I was scrolling through my Instagram feed in 2019 when I came across a woman making all sorts of faces, including sticking her tongue out as far as possible akin to lion pose in yoga. Her expressions made me laugh but they caught my attention. She was in her late 50s but her skin was supple and glowing with no prominent wrinkles or lines.
Fast forward to 2024. I wake up every morning and practise face yoga, which combines facial exercises and massage to encourage lymphatic drainage, reduce swelling and increase circulation. I could easily dismiss this 10-minute self-care ritual as being excessive, but I find it helps calm and ground me for the day ahead and my skin, which has always been prone to flare ups and acne, has never looked better.
This holistic practice may seem like it burst onto the scene seven to eight years ago, when in fact it has been around for thousands of years. Both Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine emphasise the benefits of facial exercises, massage and acupressure to maintain and rejuvenate the skin and muscles on the face and neck. Social media may have accelerated its popularity but it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
“The back of the neck is an area that is always stressed since we keep looking down at our phones or stare at computer screens for extended periods. In doing so our neck and chest muscles keep pulling the facial muscles down and that’s why we see prominent lines forming on the face,” explains Uma Ghosh, a holistic beauty educator based in Dubai. That sounds mildly ominous but it’s never too late to begin to undo the damage we’re doing to ourselves.
Emma Phillips, a Dubai-based running coach and personal trainer, qualified as a face yoga teacher eight years ago and believes it is “a natural alternative to botox or more invasive procedures, and it also helps ease tension in facial muscles and alleviate headaches”.
Both Emma and Uma stress that consistency and patience are key to achieve visible results. Like most holistic practices, face yoga requires dedicated time, at least 5 days a week, even if it’s for a mere 10 minutes. “The lines, wrinkles, puffiness on our faces take years to form, you cannot expect them to disappear overnight, but just stretching your face regularly will have an impact on the quality of your skin and lymphatic drainage,” says Uma.
Face yoga teachers recommend easing into the practice with two or three exercises that stretch and strengthen the muscles in the face and neck before incorporating more poses into a routine. The same rule applies to face massage – learning the correct technique is more important than applying a lot of pressure. Begin by gently massaging the clavicles before moving up the neck and behind the ears. The human body has around 800 lymph nodes, out of which 200 are in the neck. A healthy lymphatic system facilitates the removal of toxins from our bodies so it’s vital to clear lymphatic pathways for fluids to flow easily. Activating these pathways followed by targeted exercises to work the facial muscles increases blood circulation and oxygen levels which impacts the way our skin behaves.
But it also pays to be gentle instead of blindly copying someone else’s routine. Find a qualified face yoga instructor to guide you through the practice – “I’ve seen a lot of videos on social media of young people in their 20s and 30s doing face yoga but they’re quite rough with their skin, which could ultimately lead to more lines and wrinkles,” warns Emma.
While anyone can do face yoga, bear in mind it has exactly the opposite effect of botox. The latter paralyses muscles and decreases movement while face yoga works on activating the muscles, thus reducing the effect of injectables such as botox and fillers. It’s best to wait four to six weeks after these “treatments” to begin facial exercises and massage.
Today the Internet is flooded with influencers and wellness brands pushing face rollers, gua-shas, facial cups and more as essential tools that go together with face yoga. However, Uma believes “our hands are magical” and we can achieve the same results by applying the correct techniques and pressure. Facial exercises only require a clean face so the skin can breathe. However, face massage requires a medium such as shea butter or any oil that suits your skin type to facilitate the smooth movement of the fingers.
Sounds easy enough, right? Before you start on this journey, take photos of your face from the front and side. Then take a few six weeks down the line to see the results for yourself.
For more information on face yoga, check out Uma @umaghosh and Emma @ultrafit_emma on Instagram.
