About Face

by: AndreaDow
Total views: 527
Word Count: 364

Wednesday, December 19th

Recently one of my clients underwent a "mini face lift". I have yet to see her and the results of her procedure, but the way she described the swelling, the ban on exercise as prescribed by the doctors and the discomfort, listening to frosty the snowman for the 800th time and shopping in crowds is more up my alley during holiday season.

Is there another way to save face without all those needles, pain and swelling? Apparently, some devout yogis think they have found a safer, cheaper and fun alternative. What could that be, you ask? Well the answer is face-yoga! It is the latest trend hitting the country and it claims to stimulate the glands in the neck and throat which will help to balance hormone release from the thyroid and parathyroid. Valerie Monroe, contributer to O Magazine, reports on one face-yoga student and how she thinks practicing several face poses will help her avoid plastic surgery. There is even an entire book devoted to the subject! The Yoga Face by Annelise Hagen.

Want to test out a few of the poses yourself? Here are some tips thanks to Valerie Monroe:

1. Tongue Lock- curl your tongue back in your throat as far as possible and cross your eyes while trying to stare at the tip of your nose. Breath through your nose for five breaths.
2. The Eyelid Lift- Close your eyes, stretching your upper lids as high as you can get, let the eyeballs roll up and try breathing through your nose. It is very hard to hold this position for a even minute (trust me and give it a try).
3. The Lip Line Eraser- puff air out of the top lip, thenm the bottom lip, then both lips together as if you were blowing up a balloon and hold two fingers to the lips to keep the air from escaping.

These poses may not be full-proof, but they are worth a try. We carry so much tension in our faces and even if these poses help to release that, our faces will undoubtedly look happier :-).

Rating: 4.00