Take Years Off Your Appearance with Yoga for Your Face

As the years go by, it happens to everyone—loosening skin, sagging cheeks, drooping features, the works. While it may be a less-desirable part of getting older, it’s also completely natural for skin to lose its laxity due to loss of collagen as it ages.

However, that doesn’t mean we have to sit back and let gravity rule our lives as we get older. There are things you can do to tighten and tone your face and help minimize the impact of the passage of time.

Before you spend money on expensive creams, Botox, or cosmetic procedures, you might want to try some yoga exercises for your face.

Much like how yoga and exercises for your body help tighten your abs and tone your thighs, yoga for the face helps tighten and tone your facial muscles.

When you regularly exercise the muscles in your face, they grow stronger and larger—just like other muscles do—and help fill out the space under your skin. This helps to boost the appearance of having firmer skin.

Firmer facial muscles also help hold fat pockets in place, preventing the “droopy” appearance that accompanies aging skin.

But, just like other exercises, don’t expect to see results overnight.

Effort, consistency, and time are the keys to a more youthful looking you.

A study published through the National Library of Medicine found that a focus group of 27 women, aged 40 to 65, showed that participants who completed 20 weeks of facial exercises looked an average of three years younger.

Face Yoga for Double Chins

Different exercises can help different facial features, and the dreaded double chin is no exception. Toning the muscles under your jaw can help to reduce your double chin , according to face yoga expert, Danielle Collins.

If you have sagging skin around your chin and jaw, you might want to try Danielle’s face yoga for jowls .

Facial Massage

Gently tapping with your fingertips and massaging around your jaw increases circulation and helps to reduce tension.

Massaging the jaw line with your knuckles also helps reduce fluid buildup in this area, which can give the appearance of jowls. A gentle facial massage can also improve lymphatic drainage, help relieve sinus pressure, and release tension.

Face Yoga for Wrinkles

Face yoga can also be used to combat wrinkles. If you’re a chronic frowner or struggling with RBF, practicing a series of stretches called forehead smoothing can help you destress and soften wrinkles

Learning to soften and relax certain facial muscles will alleviate tension and help prevent wrinkles, while toning weaker muscles can help prevent sagging.

5 Facial Exercises to Destress, Tone, and Prevent Wrinkles

Just like when you are first starting out praciting yoga or another exercise program, you might want to practice in front of a mirror first to make sure you are doing the poses correctly.

Lion’s Breath for relieving tension in the face.

1. Ball your hands into fists with your arms bent and your fists at shoulder level.
2. Inhale deeply through your nose as you flex the muscles in your face.
3. Open your mouth wide and exhale your breath across your tongue while making the “hah” sound as you stretch your tongue toward your chin.
4. Roaring is optional, but can help!
5. Repeat.

Neck Smoother for boosting lymphatic drainage, relieving tension, and toning skin around the neck and jaw.

1. Tilt your head back slightly.
2. Place your fingers at the top of your neck.
3. Press down gently as you glide your fingers down to your collarbone.
4. Press into your collarbone for a few seconds before releasing.
5. Repeat.

The Face Lift for lymphatic circulation and alleviating puffiness.

1. Place both palms on your temples.
2. Push your hands up and back, lifting the sides of your face.
3. Open your mouth into an “O” and drop your jaw to elongate your face.
4. Hold for 5 seconds.
5. Repeat.

Fish Face for tightening and toning sagging cheeks.

1. Purse your lips.
2. Suck in the sides of your cheeks to create a fish face.
3. Hold.
4. Repeat.

Sphinx Smile for preventing crows feet and drooping mouth corners.

• Lift the corners of your mouth to form a smile.
• Keep eyes neutral and avoid creasing corners.
• Repeat.