NIn recent years face yoga has become one of the latest wellbeing trends taking TikTok by storm – clocking up over two billion views.
The anti-aging practice is proving to be popular with enthusiasts because it is designed to relax wrinkles and lift facial muscles naturally.
Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle are reportedly fans.
A new business has recently been launched in Fife offering workshops and one-to-one sessions in face yoga.
And I was curious to find out what the practice involves and to see if it really works.
So I met up with Natalie McConnell of Unfold Face Yoga in Aberdour to give it a try.
What is face yoga?
Face yoga is a series of exercises which stretch the facial muscles with the aim of strengthening them for a more youthful complexion.
Natalie, 37, started offering workshops in face yoga last month.
The mum-of-three explains there are four parts to the practice.
“Face yoga is a methodology of four things – facial massage, facial relaxation, acupressure and a little bit of lymphatic drainage,” she says.
“Combining all of those, we look at activating the muscles and teaching them when we want them to move and when we want them to relax.”
Why did Natalie decide to bring face yoga to Fife?
Natalie was the depute headteacher of Valley Primary for ten years before taking a career break.
She then decided to follow her passion for yoga by becoming a specialist women’s yoga teacher.
Recently she discovered face yoga and trained to become a certified face yoga teacher.
And in August she launched her own business Unfold Yoga and its side arm, Unfold Face Yoga.
“I have tried Botox but wasn’t keen to continue with injectables and instead wanted to find a more non-invasive holistic approach,” she says.
“I then stumbled across face yoga, did the training and found I loved it so decided to bring it to Fife.
“Now I am planning to do workshops in different venues here, bringing it to as many women as I can.”
How much does a face yoga session cost?
One of Natalie’s face yoga workshops, which lasts around an hour and a half, costs £25. The next one takes place on November 3 at Studio 72 in Aberdour.
While a consultation and follow up lesson (1hr 30min) is priced £60.
My face yoga taster session
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed along to Studio 72 in Aberdour for my face yoga taster session with Natalie.
“If anything feels sore or uncomfortable just pull back because it shouldn’t be painful, it should be enjoyable,” Natalie told me.
“And you will pull some funny faces!”
She went on to explain that our taster session would include a warm up, a workout for the upper and lower face, looking at a couple of acupressure points and then relaxation.
Trying out some face yoga exercises
First up was some eye exercises.
Following Natalie’s lead, I put my hand on my forehead while doing some eye movements.
I then used my index fingers on both hands to smooth my forehead, stretching out the muscle.
Natalie then encouraged me to do ‘flirty eyes’.
This involved me resting my fingertips near my nose while I looked up at the ceiling, batting my eyelids and making an ‘O’ shape with my mouth.
The aim of this is to stretch the mouth while also engaging the jaw.
I quickly discovered this is not as easy as it sounds!
We then did some light tapping with our index fingers around the eye area which tells the muscle to relax.
Natalie also showed me how to do an exercise called ‘The V’.
It involves placing your two fingers in a V-shape over your eyes, squeezing the muscle to engage it, with the eyes looking up to the ceiling.
Natalie then instructed me to apply some marula oil to my hands before lightly pulling my fingers across my forehead to help lymphatic drainage.
‘Hamster cheeks’ and ‘pufferfish’
Next it was time to work the cheeks.
This involved taking air from one cheek to the other using my hands to smooth out the lips while inflating each cheek.
This was followed by a ‘pufferfish’ exercise.
Again this involved inflating one cheek with air but this time tapping on it – boosting the circulation in the cheek muscle.
We then pinched our cheeks to stimulate the skin before smoothing them over with our fingers.
The focus then shifted to the jawline with some pinching either side and then making circular motions with the fingers to release any tightness or tension.
Acupressure points on the face
Natalie then showed me how to do some acupressure on the face.
This helps to promote relaxation, release tension release and boost blood circulation.
The first one she showed me aims to help ease headaches.
It involved me applying lightly pressure with my index finger to an acupressure point in between my eyebrows.
We finished off the session with some relaxation.
What did I think of face yoga?
I enjoyed doing face yoga. It was fun and I felt very relaxed after the session.
I like the idea of doing a natural workout for the face to help smooth out any wrinkles and fine lines without having to resort to Botox.
Natalie says that face yoga is not a quick fix so you won’t see much of a difference after one session.
She showed me a before photo, taken five years ago before practising face yoga, and a more recent photo and you can see her forehead is definitely smoother.
Although she admits she has also used face taping, face cupping and LED red light therapy so it could be a combination of doing face yoga as well as these other treatments.
But I think it would be worth giving face yoga a try on a regular basis just to see if it works!
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