Face Yoga – The Exercise Everyone Is Talking About

We all know that exercise is important for our health and wellbeing, with many of us taking part in various spin classes, pilates, and yoga – but what if we told you that face yoga is the latest exercise to help give you a more youthful appearance? 

If you’re curious about face yoga exercises and how to do them, we’ll walk you through the process and detail all the benefits it can bring. Namaste!

 

What is facial yoga?

Face yoga, much like regular yoga, incorporates massage and exercises that stimulate the muscles and skin of the face, as well as aiding the lymphatic system to drain properly (excellent for depuffing your face). 

A unique yoga method, made famous by French author Sylvie LeFranc, who combined Ayurvedic massage with Hatha Yoga philosophy to create Face Yoga. Her book Yoga de Visage, introduced the world to these simple, natural and effective techniques and has been followed by thousands. There’s no need to fly to Paris – you can check out her masterclass on her Instagram page. 

This holistic approach to skin ageing, LeFranc explains in her book that face yoga “involves spending only 5 minutes a day to reap its benefits”. 

Another forerunner of facial yoga techniques is American author, Danielle Collins, who penned Face Yoga, published around the same time. It has also helped millions of women look younger and healthier without going under the knife.

Does face yoga work?

Facial yoga has been found to improve the structural appearance of your face. As with any exercise, it will start to strengthen your facial muscles over time which can lead to a more defined and youthful appearance. It’s important to note, however, that visible results will vary depending on the structure of your face, as well as your age.

Like any form of exercise, you see the most benefit from consistency. Face yoga exercises can easily be added as part of your usual AM and PM skincare routines to complement the effects from your products. Yoga is all about creating harmony and balance within the body, and face yoga is no different!

What are the benefits of face yoga?

Besides toning and sculpting your facial features (specifically your cheek and jawline), other benefits include the release of muscle tension, usually felt around the eyes and along the sinuses, as well as bringing a sense of calm and reducing anxiety through the meditative method of practicing face yoga regularly. 

Another way in which these exercises can help you achieve a brighter, more youthful look, is by draining the lymphatic system along the neck which can become congested and lead to puffiness and bloating. 

5 Face yoga exercises you can do at home

Just how regular yoga poses isolate muscle groups to increase circulation and flexibility, these 5 face yoga exercises target specific facial muscles to address specific concerns, helping to tone and tighten the overall structure of your face. 

Top tip: Before doing these exercises, give your skin an aromatherapy boost with one of Clarins’ Facial Treatment Oils, £40 to bring an added sense of calm to your practice. 

1. Face yoga for tension

This face yoga method helps to reduce the build up of tension by targeting the acupressure points around the eyes.

Step 1. Using your index fingers, gently press the inner corner of your eyes. Hold this for 30 seconds. 

Step 2. Now start to move around the eyes in a circular motion, holding each pressure point for another 30 seconds.

Step 3. Once you’ve completed one cycle, repeat in the other direction. Do this once a day.

2. Face yoga for jowls

A common area of concern as we age, the skin around the jowls can start to sag, so exercising this area will help to strengthen the muscles to give a firmer appearance without resorting to surgery. 

Step 1. Pull your jaw all the way to one side of your face and hold for 10 seconds.

Step 2. Repeat this on the other side and do another 2 sets.

Step 3. Do this 3–4 times a day.

3. Face yoga to depuff

This massage technique is done on the neck to aid lymphatic drainage and help with neck tension, giving the skin around your jaw and neck more firmness. 

Step 1. Tilt your head back 45 degrees and place your fingers on the top of your neck. 

Step 2. Move your fingers down your neck applying a gentle pressure until you reach your collarbone.

Step 3. At this point, apply pressure into the collarbone and release after a few seconds. 

Step 4. Repeat this for 30 seconds. Do this daily. 

4. Face yoga for smile lines

Also known as laugh lines, smile lines will occur naturally as we age, but this technique will ease some of the muscle tension that can build up and make these lines more pronounced. 

Step 1. Use your tongue to make small circles along the nasolabial line (the line from the corner of your nose to your mouth). You may want to use your index finger to guide your tongue. 

Step 2. Do a set of circles clockwise and then repeat anti-clockwise. 

Step 3. Repeat on the other side. Do this once a day.

5. Face yoga for crows feet

Another beauty curse word, ‘crows feet’. They form around the eyes as we age due to the loss of elasticity in the skin, which is naturally thinner than other parts of our face. This face yoga method will help to give a deep stretch to the eye area.

Step 1. Keeping your head straight, make an oval shape with your mouth and point your chin towards your chest. 

Step 2. At the same time, look upwards using only your eyes.

Step 3. Hold here for a few seconds then tuck your lips over your teeth to further stretch the face muscles. 

Step 4. Do this once a day. 

 

So now that you’ve become a professional face yogi, include these exercises in your daily routines to feel the benefits of skincare, health, and mental wellbeing all rolled into one enlightening experience.