Never mind Botox or seeing a surgeon to get a facelift. You can do your own natural facelift with no pain and no loss of emotional expression. Just as you do situps to tone your belly, you can firm your facial muscles with isometric exercises to look years younger. According to Dr. Mark Berman, a former president of the California Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, the regular exercise of facial muscles offers a "medically sound method of achieving and maintaining a more youthful facial appearance."
Before You Begin
Your face shows the world how you're feeling. Do you scrunch your brows? Clench your jaw? Turn your mouth into a frown? Teach yourself to turn the sides of your mouth slightly upward into a gentle smile throughout your day. Before you start your exercises, wash your face and apply a light touch of moisturizer.
Lion Pose
Lion is a yoga pose that specifically exercises your facial muscles, releases tension in the jaw and eye areas, smooths and refreshes your skin, and increases circulation. Sit in a comfortable position. Inhale, tense your face and clench your hands. Exhale as you open your mouth, stick out your tongue, roll your eyes upward and open your hands.
Eye Lift
For a lift in the eye area, Cynthia Rowland, author of "The Magic of Facial Exercise," recommends placing your three middle fingertips directly under your eyebrows. Push them up and slightly outward and push your forehead down. Hold for a count of 10. Repeat.
Cheeks
Annelise Hagen, author of "The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift," teaches an exercise called Satchmo, named after trumpet player Louis Armstrong, who is known for his bulging cheeks. This exercise works the buccinators, the muscles that lift your cheeks and keep you looking youthful. First, puff both cheeks and then transfer the air from one side to the other until you're ready to take another breath. Repeat three or four times.
Jaw
The jaw is a classic holder of emotions: tension, frustration, sadness, grief. Part your teeth and rest your tongue behind your lower teeth. Relax your eyes and face. Place your fingertips on either side of your lower jaw and hold, allowing the tension to release.
Lips
To strengthen the muscles around your mouth and elevate your mood, Hagen suggests blowing kisses without moving any other muscles in your face, especially around your brows. Do two or three times, then add resistance by pressing your puckered lips into your first two fingers.
References
- "The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift;" Annelise Hagen; 2007
- "Ancient Secrets of Facial Rejuvenation"; Victoria J. Mogilner, C.A.; 2006
- Emax Health: Facelift Without Surgery Worth Considering; Kathleen Blanchard, R.N.; June 2010
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