According to the author of “The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift,” Annelise Hagen, yoga helps you train your facial muscles to uplift the skin and firm the facial areas prone to drooping and sagging such as the corners of the mouth and forehead. Yoga also helps you find a sense of balance which eases stress and can lessen stress lines and wrinkles. Those that are happy and content tend to have age lines that go up rather than down because they frown less, according to Hagen. Practice these yoga exercises in a comfortable seated posture or stand in front of a mirror
Facial Exercises To Lessen Lines and Wrinkles
Step 1
Inhale through your nose. Open your mouth wide and let your tongue extend out and down toward your chin. At the same time, fully open your eyes and look up. Make the sound “ha” as you exhale out of your mouth. Close your mouth and eyes and repeat the exercise five times. Lion’s Pose lessens tension in your face and lengthens a thin throat muscle called the platysma. When your platysma is tight, it sags the corners of your mouth down and droops your neck skin according to YogaJournal.com.
Step 2
Make your mouth into a circle shape. Relax your jaw and trace your tongue around your rounded mouth. Then go in the other direction. Release and repeat the exercise four times. According to Hagen, this tongue tracing exercise helps to tone your cheeks, plump your lips and release your jaw.
Step 3
Elevate your head so your chin is parallel to the ground. Relax your face and release any tension you are holding in your jaw. Look to the left for three breaths. Bring your gaze center for two breaths and then look to the right for three breaths. Repeat this exercise five times. These simple eye motions work the ring muscles of the eyes which fends off saggy skin and crow’s-feet, says Hagen.
Step 4
Smile and press your middle and ring finger on your cheek bones. Release and repeat the exercise three to four times. According to Hagen, by smiling and smoothing your face with your hands you lift the lines between your nose and lips. The exercise also releases tension from the jaw and cheeks.
References
- Yoga Journal: Lion Pose
- "The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift"; Annelise Hagen; 2007
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