The 411 on Face Yoga
I first heard of face yoga a few years ago from a friend who had decided to ditch the needles and go with a more natural solution to reduce the signs of aging on her face. At that point, I was just starting Botox myself and was thrilled with the immediate results so I didn’t ask her questions or look into it further. But, I was always intrigued and continued to be as I now regularly inject toxins into my face. There has to be another way to age gracefully?
It’s not so easy to learn about face yoga here in the US. It’s popular in Asia and Japan where face yoga practitioners are readily accesible. But not a lot of people in America even know what it is, let alone specialize in this type of “yoga”. And I have yet to find a face yoga class in the area. So that’s why I decided to create one with my friends at Modrn Sanctuary in Philly. Modrn is my go-to wellness spot in Center City for all things alternative, innovative and holistic. Owner, Alexandra Janelli, finds the latest and greatest tools and techniques for beauty and overall wellness for her spa. So I knew she would be the best person to talk to about holding a face yoga workshop. And when Alexandra opened her new event space down the hall from her spa, it was time to plan our face yoga event... perfectly situated after my month of self care on the blog!
I’ll tell you more about our face yoga workshop shortly, but first let’s talk about face yoga. Face yoga is the use of facial exercises and “poses” to tone and stretch the muscles of the face. By strengthening and tightening the facial muscles with these exercises, you can decrease or slow down age related issues of the face such as sagginess. Face yoga can improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, reduce a double chin, and result in tighter skin, fuller lips, plumper cheeks and a more sculpted face. So show me where to sign up! Right? Well … not so fast.
Face yoga is a low cost, non toxic way to look younger. Sound too good to be true? It kinda is. Effective face yoga takes time and consistency. I read somewhere that you need to do face yoga thirty minutes a day for 20 weeks in order to see youthful results. And after those 140 days and 4,200 minutes of face yoga, don’t expect to look like you just got injectables either. Face yoga is a natural way to improve your skin’s tone and appearance so it’s going to look natural, which means you aren’t going to be completely wrinkle free. I’ve also read that doing face yoga for even just a few minutes a day, so long as it’s for that extended period of 20 weeks, gets results. Regardless, it’s a commitment and one that requires patience, so I realize it’s not for everyone. But even if you are going to be inconsistent and not as persistent with your practice, there are still benefits to doing even just one session of face yoga such as de-puffing the eyes, improving circulation, lymphatic drainage of the face, clearing the facial skin and relieving tension in the face. So don’t stop reading yet.
While there isn’t a set yoga pose sequence or a flow like you may be used to in your regular yoga classes, there are some common exercises that target the areas of the face that tend to show signs of aging first. But before the exercises, you’ll want to warm up and prepare your skin for face yoga.
The Warm Up. Make sure your hands and face are clean. It’s nice to start with some relaxing breaths in and out of your nose, just as you would do with your regular yoga practice. You’ll want to start to wake up the skin by using your finger tips to lightly tap on the cheek bones, moving up to your forehead and back down, moving to your lower cheeks and then down and back up your neck. You’ll also want to generate heat in your hands by rubbing them together and then covering your face to transfer the heat. While doing face yoga, you’ll want to use a face serum or oil like grapeseed or coconut so your hands will glide over your face (especially during the massage). You can apply the serum or oil to your face at this point. And you are ready to start.
Eye Opener. The Eye Opener is used to strengthen the eye lid muscles to prevent sagging eye lids. To do this exercise, lift your lids using your fingers at the brow line. Look down to the right, close your eyes, and look down to the left, and close your eyes. You’ll repeat this fifty times, taking breaks as needed.
Forehead Lifter. This exercise strengthens the muscles in the forehead to prevent and correct horizontal lines that form there. Place your interlaced hands on your forehead and lift the forehead using gentle pressure. You can hold it for a few minutes or release and repeat fifty times.
Neck and Jaw Stretch. This is the exercise to reduce a double chin by strengthening the muscles of the jawline and the neck. This is a great exercise to do regularly. It helps to see a video of this one because it’s all about lifting your chin up to one side on a 45 degree tilted angle. Then, move the bottom jaw out and over the top jaw and release. You can even stick your tongue out while in this tilted position. Do this twenty times on one side and then twenty times on the other side.
Pucker Lips. This exercise tightens the muscles around the mouth and reduces the appearance of fine lines or even the deeper mouth lines (with the use of some targeted massage techniques). Make a kiss face and then release. Do this for a few minutes.
Smiler. This exercise is another mouth strengthening one, but it also boosts circulation around the cheeks. It’s important not to squint or wrinkle your face while doing face exercises. And with the Smiler, you’ll want to pay particular attention to not squint your eyes. Make a smile and then release it. Repeat this fifty times.
Wind Down with a Face Massage and Face Shavasana. You can wind down your face yoga session with a face massage using your hands or a tool such as a Gua Sha. It’s a nice way to increase blood flow, circulate the lymph, and leave your skin looking plump and firm. Gua Sha is a Chinese medicine technique that uses a smooth-edged tool to reduce inflammation and improve circulation. At this time, you can also use acupressure tension at certain spots to relieve tension. And just as your regular yoga practice ends with a restorative Shavasana, so does face yoga. Use a hot towel to cover the face and take some grounding breaths.
You could expect a face yoga class to run somewhat like that sequence, perhaps to music, and with the guidance of an aesthetician. I wanted to organize a workshop so participants could learn exercises to do at home and make part of their daily routine. So my face yoga class will be held on March 7 from 6:30-7:30 pm at Modrn Sanctuary, located at 1420 Walnut Street, Suite 1218 (that’s the new event suite). The event will be led by Sofia Painter. Sofia practices advanced aesthetics. She specializes in facial rejuvenation, ranging from a variety of techniques that include skin lifting, facial toning & tightening and facial massage.
During this hour session, you’ll learn what face yoga is and how to do some of the most common exercises. You’ll have an opportunity to perform face yoga, massage and Gua Sha on your own face with the help of a qualified aesthetician. You’ll receive a gift bag filled with the essentials to do this workshop, including a Gua Sha tool and oil that is safe to use on the delicate facial skin. Feel free to bring your own tools and serums, if you prefer. Dress comfortably and come with a clean face (you’ll have an opportunity clean your face before starting). After class, we will have mocktails and light snacks for all participants, and you can check out Modrn Sanctuary spa down the hall. All participants will be able to return to Modrn at a later date for a free session on the infamous healing crystal bed. Space is limited so secure a spot at this unique workshop here.
If face yoga is intriguing to you, too, there are several websites that you can use to learn more. Koko Face Yoga, Luvly Face Yoga app, and Danielle Collins, the Face Yoga Expert are some of popular ones. But I really hope to see you at our workshop on March 7 so we can learn about face yoga together.
