Facial Yoga Exercises

Yoga has been used as a form of exercise for centuries. Rather than focusing on intense physical activity and increased heart rate, its focus is relaxation and stress relief through breathing, poses and increased circulation. While many think of exercise as only being important for the muscles of the body, it is equally important to exercise the muscles of the face. These muscles absorb an equal amount of stress and tension; unless these are relieved, headches can result, along with constricted blood flow that prevents the flow of nutrients to the face. The use of yoga facial exercises can be extremely beneficial in treating these problems.

Seated comfortably in an upright position, eyes closed, take the index and middle fingers of both hands and place them in the middle of your forehead. You will then rub your forehead by making small circles with these fingers. Move them across your brow to your temples, the area that holds stress and tension, and stop while massaging them gently. You will then move down your face to your jaw and stop a moment to massage it. From the jaw, move across the cheeks, then along the side of the nose and back to the forehead. Repeat this process. This exercise can relieve stress and tension, especially in the jaw and temples.

Seat yourself comfortably in an upright position, eyes closed, and begin to focus on your breathing. Feel the cool air coming in and the warm air going out. Begin to rub your palms together quickly until they are warm, then place them over your eyes. Repeat this process. This exercise soothes the eyes, the optic nerves and the area around the eyes.

As you grit your teeth, open your lips as wide as you can. While you do this, feel your lips, chin, cheeks and neck stretching to their limit. Hold for a few seconds and then release. Repeat. This exercise increases circulation, relieves stress and tension, and relaxes the face muscles.

Sit comfortably, back straight, eyes closed. Take a deep breath and then exhale forcefully while simultaneously opening your mouth wide, sticking out your tongue as far as you can, and saying, "Arghhhhhhh." You will then open your eyes and look up. Repeat this exercise three times. This exercise helps relieve tension in the throat and face while increasing circulation.