BLOG 269: GOT A SORE THROAT? THESE FACE YOGA MOVES CAN HELP
May 29, 2024
It might officially be Spring here in the UK, but the wet weather means many of us are still struggling with coughs and colds – and the sore throats that can accompany them.
So, I’m dedicating this blog post to two quick and easy face yoga moves that can help when you have a sore throat.
These techniques are also brilliant for releasing blockages in the throat chakra.
One of the seven main chakras, the throat chakra is all about expressing your true, authentic self. But when the energy flow through this chakra becomes stagnant or blocked, you might find that you struggle to speak your truth. You may also notice physical issues, such as jaw tension or a sore throat.
Like many face yoga techniques, the moves I’m going to show you in this post work in multiple ways. They address issues on a physical, emotional, and energetic level. And, of course, they also help to lift and tone the neck area, which is an added bonus!
If you prefer to follow along with a video, you can also find me demonstrating these two techniques over on my YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there – I regularly share free face yoga routines and wellness tips.
Before You Start
Make sure you have clean hands and a clean face before you begin this face yoga routine. I also recommend applying a few drops of serum to the neck area to allow your hands to glide easily over your skin.
My go-to serum for face yoga is always my Fusion by Danielle Collins Pro Lift Moisturising Serum, which was developed by an award-winning skincare expert to specifically work with face yoga.
Made from high-quality botanic ingredients and certified organic, this serum is a beautiful way to nourish your skin from the outside in.
Find a comfortable spot and take a few deep breaths to centre yourself, inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
Then, you are ready to begin.
1. Lion’s Breath
Our first technique is a classic breathing exercise that is wonderful for releasing stress and tension. I especially love this exercise for opening the throat chakra – it really gives you that sense of letting go of anything that is blocking you from speaking your authentic truth.
To do it, bring your hands up beside your face. Inhale through your nose, closing your eyes and bringing your hands closed into loose fists.
Then, forcibly exhale through your mouth, sticking out your tongue and making a “haarr” sound with your breath to mimic a lion’s roar. At the same time, open your hands and your eyes out wide.
You can repeat this action as many times as you like – I suggest at least three or four to really get the energy flowing freely through your throat chakra.
2. Acupressure
The second technique I love to use for sore throats and blockages in the throat chakra is a little bit of acupressure massage.
If you are a regular face yoga practitioner, you’ll already know how I love to incorporate acupressure into my face yoga routines. There are so many benefits, both physically and energetically.
For those not already familiar with acupressure, it comes from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and uses the same points as acupuncture to stimulate the flow of energy (Qi in TCM or prana in yoga) through the body. The difference is that we just use our fingers instead of needles.
Each acupressure point is associated with different benefits. For this post, I’m focusing on the point that sits just beneath the ears, at the top of the jaw. If you place your fingers there, you should feel a little natural indent.
Start by just pressing gently on this point with your index fingers. You can close your eyes if that feels comfortable. Bring your attention to your breath, taking long, deep inhales and exhales through your nose.
Then, start to massage the acupressure point by moving your fingers in small circles. Go one way for around 30 seconds, then repeat in the other direction.
This particular acupressure point is fantastic for releasing jaw tension. It is also a great one for addressing any throat issues and encouraging a good flow of energy through your throat chakra.
Finished!
There you have it – two really quick and easy face yoga techniques you can use when you have a sore throat or are experiencing blockages in your throat chakra. These two moves are also great when you are feeling stressed, especially if you are like me and tend to hold emotional tension in your jaw.
Having a couple of quick techniques like this in your toolkit is great for times when you need a bit of immediate stress release during your day. But there are also times when you want to take a longer self-care break so that you can really focus in on relaxing and soothing both body and mind.
For those times, I have some wonderful on-demand Face Yoga Retreats available. Each of the four Retreats is three hours of facial exercises, facial massages, acupressure, wellness techniques, yoga, beauty hacks, Pilates, style tips, sound healing and Gua Sha.
There’s one for each season, so it really is a full year’s worth of self-care, all wrapped up in one bundle. Of course, you can also dive in and out of the different sections if you don’t have a full three hours to spare but still want to focus on self-care.
