American cosmetologist Carol Maggio assures that plastic surgery is far from the only way to combat aging or imperfections in facial features. Based on her many years of experience, Carol has developed a set of exercises that she positions as a real alternative to drastic measures by a surgeon. With the help of this complex, you can make the shape of the nose more elegant, lips fuller, and the second chin is almost invisible.
Here 10 proven yoga exercises from Carol Maggio’s acclaimed book “Aerobics for the Skin and Muscles of the Face” aimed at solving the main problems of appearance.
1. Exercise to strengthen the upper eyelids
Place your middle fingers between the eyebrows, above the bridge of the nose, and index fingers at the outer corners of the eyes, gently pressing on the skin. Look up. Squint the lower eyelid, as if pulling it up to the upper one.
With your fingers you need to feel the beating of the muscle of the outer side of the eye. Alternately squint the eyelid and relax the muscle 10 times in a row, each time focusing on the pulsation of the muscle. Then keep squinting and tightly squeeze the eyelids. With your eyes closed, count to 40.
This exercise trains the orbicular muscle of the eye, toning the upper eyelid: as a result, it tightens and the look becomes more open.
2. Exercise to strengthen the lower eyelids
Place the index fingers of both hands on the outer corners of the eyes, and the middle fingers on the inner corners and lightly press. Look up. Squint your lower eyelid so that you can feel the beating of the muscles of the inner and outer sides of the eye.
Squint and relax your eyelids 10 times. Keep your upper eyelids open. Squint again and look up, keeping the lower eyelid tight. Count up to 40.
This exercise strengthens the orbicularis oculi and lower eyelids, and reduces puffiness and puffiness under the eyes.
3. Forehead lift exercise
Place the index fingers of both hands on the middle of the forehead parallel to the eyebrows. Then pull your fingers down towards your eyebrows. Leave them in this position, and look up. Pressing your fingers on your forehead, focus on pushing your eyebrows up.
Alternately push them up and relax. Repeat 10 times. Then raise your eyebrows and press them with your fingers. Do light pushes with your eyebrows up until you feel a burning sensation in the muscles. Keep your eyebrows raised while gently pressing down with your fingers. Count to 30. Relax and massage your eyebrows in circular motions.
The exercise raises the eyebrows, prevents the formation of wrinkles when frowning the forehead and smoothes the existing ones.
4. Cheek development exercise
Open your mouth, pulling the corners of your lips in different directions. The mouth should be an elongated oval in shape, the upper lip pressed against the teeth. Place the index fingers of both hands on the apples of your cheeks. Smile with the corners of your mouth, then release the corners. Repeat this movement at a fast pace 35 times. Only the upper lip pressed against the teeth should work.
During this exercise, the circular muscle of the mouth is involved. With regular performance, the “apples” of the cheeks rise, smoothing out the hollows under the eyes.
5. Exercise to “shorten” the nose
Lift the tip of your nose with your index finger. Pulling down the upper lip, force the nose to bend down. You will feel the tip of your nose push your finger. Hold for a second in this position. Relax your lip and then repeat the exercise 35 times. Pay attention to breathing in this exercise: it should be even, without delay.
The exercise narrows the tip of the nose, training the muscle that lowers the nasal septum, thereby slightly raising the nose and visually shortening it.
6. Exercise for the formation of the contour of the lips
Press your lips together without pursing them. The facial expression should be roughly similar to that which children have when they are offended. Use your index finger to tap in the middle of your lips. Imagine that you are holding a pencil with your lips. Take your finger away from your lips. Imagine the pencil getting longer. Keep your lips tight until you feel a burning sensation. As soon as it starts, make a pulsating motion with your finger along the center of your lips and stop when you count to 30.
This exercise, when performed regularly, makes the lips fuller and smoothes wrinkles above the upper lip.
7. Exercise to smooth out the nasolabial folds
Mentally draw a dot in the center of the upper lip and a second dot in the center of the lower. Open your mouth, moving these points away from each other so that the mouth takes the shape of an elongated oval. The upper lip at this time should be tightly pressed to the teeth, closing them. Imagine a line – from the corners of the mouth to the wings of the nose. Point your index fingers up and down along this imaginary line. Repeat the movements until you feel a burning sensation in the nasolabial folds. After that, perform pulsating movements with your index fingers up and down at a fast pace, counting to 30.
Systematic exercises help smooth wrinkles from the nose to the corners of the mouth.
8. Neck Strengthening Exercise
This exercise is more convenient to perform lying down. Grasp the front of your neck with your palms. Raise your head slightly off the floor and linger in this position, then lower it. Repeat 30 times. Then put your hands along the body. Keeping your buttocks tight, raise your head and shoulders about an inch off the floor. Turn your head left and right 20 times, then relax. Repeat 10 more times.
This exercise helps to strengthen the muscles that keep the head upright and also helps to smooth and tighten the skin around the neck.
9. Facial slimming exercise
This exercise can also be done lying down. Open your mouth by turning your lips inward over your upper and lower teeth. Place your hands on either side of your jaw, then slowly move them up the sides of your face. Then look up. Continue until you feel a burning sensation in the sides of your face. After that, raise your arms up above your head and linger in this position, counting to 30.
This exercise tones and tightens the muscles of the entire face.
10. Exercise to tone the neck and chin
Sit up straight with your chin up high. Close your lips and smile vigorously without showing your teeth. Then wrap your hands around the neck at the base above the collarbones and gently pull the skin down. Look up. Tilt your head back and release it, feeling a strong tension in the muscles of the neck and chin. Count to 3 and return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 35 times.
This exercise works to strengthen the neck and jaw line and also helps to significantly reduce the double chin.
