Recognized for a long time as an alternative anti-aging beauty treatment, facial yoga is a technique that helps to tone, stimulate and sculpt the facial muscles. Facial yoga also effectively combats wrinkles, fine lines of expression and sagging facial skin.
Goodbye botox and facelifts of all kinds, your best ally is yourself!
In this article we will detail the benefits of facial yoga and all the secrets to achieve a good massage.
A LITTLE RETURN
Originally, yoga is a Hindu discipline that aims to bring body and mind together. 5000 years old, the discipline has spread widely in the West over the centuries, both as a sporting and spiritual practice.
The health benefits of practicing yoga are proven. Thanks to a set of postures and breathing exercises, yoga combines physical and mental activity.
Its practice will make it possible to soften and strengthen the muscles in depth but also to regulate the flow of energy within the body and to relieve anxiety.
Today, there are different types of yoga. The so-called "classic" postures are still current, but the way to achieve them has evolved.
Postures and breathing exercises can be more or less energetic and target specific parts of the body (face, stomach) and organism (cardiovascular, digestive and nervous system).
FOCUS ON... FACIAL YOGA
Face yoga is a practice that exploded during the first confinement. At that time, to introduce this new massage technique, dozens of tutorial videos were published every day.
Because we had more time for ourselves and not much else to do, many Internet users were seduced by this practice and today facial yoga has more and more followers.
Facial yoga is a formidable practice to fight against the signs of age such as wrinkles and sagging skin, in addition to the application of cosmetic treatments. Its regular practice makes it possible to soften the muscles of expression, to resculpt the features of the face and to help the skin to preserve its tonicity.
It is also very effective in reducing expression lines, sagging eyelids, dark circles and restoring radiance to the skin. It offers the muscles of the face and neck, but also the head, deep relaxation.
Finally, the various exercises carried out during a facial self-massage can stimulate lymphatic nodules and cell renewal and effectively fight against sagging skin.
FACIAL YOGA: HOW TO PERFORM IT WELL?
Face yoga is simple to perform. No hardware needed! You can do your massage anywhere, and a few minutes a day are enough.
It is very important to nourish your skin well before a facial yoga practice. You can use your usual face cream or oil. At Demain®, we advise you to apply the Sculpt & Glow Face Care Oil to clean, dry skin.
In terms of material, your fingers can be quite sufficient. They make it possible to carry out almost all the techniques including that of acupressure.
However, you can complete your toolbox with GUA SHA and/or ROLLERS in semi-precious stones to vary the sensations.
SOME RULES AND PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE
Although the results of facial yoga are visible fairly quickly, there are a few rules to follow:
- Regularity: repeat the exercises every day for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Softness: no sudden gestures!
- Breathing: as in classical yoga, breathing is at the center of the practice.
Although they offer deep facial and head relaxation, some facial yoga exercises have contraindications:
1. Do not contract an unwanted area by practicing a facial yoga exercise: you risk creating wrinkles that you did not have until then! The best is to practice your exercises for the first time in front of your yoga teacher who will correct you if necessary.
2. Be especially vigilant if you suffer from bruxism (involuntary teeth grinding), cervical hernia or any other neck and head pain.
3. Focus on your breathing. Make gentle, slow gestures. At the slightest pain, stop exercising and focus on another part of your face. If in doubt, consult a doctor before starting a session. The goal is to relax you, not to trigger new pain!
4. Avoid practicing facial yoga if you have had cosmetic surgery in less than 15 days (Botox or hyaluronic acid injection). And prohibit the practice if you have applied tensor threads.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT FACIAL YOGA PRACTICES?
- ACUPRESSURE
Acupressure is excellent for toning the muscles of the face, decongesting slightly swollen parts, stimulating hydration, awakening the radiance of the skin, deepening relaxation and smoothing the features while subtly working on the emotions inside. origin of expression lines.
Movements should be slow and aligned with your breathing. Inhale deeply and on the exhale press the acupressure points that meet your goals.
To identify them see (below) the paragraph “HOW TO LEARN FACIAL YOGA TECHNIQUES”.
- LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE
Lymphatic drainage promotes the elimination of toxins and excess waste from the face. These excesses are manifested by swelling in the lower eyelids (the famous bags under the eyes) or the lower face. They can also be the cause of inflammation, redness or irritation.
A practice of regular lymphatic drainage will eliminate these ailments while finding a luminous skin.
Warning: the lymphatic system is located on the surface of the skin, favor light, gentle and slow movements.
- OTHER WIDESPREAD TECHNIQUES
1. Smoothing and stretching:
The first cause of the appearance of wrinkles is due to muscle (over)contraction linked to our expressions. To blur these expression lines, wrinkle smoothing and stretching techniques work wonders!
2. Exfoliation of wrinkles:
To fade a wrinkle, erase it! For this it is a question of carrying out a movement of "scrub" of the wrinkle with the index in the opposite direction of the wrinkle.
3. Facial gymnastics:
With age, the production of hyaluronic acid and collagen slows down drastically. The skin regenerates more slowly, it wrinkles and gradually loses its density and firmness. Moreover, the oval of the face blurs under the effect of gravity. Muscle toning exercises are therefore very suitable for slowing down and countering the signs of time.
HOW TO LEARN FACIAL YOGA TECHNIQUES?
As seen above, the practice of facial yoga requires taking many precautions beforehand and throughout the session. Moreover, we all have a unique face and expressions that are unique to us. Expression wrinkles and correction needs therefore differ from one person to another.
For these reasons, we advise you to start your practice with one or a few individual face yoga classes. These courses will allow you to identify with your practitioner the areas to work on, the exercises to focus on and the points to watch out for. They can be taken face-to-face or remotely.
You can book your session with many practitioners in your area or on our website with Sandra Gasmi, founder of Demain®, graduate in facial yoga by Sylvie Lefranc.
Once you have mastered this practice and the specificities of your face, you can continue your training by taking group face yoga classes and/or taking inspiration from the many tutorials you can find on the internet.
