Face Yoga Exercises for glowing skin - Do they work?

We know that might be the first question in your head when talking about yoga and exercise for the face.  Well, the answer is they can work for everyone if done right. The truth is that these yogic exercises work deep within your skin. 

 

Our skin is connected to the muscles of our face. As we work on these facial muscles through targeted face yoga exercises, we are also working on our skin to become more radiant and glowing. These yogic exercises help to strengthen, tighten and firm the facial muscles. This helps to lift and smoothen the skin making it more glowing. Before we move ahead, let us first know:

What exactly is Face Yoga and its benefits?

Face yoga is a combination of massage and exercise techniques that can help to stimulate the facial muscles, skin and lymphatic area on the skin.  It is a natural and alternative option that can bring the desired results to your face. Face yoga sounds like moving, stretching and relaxing your facial muscles to make them more toned. Research has found that face yoga can improve the appearance of your skin. It is also found to be relaxing as these moves help to release tension from different areas of the face. Common areas where we tend to hold the tension are jaw, forehead, etc. 

1. Face tapping 

We’ll start with face tapping. This exercise helps to focus on the key pressure points of your face.It is very easy but effective for a healthy and glowing skin.

Face tapping is a simple facial exercise which increases blood circulation within the skin and improves the lymphatic function. It involves the use of fingers to gently tap the face. It stimulates lymphatic drainage and boosts collagen production. The increased blood circulation gives the skin a natural flushed glow. The lymphatic drainage helps prevent wrinkles. It also improves the flow of oxygen into skin and lets it breathe. This technique can be easily practiced at home. Use the meaty part of your fingers for this exercise.

        

         

 

1. Start with the area between the eyebrows going up to the center of your forehead and moving up to the hairline and then down to the temples.
2. Then focus on the entire area in and around your eyes. Start tapping the medial point of the eyes followed by the lateral sides and then the under-eye.
3. Now, target the area under the nose working towards the sides of it, all the way along to the cheekbones.
4. Don’t leave your lips. They also need that tapping. Start with your upper lips and work outwards across the lower cheek. 
5. Now, focus on the center of the chin to the jawline up to the ears.
6. Lastly, you can focus the entire upper neck area. Start under the chin down to your throat covering the sides of your neck.

2. Pucker Up - or as they call it - The Pout

It might be the latest thing on social media but it can also help you tone the area around your lips and mouth. This simple exercise not only gives you firm lips but also helps to get rid of wrinkles around your mouth. You already know how to pucker up a.k.a pout. 

 

• Make a nice pointing pout.
• Hold this yoga position for about 30 seconds
• Repeat four to five times or 2-3 mins.

 

3. Make a fish face 

This yoga is similar to the pouting exercise. The difference lies in that the pout exercise focuses more on the area near the lips and mouth. The fish face however extends the workout up to the cheek area. It provides movement to the overall facial muscles specifically targeting the cheek muscles. It tones and strengthens the cheek muscles, reduces cheek fat and helps to make the face look slimmer and younger.

 

• Suck your cheeks and lips inward just like a fish. 
• Keeping your eyes wide wide open, hold on this position for 30 seconds or until your eyes start to blink.
• Repeat this movement four to five times.

 

4. Balloon pose 

Puffing your cheeks up filled with air is a great exercise to strengthen your cheek muscles. It targets overall facial muscles and increases blood circulation. This simple exercise helps you to have more plump and lifted cheeks. 

                          

 

• Fill your mouth with air. 
• Keep your mouth closed for a while and then release
• You can also try filling air on each cheek side alternatively.
• If that’s too much for you, just try blowing up a few balloons. 

 

5. Eye circles

This exercise helps to improve oxygen flow to the areas around your eyes. It helps to reduce puffiness and dark circles. 

It’s a simple exercise and all you have to do is:

• Place your ring finger at the inside of your eyebrows and keep tapping towards the outside of your eyebrows. 
• Tap on your temples for a few seconds.
• Now, work under the eyes up to the inner corner of your eye forming a circle from where you started.

6. Easy Crow exercise

With age, not only our eyelids but the skin around the corner of our eyes starts to sag and wrinkle. This is popularly called crow's feet. This exercise will help prevent and reduce that crow’s feet around the corner of your eyes.

 

• Just place your index finger on the corners of your eyes. You can also use your middle finger along with the index finger.
• All you have to do is stretch that area with your fingers.
• Repeat 20-30 movements

   

7. Forehead pressure

Foreheads tend to get wrinkled much easier due to buildup of tension from stressing and frowning. Applying some pressure on your forehead with your fingers should help to reduce them over time.

• Place both your hands gently on your foreheads.
• Make sure the fingers point inwards towards each other.
• Now, start applying firm pressure on your forehead by swiping the fingers outwards towards your temples.
• Repeat this movement for a minute

                                  

 

8. Brow smoother

Worried about those eleven shaped lines or frown lines between your brows. Well that’s also due to tension buildup in that area due to stressing and frowning.

 

It’s again a simple exercise. 

• Align your index and middle finger together and place them between your brows.
• Just move them in an upward to downward direction
• Keep repeating 40-50 times.

 

  9. The Chewing motion

This exercise targets your neck muscles and helps to tone them. Works great if you have a sagging neck also called Turkey's neck.

Follow the simple steps given below:

• Sit in a straight position.
• Now, lift your head back pointing your chin towards the ceiling.
• Keep your lips closed and make a chewing motion with your mouth.
• Repeat 20-25 times. 

              

 10. Dumbbell technique

This exercise focuses on your chin area. It will help to make it more sharp and if you have a double chin, should also help with that.

 

All you have to do is:

• Lift your chin upwards  and look at the sky or ceiling. 
• Next, open and close your mouth continuously for 10-15 seconds. 
• Now, bring back your face to its normal position. 
• Repeat the process 3-4 times 

                

 

11. Breathing exercises

Breathing is the essence of yoga. Breathing connects the mind, body and soul and helps to channelise the subtle flow of energy throughout the body. It helps to bring more oxygen to the blood and to the brain. It also helps to eliminate carbon dioxide and thus remove toxins from the body.

 Lesser toxins means more glowing skin.

  

Pranayama exercises are exercises focused on breathing, practicing them in different patterns and sequences. There are many types of pranayama breathing exercises. You can start with anything simple as Anulom Vilom Pranayama or the alternate nostril breathing.

There are many other breathing pranayamas like Bhastrika Pranayama (Breath of fire), Kumbhaka Pranayama (Breath retention), Simhasana (Lion's Breath), Mrigi Mudra Pranayama, (Deer seal breathing), Kapalbhati Pranayam (Skull shining), etc.

 

Final word 

 Those were some of the yogic exercises focusing your entire face. You can practise all of them should take about 30-40 mins daily. You can also choose to do face tapping for your entire face and choose a few exercises from the above list according to your problem areas.

 

Key points to remember for getting desired results:

 

• Consistency is the key. You’ll get results with consistent practice over time. Stick to the exercise schedule for at least a month to 3 months for remarkable results.
• You can do them anytime of the day but an early morning schedule should be more helpful as the mind and body is free from stress and fatigue that time.
• Keeping yourself free from stress is also important otherwise it can impact the efforts.
• Eating right is equally important. Yogic beliefs give high importance to a simple and clean diet full of nutrients. Try to include more vegetables and fruits in your diet.