Ever wondered what is the natural secret of staying, looking and feeling youthful? It is none other than yoga – but for your face!

Facial yoga has always been around in Indian culture but nowadays it is getting more limelight in the west too. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow to Meghan Markle swear by facial yoga to halt ageing of your skin. Which makes us wonder – what is facial yoga? Much like yoga for the body, face yoga consists of exercises and stretches that work the muscles in your face. The facial movements are like resistance training for the muscles. And as you work them you see a lift and tone to the skin. Face yoga combines facial exercises and facial massage that target your facial muscles, skin, and tissue drainage system (lymphatics). Not only are face yoga exercises a potential natural alternative to Botox, fillers, skincare products, and other cosmetic treatments, but they’re also significantly cheaper.

By isolating and strengthening specific facial muscles, you may potentially be able to sculpt your jawline, improve those jowls, decrease face puffiness, and affect your overall skin tightness (elasticity) and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. By massaging your face, you may improve your skin blood flow. Better blood circulation may mean enhanced collagen production and may give you that youthful, healthy glow many of us seek. Facial yoga can rejuvenate your face within minutes and brighten it up. Your facial muscles and nerve connections will relax, thereby delaying the onset of wrinkles.

The Ultimate Guide to Facial Yoga Exercises - How To Do It and Why You Should Add This Into Your Life!

There are many different facial exercises you can do while growing your daily routine. To practice face yoga, start with one minute a day and work your way to 10. From there, try increasing it to 20 minutes a day. It’s probably best to practice these in front of a mirror in the privacy of your home, since they may feel a bit silly to practice in public. When you perform the exercises, keep the rest of your face, neck, and shoulders relaxed. Keep your eyes on your reflection so that you make sure not to press or massage so forcefully that you are folding your skin on itself.

5 Easy Face Yoga Exercises for Glowing Skin:

1. Brow Smoother

• Place your fingertips at the center of your forehead, facing inwards.
• Gently press your fingertips into your forehead as you move your fingers toward your temples.
• Release your fingers.
• Continue for 30 seconds.

Benefit: This exercise relaxes the frontalis muscle, which is the large muscle at the front of your forehead. Often this muscle is overused, which can cause stiffness, rigidity, and expressions of stress. The steady reminder to stop contracting can promote behavioral changes that lead to fewer wrinkles over time.

2. Under Eye Brightener

• Place your middle fingers on the inside corner of your eyes and your index fingers on the outside of your eyes.
• Squint with your lower eyelids and feel the muscles under your fingers tighten.
• Do this ten times while keeping the upper eyelids open.
• Hold the final squint for 20 seconds.
• Repeat the session once.

Benefit: Strengthening upper and lower eyelids, increasing blood circulation, brightening skin around eyes, and decreasing under-eye puffiness. This exercise boosts oxygen circulation and alleviates puffiness. Use light, featherweight touches.

3. The Neck Lift

• Gently tilt back the head.
• Then use your fingers to tap across the front of your neck lightly.
• Gradually move up and continue onto the cheek area, around the mouth, gently under the eyes, and onto the temple.
• Do this for about one minute.

Benefit: This move aims to tighten the neck and jawline to prevent sagging and firm up double chins. Boosting circulation, releasing tension in the back of the neck, opening shoulders, and lifting and firming the front of the neck.

4. Balloon Pose

• Fill your mouth with air.
• Hold it tight for 10 seconds.
• Place your index finger and middle finger together on your lips and hold the breath.
• Repeat it for five times a day

Benefit: Blood circulation will improve to clear pimples and scars from the skin surface. It also slims down the cheekbones and tones your face. Face yoga poses draw more freshly oxygenated blood to the face, giving the skin a rosiness, and eliminating bloating, toxins, and dullness. The poses also stimulate and regulate hormonal function, which helps to prolong youth and counter ageing. Face yoga can do wonders for your skin as well as your muscles. By detoxifying and reducing cortisol levels, it prevents pimples and acne and gives you that lovely attractive glow.

5. Jowl Crusher

• Cover your teeth while making a O shape with your lips.
• Gently smile when your teeth are still covered.
• Hold for a few seconds and repeat the movement for 10 times.

Benefit: Less invasive alternatives are becoming more popular to reduce jowls. These include acupuncture, facial massage, and facial yoga. Regularly performing facial exercises may also help reduce the appearance and severity of jowls.

While tugging on your face may seem like it could exacerbate wrinkles, face yoga will not cause lines when appropriately performed. You shouldn't see any lines during the exercises as the fingers keep the skin taut. Face yoga is a form of facial massage, acupuncture, and exercise that is intended to reduce the appearance of fine lines and sagging skin. It should be practiced daily for 20 minutes.  Face yoga is a wonderful self-care technique that may improve your appearance by softening, stretching, and strengthening your face muscles. This outer transformation is often accompanied by feelings of serenity and confidence. We also recommend using positive affirmations as part of face yoga, which helps us to feel grateful for our faces and skin while cultivating self-love. Engaging in this nourishing practice helps you to feel calmer and happier.