Face yoga is the new wrinkle banisher!

Experts hail it as the simple and non-surgical way to turn back the clock Next time, delay that appointment at the wellness centre for chemicals or dangerous injectables that aim to turn back the clock. The latest technique to get rid of your wrinkles is simple and non-invasive and well, you can pull faces while doing it. Called face yoga, the set of facial exercises has caught the fancy of Hollywood celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, who are said to be advocates of it. Here's how you can get glowing with pulling a few faces...  ITS BENEFITS  Like regular yoga, the moves in face yoga also have unique names. Want to try The Marilyn, Bumblebee or Lion — all expressions intended to turn back the ageing clock and and reduce wrinkles. Experts state that face yoga not only rejuvenates the face, but simultaneously helps in putting back that glow. Explains yoga trainer Yogesh Chavan, "The face muscles are not different from the muscles of the rest of the body. Thus, if they are not exercised, they become flabby. Face yoga, which allows for oxygen to rush to the face, is extremely rejuvenating and acts as a beauty booster. It entails toning one's facial muscles by smiling, stretching the eyebrows outwards, twisting your lips or moving the cheeks from side to side, stretching out your tongue and even making the mouth into the shape of blowing a kiss. One can do this every morning or even while travelling."  HOW IT HAS HELPED  PEOPLE  Face yoga aims to tighten facial muscles and aid blood circulation. Rajiv Ananth, an advertising executive, who regularly practises this yoga in the morning, is gung-ho about it. "Due to long work hours I had developed a puffiness around the eyes. But I tried face yoga and found it to be beneficial. After just a week of exercises such as Kapalbhatti and deep breathing techniques, I found that my dark circles had greatly reduced," he informs.      According to businesswoman Nisha Shrimant, what really attracted her to facial yoga in the past was the fact that she could do it anywhere. Says she, "With my schedule I travel a lot on work and so I can't get onto a treadmill or spend time on a yoga mat. I realised facial yoga could be done on the go and after my yoga teacher taught me a few exercises I loved it," she admits, adding, "Now, when I also feel my face tightening due to stress I take a break and go into a washroom or a quiet corridor and do facial contortions. It's funny to someone who sees me, but it really works; my face relaxes almost immediately," she adds.  PRACTISE THESE  EXERCISES TODAY!  While Chavan states that yogasanas like Simhasan (lion pose) and Vyaghrasan (tiger pose) are apt to fit into facial yoga, holistic health guru Mickey Mehta also presents easy face exercises to do at any time. "Chewing is a good exercise, as well as blowing (like blowing a balloon), sucking in one's cheeks holding it for seven to eight seconds and releasing it, frowning, then relaxing then a repeat of this also helps. In addition, try smiling, laughing and most important, 'still the face' for a few minutes each day. All these techniques can prevent wrinkles, stop further ones from happening and tighten up the face," he sums up. If you love making faces, get started today for that glow!  ismat.tahseen@ timesgroup.com  When making faces works as a beauty fix