Yes, face yoga is a real thing. Many people say "black don't crack" but let's be honest, there are some of us who look like we've had a hard life and it shows up on our faces. Instead of trying to get rid of wrinkles and sagging skin on your face later on in life with surgery, Here are a few facial yoga exercises that work just like regular yoga: tightening, lifting and firming muscles all in the right place.
1. The fish face
Not to be confused with the duck face, the fish face involves puckering your lips out completely and then smiling such that the ‘O’ created between your lips while puckering is maintained. Then, suck in the ends of your lips in the gaps left between your upper and lower teeth; inhale slowly while doing so and then relax the posture while exhaling slowly. Repeat this about eight to ten times.
2. The lion face
As part of the lion face, you need to inhale deeply through your nose while simultaneously clenching your fists and tightening your facial muscles in sync with your breathing. Then, exhale slowly through your mouth while unclenching your fists and rolling out your tongue. Repeat this procedure about ten times.
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3. The puppet face
The puppet face concentrates on muscles slightly higher on the face, more specifically the cheek area (the earlier two exercises are more beneficial to muscles around the lip area). To do this exercise, smile such that as many teeth as possible are showing.
Then, gently raise the muscles between your lips and cheeks with your fingertips such that you can feel the resistance. Repeat about three to five times.
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4. The surprised face
The surprised face caters to areas around the eyes, which are the most prone to wrinkles and fine lines. As part of it, you will need to breathe in and open your eyes as much as possible such that your eyebrows are also consequently raised. Hold this pose for about 7 seconds and then exhale. Repeat this about five times.
5. The squeezed face
Of all the things we’d like to maintain, jawlines are probably the dearest. The squeezed face is an exercise that helps us achieve just that by keeping our cheeks tucked in, which ensures that the jawline is rendered more prominent. To do this exercise, you need to take in a deep breath through your mouth such that the air is directed towards the stomach, which will make the cheeks sink in. Then, exhale slowly and repeat the procedure three or four times.
6. The double V
As the name suggests, the exercise involves making two ‘V’s on the face with your fingers. More specifically,...
... you need to rest the middle fingers of both your hands on either side of the clef of your nose and then place the two index fingers on the outside corners of your eyes.
Now, take a deep breath while trying to look upwards without turning your neck, i.e. look upwards by trying to lift your lower eyelids. Gently exhale and repeat this procedure another three times to see thin lines around your eyes reducing.
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7. The brow beater
The brow beater, or the brow smoothening exercise, is one of those few yoga facial exercises that help reduce tension lines (sometimes called horizontal forehead lines) on one’s forehead that may develop with age.
To do it, you need to place the tips of your fingers between your eyebrows and your hairline pointing inwards, with the tips of your thumb resting on your temples.
Then, gently pull outwards such that the skin is allowed to stretch. Repeat this about ten times.
8. The swollen face
The swollen face is an exercise intended to make the muscles in the cheek region supple. It relies on stretching the muscles by inhaling air deeply from the mouth and then transferring it from one side to the other, somewhat like swirling mouthwash while gargling. Do this a couple of times with the cheek muscles at full stretch and then exhale. Repeat this about ten to fifteen times.
9. The smile
That's right, a simple smile can help with your skin. When you see people smiling more often than not, they are working out their muscles and probably are happy about it. Happiness shows up on your face.
So, try looking at the good side of life and smile a little bit more. It helps!
