(MindBodyScience.news) No one wants to look in the mirror and see wrinkles. That's why the cosmetic industry creates hundreds of "anti-aging" beauty products every year, capitalizing on our obsession with looking young – and making billions of dollars out of false promises. Most of the products on offer don't actually have any real anti-aging benefit for your skin – but they will cost you a small fortune.
Yoga is becoming an extremely popular form of exercise and provides many benefits to your health and well-being – but did you know that yoga can also help slow down aging? The age-defying effects of yoga have actually been scientifically confirmed. According to a study that was published in the journal AGE, as reported by GreenMedInfo, a variety of cardiovascular and neurological improvements have been seen with just three months of yoga intervention.
In addition to the benefits for your overall health, it is also thought that face yoga – focusing on the muscles in your head and neck – can help keep your face looking younger for longer.
Does face yoga work?
According to the Souletics Resource Center, plastic surgeons agree that face yoga exercises can improve the muscle tone of your face and relieve the tension in your muscles caused by stress. Over time, this tension leads to wrinkles and can actually distort your face – making you look older. Face yoga is designed to relax your facial muscles and build muscles that will strategically enhance certain parts of your face. For example, face yoga can build up your cheek area, giving you the appearance of high cheekbones, or reduce the bags under your eyes, making you look less tired.
Face yoga exercises
By exercising your face muscles, you will build and tighten them – this is the concept behind the Face Yoga Method, first created by Fumiko Takatsu. If you spend just a few minutes each day doing face yoga, you'll see an improvement in tone and a lifting of your facial muscles. As with normal yoga, there are many different exercises you can do. Here are the top three anti-aging exercises, as reported by Byrdie:
For a smoother forehead
No one wants a wrinkly forehead – this technique relaxes your muscles and removes the tension that can lead to wrinkles.
1. Make a fist with both of your hands and place the knuckles of your middle and index fingers in the center of your forehead, applying pressure.
2. Continue this pressure and slowly slide your fists out to each side.
3. Finish the exercise by pressing your knuckles into your temples and repeat four times.
This is also a good way to relieve tension during a particularly stressful day at work.
Reduce double chins
A double chin or saggy neck skin can make a real impact on your appearance. Try this exercise to tighten up your neck and jawline.
1. Pout your lips and move them to the left of your face, stretching your cheek.
2. Turn your head to the left and lift it upwards at a 45-degree angle. You should feel the stretch in your neck.
3. Hold this for three seconds and repeat it again before doing it twice to the right side.
Get rid of smile lines
Smiling is wonderful – but the lines that stick around afterwards are not so great. Try this method to smooth them out and lift your eyes.
1. Place both palms on your temples.
2. Push up and back with your hands to lift your face.
3. Open your mouth and make an "O" shape.
4. Drop your jaw.
5. Hold for five seconds and repeat two more times.
It is worth noting that these exercises are designed to improve the muscle tone of your face but not the health of your skin. However, you don't need to turn to beauty products to improve your skin condition. Try using coconut oil as a moisturizer and keep away from cigarettes to help ensure that your skin is healthy and firm. This will also increase the overall anti-aging benefits that you see from face yoga.
By Sarah Landers, Natural News.
Sources include:
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