SAVE FACE
Yoga, aerobics, weight training and stretching are not for our bodies alone. Through a series of contracting and relaxing muscles on our necks and faces, we can boost circulation, improve muscle tone and release excess tension. Oh and if you give a hoot, try the following exercises to soften wrinkles, lines and creases that already exist and preventing new ones from forming.
You may feel ridiculous at first, BUT the results may keep you from looking your “age.”
Fishy/kissy Face
Purse your lips. Open and close like a fish eating food.
‘Eyes-Wide-Open’ Aerobics
Raise your upper lids and eyebrows to open your eyes as wide as possible at a rate of once a second. A variation on this was to do circles. Looking as far in all directions around the rim of the eye. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
Neck Aerobics
AKA, the underbiter! Have you ever seen how a bulldogs underbite looks? That’s our goal too. Look up at a 45 degree angle. Take the bottom row of your teeth and stretch them up over your top lip. Repeat 15 to 20 times.
Cheek ‘Weight Training’
Sit at a table or desk, or stand by the kitchen work-surface. Put your elbows on the surface and cup your head with your hands so the fleshy parts of your cheeks rest on the ‘heels’ of your hands, your fingers on your temples and, most important, let your hands take the weight of your head. If this doesn’t happen, adjust your position, perhaps by raising the height of your chair with a cushion. Smile and feel your cheek muscles tighten against the heels of your hands; if you can’t feel this, adjust the position of your hands. Repeat 20 times.
Yoga Lion Variation
The lion is a yoga position that uses the entire body. Carmen would just do the face part. Open your mouth wide and let out an audible sigh. Stretch your tongue out as far as possible. Repeat this three times, then relax.
Finally, mom encouraged me to just be expressive. Laughing, smiling, gasping, all utilize the face muscles. So let your next workout be about FACE! 🙂