BLOG 52: HOW EMOTION CAN MANIFEST ITSELF IN OUR SKIN

Today, I’d like to talk to you about how our emotions affect our face. The way we think and feel, shows itself in our faces. 

Our emotions, moods, and thoughts are connected to facial expressions. We crease our cheeks as we smile, crinkle our eyes in joy, or pull our eyebrows in when worried.

When we’re young, our skin is plump with collagen, elastin, and moisture. Our skin bounces back into place after any expressive movement. 

As we age, our collagen and elastin production drops. Furrows, wrinkles, and lines begin to form where we repetitively crease our skin.

We also carry tension from negative emotions in our faces. Anxiety, fearfulness, and worry cause us to tighten and constrict our facial muscles. We often do this unconsciously.

Face Yoga helps us to relax. We become aware of the individual muscles in our face, how they move, and what they can do. 

As we develop this awareness, we begin to see the connections between the way we feel and how we look.

Face Yoga is about more than doing a few exercises. It ultimately helps us create a mind-body connection with our face.

THE FIVE FACE YOGA ELEMENTS

There are five areas to Face Yoga, all of which are interconnected. These are facial exercise, face massage, acupressure, relaxation, and your general wellbeing.

1. FACIAL EXERCISE

In most of the body, the muscles connect from bone to bone. However, our facial muscles connect from bone either to other muscles or to your skin. This is why facial exercise works so well.

Facial exercise strengthens, tones, and builds these muscles. As you exercise them, the skin connected to these muscles becomes tight, taught, and lifted. This lifts the entire face, firms it up, and smooths out the appearance of lines and wrinkles. It also helps to prevent new ones from forming.

These exercises train us to use our muscles in different ways.

For example, we often underuse our eyes and overuse our forehead. Instead of always furrowing your brow, you can strengthen your eye muscles to express your emotions more. 

2. MASSAGE

Massaging your face is an incredible way to encourage lymphatic drainage, ease tension, and stimulate the circulatory system.

Lymphatic fluid transports waste from your tissues. It’s important to keep this moving well with light touch stimulation. Lymphatic drainage reduces stagnation, puffiness, and dark circles under the eyes. 

Massage brings freshly oxygenated blood right to your skin’s surface. This nutrient boost gives you a healthy complexion and radiant glow.

Massage helps us release tense muscles and the deep lines they form.

3. ACUPRESSURE

Acupressure is rooted in Ayurvedic principles and Traditional Chinese Medicine. We practice it by applying pressure to certain points in the face that are connected to health and wellness. 

We can use acupressure both to energize our face and to relieve tension. Stimulating certain points can even help us sleep better, open up our sinuses, or unblock our ears.

Acupressure can be very calming in stressful moments. If your temples ever throb from stress, you can stimulate acupressure points for a release.

4. RELAXATION

By practicing Face Yoga, you’ll get to know your face in a very tactile way. As you do, you’ll notice where you hold tension and learn how to release it through conscious relaxation.

If we rely on making facial expressions to communicate emotion, we’ll soon find those lines etched into our skin.

Expression lines aren’t necessarily a bad thing. They can be endearing when they show a life filled with joy and laughter. Part of the beauty of Face Yoga is that you can decide what you want to work on and what you’d like to embrace. 

Stress also shows itself in our face. We often hold stressful emotions in the jaw, around our mouth, our eyes, or the forehead.

Face Yoga teaches us how to let go of stress related expressions. We learn how to keep our face relaxed, gentle, and softened. 

5. WELLBEING

I believe that real beauty reflects our entire state of wellbeing. And this works from the inside out. 

Take some time to think about yourself holistically. Are you eating life-giving foods that support your body? How consistently do you exercise and move your body?

Wellness is about more than eating right and exercising. What do you say to yourself when you look in the mirror?

How we feel on the inside radiates out through our faces. Every thought and emotion will make an imprint.

If you aren’t treating yourself with loving kindness, all the facial exercise in the world won’t bring the results you desire. Self care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.

HANDLING OUR EMOTIONS

Negative emotions are very much a normal part of life. It isn’t healthy to suppress, ignore, or feel bad about them.

If you’re tempted to cover up a negative emotion with false positivity, try simply acknowledging how you really feel and sitting with that discomfort until it passes.

Affirmations can gently train us into kinder new thinking patterns. Nature is incredibly soothing, helping to lift moods. If you’re very upset, try releasing it from your body with Qi Gong, Yoga, or dance.

We also need ways to cope with stress before we reach a state of overwhelm or distress.

If you find yourself consistently taking on too much, look for where you are following ego or living by other people’s values.

Are you okay with someone else having the spotlight? If your ego always wants you to take the leading role, practice stepping back and giving someone else the platform.

Always needing to help, can sometimes be a hidden control issue. Instead of doing it all yourself, look for community and collaboration.  

Are you trying to live someone else’s inspired life? This is a recipe for unhappiness, drained energy, and loss of motivation.

Always follow your own soul’s purpose, even when this means saying no to other people. Find what lights you up and practice letting go of what doesn’t. Following our purpose fills us with energy, joy, and vitality.

YOUR DAILY PRACTICE

Face Yoga is a truly holistic practice. We see the best results when we consistently treat ourselves well over time.

That said, don’t feel you need to incorporate everything at once or do it all perfectly right away.

If you feel too busy or rushed to do a full Face Yoga routine, try spacing it out through your day. Tune into yourself from moment to moment. Notice how you’re feeling and if you’re holding tension.

Learn to be responsive to your needs. Take time to breathe deeply, calm your nerves, and release momentary stress.

Always look for ways to bring grace, ease, and flow into your life. And always practice gratitude. This is incredibly easy to do, even in the busiest times.

Saying, “thank you,” is a wonderful way to start your day off. Finding positive things to appreciate, can also help you interrupt negative thinking patterns throughout your day.

Confidence, self-love, and serenity are what helps us feel good at a deep level. Face Yoga gives you a gentle way to build these healthy inner traits up. As you practice, you’ll notice changes reflect more joy, more peace, and true beauty.

If you would like to train others to teach Face Yoga and inspire them to be the best version of themselves with natural holistic techniques, you can find out more about becoming a Face Yoga teacher here https://faceyogaexpert.com/teacher-training