YOUR HABITS FORM YOUR FUTURE FACE
Do you pay attention to your habits?
We all adopt habits over time. Sleeping on one side, combing your hair with the same hand, carrying your bag on the same arm, crossing your leg the same way, the way you brush your teeth, chew your food. When we repeatedly perform these seemingly natural actions daily, our body conforms to these movements, causing muscles on the dominant side to become more pronounced or tensed.
Because the body is interconnected, your habits affect your face. Therefore, cultivating self-awareness is a vital step towards a balanced symmetry from head to toe.
Face yoga is not just about facial exercises; it is a whole-listic approach to correcting your facial concerns through intention, awareness, and mindfulness.
“People do not decide their futures,
they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.”
FACIAL TENSION & STRESS
Research shows that we have about 43 pairs of muscles on our face, busy moving as you are expressing different emotions daily.
Smiling, crying, talking, kissing, chewing, blinking your eyes, all these actions require us to move specific parts of our facial muscles. Tension in your face may be a natural response to emotional or physical stress. They can result in muscle stiffness, tension headaches, inflammation, bruxism (teeth grinding), and TMJ disorders, which are uncomfortable and painful.
illustrations: ARTNATOMY, www.artnatomia.net; Victoria Contreras Flores, Spain, 2005
CAUSES OF PREMATURE AGING
Gravity, whom we have a love-hate relationship with.
Over-exposure to sunlight and heat.
Inappropriate skincare - incorrect or over-cleansing and moisturizing, harsh chemicals present in products.
Lack of sleep, insufficient or irregular rest.
Work environment - extreme conditions such as air pollution, dust, heat, and dryness.
Unbalance diet, malnutrition, extreme or sudden weight loss.
General depression, fatigue, stress, anxiety, smoking, over-indulgence in alcohol and drugs.
Decrease of collagen and elastin as we age.
Lack of facial muscle toning.
