Shameena tells us the secret to stay and look young for many more years, in the regular column, exclusively for Different Truths.
Your face is the first thing that people look at. A smiling face lightens the mood, attracts people, and puts them at ease. Lack of any kind of facial exercise and accumulation of stress can cause a build-up of tension in your facial muscles.
Just like your body needs to move a little and run a little to stay toned and firm, the same is with your facial muscles too. You don’t have to go hard-core in tightening the facial muscles, but a little regular workout for the face would do wonders. Yoga facial exercises help to bid goodbye to loose sagging face skin and achieve a firmer and toned one.
These simple facial exercises can be done anywhere and at any time. Regular practice will keep you fresh throughout the day. You can even do these exercises just before an interview or presentation. Your face will radiate confidence and composure. There is another icing on the cake. By practicing these facial yoga exercises, your meditation becomes more profound and powerful.
The exercises work the hypodermis or the lower layer of the skin, the dermis or the middle layer and the epidermis or the upper layer. By working all these layers correctly it will increase the blood circulation, allowing more oxygen and more nourishment to reach the cells of the skin. The result is a clear, healthy complexion with a beautiful glow which has fewer toxins and has a better ability to absorb moisture.’
The techniques are also designed to stimulate collagen and elastin production in the middle layer of the skin giving you a smoother, more supple, tighter-looking skin.
Recommended time for the facial exercises is 20 minutes, six times a week. It may seem like a lot, but you’ll see results quickly. ‘Everyone has different faces so the time it takes to see changes varies from person to person,’ says Danielle. ‘As a general rule, you will start to see more of a long-term improvement in your face and neck after two weeks. After 2-4 months, you will notice you have less fine lines and less tension and people will notice you look healthier and more energised. Within 6-9 months people have reported that they look and feel many years younger and feel more relaxed within themselves.
1. A Little Neck Stretch aka Giraffe Pose for Neck: Would you like the necklines to be firm and smooth? Here’s your chance at getting that manifested, without a quick fix or surgery. Also known as the Giraffe pose, this is an exercise that works to remove wrinkles that come with age and loose skin on the neck. To begin with, you would need to look straight at a wall; your eyes should be perpendicular and straight on a spot on the wall, and to the ground. Now, place your fingertips at the end or the bottom of your neck. Give it a light stroke and tug the skin downwards, tilting your head backward. Slowly bring your head to your chest and repeat thrice. Finally, expand your lower lip outwards as much as possible so as to allow the corners of the lips droop down. Place your finger now on your collarbone and keep the chin pointed upwards. Hold a count to five and repeat twice.
2. Firmer Cheeks with the Blowfish Pose: Ever seen what a blowfish deep down in the ocean does when it feels threatened? It swells up with a pouty stance on its mouth. We shall encourage you to enact and emulate the same pose, which helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin situations. The exercise is very easy to do and will surely give you a younger looking skin. You first take in a good amount of air into your mouth and shut it tight. Now emulate a blowing action outwards without opening your lips. While doing that, allow your tongue inside to move from right to left, and left to right. Slowly exhale and repeat ten times, until you feel the pressure on your cheeks and the lips.
3. Firming the Eye Area by Deep Breathing: As we age, it is but natural that the eye zone gets covered with wrinkles and crow feet. There’s nothing much we can do to completely reverse the signs of aging, but we can slow it down for sure. To firm the eye area, we shall begin by placing our palms near the outer eye zone or the lower temple areas on our face. We shall breathe in deep and with a gentle tug, pull the skin around the eyes back towards the temples. Hold on to this pose for five counts and gently release, keeping your breathing normal. Repeat ten times and gently massage the area.
4. Achieve Tighter Skin around Eyes and Chin by Fish Face Pose: One of the easiest ways to reduce wrinkles and fine lines would be emulating the pose of a fish. The pouty effect helps with blood circulation around the eyes and the cheeks, and also pulls up the skin around the chin area too. For this pose, you would need to stand in front of the mirror. Now suck your cheeks in, as much as you can. Squint your eyes to make it a fun-filled exercise regime if you wish, but don’t forget to pout your lips outwards. Hold for five seconds and then gently release, keeping your breathing normal. Repeat five times and you are on your way to reducing your age by five years!
5. The V Good for: Drooping eyelids, crow’s feet, eye bags and puffiness and an alternative to Botox and eye surgery.
Step 1: Press both middle fingers together at the inner corner of the eyebrows, then with the index fingers, apply pressure to the outer corners of the eyebrows.
Step 2: Look at the ceiling, and raise the lower eyelids upwards to make a strong squint, and then relax.
Step 3: Repeat six more times and finish by squeezing eyes shut tightly for 10 seconds.
6. Tighten Neck Muscles with The Seizure Pose: Not that we want anyone to suffer from seizures, but if you have noticed patients suffering from seizures you would have seen how their lips expand and their neck skin stretches or tightens up in an ebb and flow. For this pose, you would need to take a deep breath and focus on the neck muscles. Stretch your lips wide to show off your teeth, gently twisting the lip muscles on either side. Keep your breathing regime normal and pull or stretch your neck skin up and down, using the neck muscles. Hold the pose for ten seconds and repeat twice or thrice. This exercise helps fight aging in neck muscles.
7. The Smile Smoother
Good for Cheek lines and sagging skin and Alternative to lower facelift and fillers.
Step 1: Hide the teeth with the lips to make an ‘O’ shape with the mouth.
Step 2: Smile widely while keeping the teeth hidden and repeat six times.
Step 3: Next, hold the smile shape while placing one index finger on the chin. Then start to move the jaw up and down as the head tilts gently back. Relax and repeat twice more.
8. Smooth the Brow
Good for Horizontal forehead lines and an alternative to Botox.
Step 1: Place both hands on the forehead facing inwards and spread all of the fingers out between the eyebrows and hairline.
Step 2: Gently sweep the fingers outwards across the forehead, applying light pressure to tighten the skin.
Step 3: Relax and repeat 10 times.
9. The Flirty Eyes
Good for deep eye hollows and drooping eyebrows and alternative to Eyebrow Lift.
Step 1: Place an index finger under each eye, pointing towards the nose.
Step 2: Hide the teeth and tease the top lip and bottom lip away from each other at the mouth. 
We hope these easy exercises bring to you a laugh too since they are a little funny to do. However, the benefits of the exercises when done regularly would give you freedom from signs of aging. Stay beautiful, stay young!
©Shameena Abdurahiman
Photos sourced from the author from Internet
#Exercises #Beauty #BeautyBasics #FacialExercise #KeepingFaceYoung #WorkoutForFace #Smile #DifferentTruths
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