BLOG 146: USE THESE 5 FACIAL MASSAGES WHEN YOU HAVE A COLD
Apr 26, 2022
Face Yoga is often used to tone and lift our faces naturally. But it also has other benefits for our health and wellness. In this post, I’m sharing five simple facial massage techniques that can help to relieve the symptoms of a cold, headache, or blocked sinuses.
Make sure you have a clean face and clean hands before you start this Face Yoga sequence and work to your own level.
Apply a few drops of serum to help your hands glide over your skin. My favourite is the Fusion by Danielle Collins Pro Lift Facial Moisturising Serum. It was specially designed to work with face yoga and is also packed with organic botanical oils that nourish and moisturise your skin.
This serum also has a wonderful fragrance. Even if you have a blocked nose and can’t smell it that well right now, the aroma of those plant-based ingredients may help to clear your sinuses and boost your overall wellness.
1. OUTSIDE NOSTRILS
Start by taking your index fingers to the outside edge of each nostril. Gently press on the acupressure point here.
Remember to work to your own level with all Face Yoga techniques. I encourage you to connect with your intuition and use it to guide you in deciding what your face and body need today.
Hold your fingers on this acupressure point for around 30 seconds. If you can, try to breathe through your nose as you press on the point. Don’t worry if your nose is really blocked and you can’t manage it.
When you first put pressure on this point, you might find that your sinuses actually feel a bit more blocked. But once you release your hands, it should be easier to breathe through your nose than it was before.
After holding for around 30 seconds, start to massage the points by circling your fingers in one direction, and then in the other.
This simple massage can be surprisingly effective at clearing the sinuses. You might want to have a tissue to hand, as this can start to bring some snot out of your nose – better that it comes out than stays in!
2. SMOOTH WITH THUMBS
Next, take your thumbs to the outside edge of your nostrils. Gently smooth out and slightly upwards, following the curve of your cheekbones. Replace your thumbs at your nostrils and repeat the move.
Again, this massage technique is wonderful for clearing your airways and unblocking your sinuses. If you are feeling congested, this is a great option to get things flowing a bit more freely again.
As you continue this massage for around a minute, you should notice it becoming easier to breathe.
3. SINUS RELIEF
Take your index fingers to either side of your nose bone, just above your nostrils. Holding your fingers here, gently wiggle up and down.
This small movement helps to get things moving again. Like with the acupressure point at the start, you might feel your nose blocking up a bit as you do this move. However, once you release your fingers, you should find your nose feels clearer and it is easier to breathe.
Continue to wiggle your fingers for 30 seconds to a minute.
If you can, take a long, deep breath in and out through your nose. Hopefully, it is already feeling less blocked.
Next, use your index fingers to press gently at the inner corners of your eyes, just next to your nose.
This is a fantastic acupressure point to use when you have a headache or blocked and painful sinuses.
Breathe deeply as you continue to press this point, holding there for around 30 seconds.
Then, use two fingers and your thumb to pinch along your eyebrows, starting at the inside edge and working outwards.
The goal here isn’t to lift and stretch the skin, but to pinch down deep into the muscle.
When we have a cold, we tend to hold a lot of tension in this area, either because of headaches or sinus issues. This facial massage technique helps to release that tension and relax the muscles of the upper face.
4. LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE
Our next technique gently stimulates the lymphatic drainage system. It helps to clear congestion and get rid of excess waste. It also helps to relieve blocked and painful sinuses.
Using a featherlight touch, stroke your fingers down the side of your neck and onto your collarbone. Keep the pressure really gentle here, we don’t even want to get as deep as the muscle. The lymphatic drainage system is just beneath the skin, so there’s no need to press hard.
You can tilt your head back slightly as you do this to make it easier to access the area.
Sometimes, doing this technique when you have a cold can result in a little bit of phlegm building up in your throat. If this happens for you, just take a moment to go spit it out before resuming this sequence.
Then, place your fingers just above your collarbone. Keeping your hands still, make a small stroking motion with your fingers from the base of your neck down to your collarbone.
Again, this move is great for stimulating lymphatic drainage and encouraging all that congestion to get moving. You might find you want to swallow a bit as you do this as well.
5. THIRD EYE POINT
Take your index finger to the third eye point, which is just between your eyebrows. Press gently on this acupressure point.
This point is well-known for reducing stress and boosting our overall health. It is a lovely relaxing way to finish this Face Yoga sequence and helps you find a bit of calm when you are feeling under the weather.
The third eye point is also a great acupressure point to stimulate when you have a headache.
Breathe deeply as you continue to press here, through your nose if you can.
FINISH
To finish, bring your arms out to the side and then up above your head. Stretch up as you take a deep breath in, then bring your hands together in prayer position and draw them down through the centre line, exhaling.
Visualise bringing a healing white light all the way down through your body. Feel the sense of wellness and good health spreading through you.
Once your hands are all the way back down, repeat the move. Do this three or four times in total.
Bring your hands in front of your chest in prayer position, then release them down into your lap.
And we’re all done! If you’ve come to this post because you aren’t feeling very well today, I hope you get better soon and that these techniques have helped relieve some of your symptoms.
For those who prefer a visual guide, you can also find a video version of this sequence on my YouTube channel.
The moves I’ve shared with you today are just a small sample of what Face Yoga can offer. If you’d like to learn more about Face Yoga and how you can teach these amazing techniques to others, check out my teacher training courses.
I offer two teacher training courses, one in Face Yoga and the other in Facial Gua Sha. Many people choose to do both, but they work well as standalone courses too.
Both are internationally recognised, accredited courses, and we’ve designed them to fit around your life. You can access all the course content online and work through it at your own pace. If you prefer to work with a teacher, you can also take the Face Yoga teacher training course as a one-to-one training.
Whether you want a new career, to add another service to your existing offering, or just to gather the most in-depth knowledge of Face Yoga you can get, teacher training is ideal.
