There are so many questions to be asked about Facial Yoga. Like;
- What is it?
- What does it do?
- Who has time to even do that?
- How can we possibly do that with our phone in our hand?
All valid questions. It seems to me that Facial Yoga is up there with the vagina egg that Gweneth Paltrow sells. Something for the rich and famous, something that a lot of people talk about, but also something that no one actually does. So I decided to look at the history of yoga, the benefits and why the ‘wellness space’ seems to be talking a lot about yoga for the face and whether or not it works.
A Brief History
Starting in India, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means union of the individual yoga practitioners and universal consciousness. The Rigveda is one of the oldest and most sacred books in human history, having been written 8-10 thousand years ago! Classical yoga is a part of this book and was propounded by Maharishi Patanjali nearly 5000 years ago. In Patanjali’s yoga sutras, he created eight limbs of yoga practice; Yama (social ethics), Niyama (personal ethics), Asana (postures) Pranayama (life force), Pratyahara (turning the senses inwards), Dharana (one-pointed focus), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (merging with the self).
In today’s world, it is mainly Asana that is practiced, and it is only the true Yogis that will understand and practice yoga in its true form, as it was intended all those thousands of years ago.
Yoga and Beauty
As you have read, yoga was not created with vanity in mind, but as a part of the buddhism religion for one to reach their highest consciousness. As with everything though, yoga has evolved to become a modern form of exercise and is often put in the same category with beauty, wellness and clean living. This is all true, you only have to look at our therapist, Rosie, who is also a yoga instructor, to see the full benefits of practicing yoga! But what about yoga for the face? Is this something that was written about in the Rigveda?
Facial Yoga
No, facial yoga was not mentioned in that old and sacred book. It is a relatively new term that just means ‘facial massage’. While you can look on youTube and find some good techniques, in my research for this article I found so many different and varying ways of practicing facial yoga that it seems to me that any form of facial massage, as long as you are not dragging your skin, can offer some benefits.
The Benefits of Facial Yoga and Does it Really Work?
- It will relieve tension. We can hold tension in many places on our body. The jaw, forehead and temples are one common area. Massaging can offer muscle relaxing benefits that will assist with blood circulation and headaches
- You can relieve sinus congestion. By pressing either side of your nose, under your cheekbones, you can help to drain your sinus of blockages
- It can tone your face. By working muscles in your face, you can make them stronger, potentially helping with sagging. Just be careful not to work the wrong ones! We don’t want to increase our 11 lines!!
- Increases circulation. The idea is that by massaging your facial muscles, you are increasing circulation, meaning more oxygen to the area. This can give you are more relaxed look
- Facial massage is good for lymphatic drainage. It is true that our lymphatic system can become sluggish. I am a big believer in facial massage for acne. Gently massaging in sweeping motions down your neck/throat will help to draw toxins away from your face
- By applying gentle pressure to certain pressure points on your face, you can relieve other symptoms too such as toothaches, dizziness, lack of focus, sinus issues, headache, sleeplessness, blocked ears and eye problems, to name a few.
How to Practice Facial Yoga
It is true what I said at the beginning. Who has the time, and how can we do it when we are always on our phones or watching TV? Well I think that any time away from your phone is time well spent, but it is very easy to forget and hard to commit to regular facial massage. So, my tip is something that I do most nights, that is not exactly the same as using your hands, but it’s easy, feels super lovely and you can do it with one hand! (and also feels cleaner)
The Osmosis Rose Quartz Facial Roller and Gua Sha Set. Yes, I always have a suggestion for you to buy something, but if you have been thinking that you would like to try facial yoga, or you want to buy a gift for your friend, then this is actually really lovely.- The roller helps with lymphatic drainage and is beautiful to use after serum or moisturiser application
- The Gua Sha tool is my favourite and I don’t use the roller half as much. It is shaped to glide perfectly over the contours of your face, and feels beautiful down your throat and neck too. I love using this if I have a headache. I lay in bed and run it over my forehead and temples. You can put it in the fridge and make it extra cold, which feels good if you have an eye or headache.
The Alternatively, you can practice facial yoga on a loved one, get them to do it for you (if you’re lucky) or you can schedule 5 minutes each evening to give yourself a little face massage. Even if you don’t see amazing results, at least you will feel nice and relaxed.
Best Selling Facial Yoga Options
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