I’m often asked how I got into Face Yoga. It’s something most people have never heard of before and it does sound pretty unusual! So, if you’re wondering what this odd sounding combination is, here goes…
I was curious about natural and holistic methods when it comes to the skin and body and loved exploring Eastern and Western approaches to health for my own wellbeing. I studied Health, Beauty and Holistic at a London College and developed my personal knowledge to better take care of my health and share this with others. While doing a little bit of research I came across Face Yoga! I was to be honest, pretty sceptical and also wasn’t keen on the idea of making loads of shapes with my face with other people. But, the more I read about it the more I liked the idea of at least trying it out, which is what I did! I trained with Danielle Collins in December 2019, then set up my Instagram account in March 2020 when the first lockdown came into place. I felt that sharing something that was both fun and practical, that people could enjoy during these really difficult times was definitely worth trying. As the demand for Face Yoga grew, I created the 5 week program and 30 day programs, making it more accessible to anyone with an interest in starting this journey!
The basics…Face Yoga combines a variety of exercises that create movement working muscles and tissues to increase blood circulation and tone the muscles. We tend to treat our faces very differently to our bodies; we can go to town applying products to the skin, but not give that much thought for what sits beneath it. Massage and acupressure are also part of Face Yoga, using simple and traditional techniques to relieve tension, improve skin health and release energy.
In the mornings having just spent around 8 hours in bed I’m usually a little stiff and my circulation is slow. I need to move a bit, stretch out and wake my body up. Even a few minutes can make such a difference. Think of Face Yoga in the same way. You can gently wake up your facial muscles and circulation too, and in the process strengthen and tone muscles to improve overall facial radiance. It feels good too, clients I’ve worked with one-one love how they feel after a face yoga session and see results from consistent practise within a couple of months.
For me, face yoga is also about taking a holistic approach to our beauty routines and self-care. Having knowledge and tools in our kit that empower us in a positive way can only be a good thing! We’re currently living through a global pandemic and our way of life has changed significantly. Finding practises that support us in feeling better in our skin, ways to treat ourselves when access to many services are currently closed has never been more important.
One of the most important parts of the practise is relaxation. Learning to recognise how we hold stress in our bodies and faces and discovering what some of our habits might be around this. If I spend half my day curled over a laptop frowning this is not going to be good for my posture, health or my face! Sounds obvious, but so many of these behaviours are habitual and unconscious. A little focus each day on relaxation, breathwork and connecting to ourselves with kindness when we wake up our faces can make a big difference because we can start to change them! I know this from personal experience and see the results and benefits of this approach.
So, yes! Face yoga is in part making a few pretty weird shapes with your face. Fortunately, it’s usually done in the privacy of your home or on a zoom call with some other lovely face yogi’s all doing the same thing! It is much more than this though. By combining these with techniques to massage and boost skin health, apply acupressure to open energy channels, reduce blockages and tension, AND become more aware of our habits, we have a skillset and positive habit that’s entirely ours to use as much as we like for life where we not only see the benefits, but feel good too.