By Dana DeMercurio
With modern-day medical conveniences, it’s easy to book an appointment for a quick injection to prevent or remove wrinkles in the most obvious of places. A little Botox here, a little Botox there, and voila! you’re looking a few years younger in no time. Granted, you’ve just paralyzed your facial muscles and decreased your chances of making normal emotional expressions, but hey, it’s worth it, right?
Wrong.
Ever heard of facial yoga? No? Let us enlighten you.
We have over 40 muscles in our face, 5 of which are used to express universal emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger and fear, just to name a few. Just like with other bodily muscles, they can be strengthened naturally with regular exercise and firming routines.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Wrong again.
We recently connected with the world’s leading face yoga expert, Danielle Collins, to explore this all-natural, painless and, dare we say, ridiculously easy method to younger looking skin, minus the syringe.
To wipe out wrinkles, Collins recommends daily facial exercises, massage, acupressure and relaxation, all of which takes a total of 20 minutes a day to complete – 10 minutes for the upper face and 10 minutes for the lower face.
According to Collins, the benefits of regularly practicing her yoga method have the ability to “reduce lines and wrinkles, lift and firm facial muscles and skin, improve skin tone, reduce headaches and eye strain, and give the face an energetic appearance and healthy glow.”
“Face yoga is for everyone,” says Collins. “Men and women, young and old. Face yoga is very useful if you want to reduce signs of aging and tension.” Collins, who has been practicing her now world-renowned yoga method since her diagnosis with M.E. many years ago, says these exercises and techniques can also be used in times of stress to alleviate signs of aging due to tension.
“By massaging correctly you will feel your skin will have better circulation, look smoother and firmer, toxins will be removed and tensions reduced.” Collins suggests using a lighter touch as the skin on the face is much thinner than the rest of the body. And just like with regular exercise, individual results will vary based on your routine.
“As a general rule, long term improvement in your face and neck can be seen after 2 weeks.” Expect to notice less fine lines and tensions after 2-4 months.
Eager to get started? Here’s Collins 3 most popular face yoga exercises:
The “V” – to reduce lines and wrinkles around the eyes and to make the eyes more open and energized.
Put both your middle fingers together between your eyebrows then apply pressure to the outer corners of your eyes with your index fingers. Look up and start to move the lower eyelids upwards, making a strong squint. Then relax and repeat 6 more times. To finish squeeze your eyes shut for 10 seconds then relax.
“The Smile Smoother” – to reduce lines around the mouth and to lift and firm the cheeks and jaw.
Hide your teeth with your lips and make an ‘O’ shape with the mouth. Then, smile as wide as you can and keep hiding the teeth. Repeat 6 times. Next, hold the smile shape and place one index finger on the chin. Then start to move your jaw up and down as you tilt your head back. Relax and repeat twice more.
“Giraffe”– to tone and lift the neck area.
Looking straight ahead place your finger tips on the top of your neck and lightly stroke the skin down as you tilt your head back. Bring your head back down and repeat twice more. Then jut your lower lip out as far as possible, place your fingers on your collarbone and point your chin upwards, pulling the corners of your mouth down. Hold for 4 deep breaths.
To learn more about Danielle Collins Face Yoga method and to explore more techniques, visit www.faceyogaexpert.com.
