to your regular workout routine. As with everything in life, the more consistent you are the better results you will see. Some of the simpler exercises can be done anytime anywhere, like the pout and smile exercise ( coming up shortly) that targets fine lines around the lip area and thinning of the lips as we age. This exercise can be done while watching a show or on your work desk. The benefit? Facial workouts reduce wrinkles, help fill in hollow cheeks and minimize other signs of aging. These exercises focus on strengthening and building up underlying muscle in key areas such as cheeks, jawline, neck, eyelids, and eyebrows. The more often you work out your face, the more you will glow! How’s that for some glow-tivation ?

Ok, we are sold. Let's get down to doing some face yoga!

Step 1: Get started by taking a few deep breaths. It's important to switch off from the hustle-bustle and calm yourself. Stretch your neck 2 to 3 times to either side to open and release the muscles. 

Step 2: Release your brow and temple muscles. Repeat this 2 to 3 times.

Step 3: Smile and pout. Repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times. This will help to make your cheeks firm and tighten the area around your lips. The pouting acts as a lip-plumper as well.

 

Step 4: Eye opener stretch. This exercise tones the upper and lower eyelids and helps with lymphatic drainage.

 

Step 5: Under-eye wrinkle corrector. Dab your index finger around the circle of your eyes. This helps drain the lymphatic fluid from your under-eye bags, and also increases blood circulation. Repeat this 3 to 5 times.

Step 6: Face fluid drain. This is the next, very effective step to further aid lymphatic drainage. Move your hands outward in a sweeping motion, assuming that you are taking the fluid out all the way down to the sides of your face, your neck and your collarbone. This is an ideal exercise to do first thing in the morning, and it helps keep your under-eye area looking fresh and toned.

Step 6: The lion/lioness face. This exercise stretches and tones your whole face and releases tension. It also maintains the proportion of your eyes as you age. To do this exercise, sit up straight. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue completely towards your chin. Now inhale through your nose and exhale via mouth. Pull your eyes wide open. Hold on for five to 10 seconds, and feel every muscle in your face awaken. Relax and repeat the sequence 3-5 times.

Step 7: The snake face. This exercise helps correct any drooping around your eyes and eyebrows. Use the ring finger of your opposite hand to hold the arch of your eyebrows. Stretch the center of your forehead and temples with your other fingers. Look down in the opposite direction, stick your tongue out, and exhale. Do this on the other side, and repeat the routine 3-5 times.

Step 8: Nasolabial fold corrector. Purse your lips and hold, followed by blowing out your cheeks. Repeat this exercise 3-5 times.

Step 9: Face feature corrector. With age, our features tend to lose their original balance and proportion. This exercise keeps the shape of your eyes balanced, cheeks taut and corrects any drooping around your lips. To do this exercise, take a deep breath in and place a round object (a pencil will do) between your teeth. Stretch and open your eye area, and breathe out. Repeat 3-5 times.

Step 10: Smile corrector. This exercise helps to keep your lips plump, and avoid fine lines and drooping. Place your fingers on the sides of your inner cheeks, and stretch out. Hold and release, repeat 3-5 times.

step 11: Cheek and temple lift. This exercise helps to keep your cheeks plump and lifts your face. Massage the apples of your cheeks in a deep, upward movement. Slap your muscles gently, and repeat 10 times.

Now, when can we expect to see some results?

According to the peeps at House of Beauty, the best part about face yoga is that you see and feel the results within a short span of time.

After 1 week: You will find your face tightened and toned, see the quality of your skin improve, and any acne will start to settle.

After 1 month: Within the first month of doing regular face yoga, you can expect to see your smaller, fine-lines diminish. Your will skin glow with a healthy radiance and your features will appear more sculpted.

After 6 months: On continuing with face yoga for 6 months or more, you will see your face completely tighten with expression lines falling in place, under-eye bags diminishing and eye lines reducing by a whopping 80%. Your skin will be better hydrated, and a lot more moisturised than when you started. A remarkable and significant difference in your overall appearance will be seen.

 

What about Botox, fillers and other procedures? Can you still do face yoga after these?

 

The whole idea of face yoga is to provide an alternative to invasive, syringe-based procedures and provide us with natural ways to initiate similar anti-ageing results. Once you have mastered the right technique, it is okay to do face yoga after getting Botox. In the case of fillers, while some of the face yoga exercises can be performed, other more vigorous exercises are best avoided as they may reduce the duration that the filler is expected to last. 

  

 About House of Beauty. House of Beauty offers deep muscle Face Yoga services and is widely known for its premium quality and artistic steps. Their face yoga experts know how to stretch the muscles of each area so that you get the right facelift. Their services are offered widely at their eight salons in Gurgaon called ‘Red Throne Salon’. House of beauty also supplies face yoga tools on their website www.houseofbeautyindia.com and interactive face yoga session videos on their Instagram page and YouTubechannel @houseofbeauty.in.