Ahhh…… Face yoga! It is one of my favorite things to do! Not only does it make me feel silly and fun, but it has purpose and countless benefits.

We have about 20 muscles in our face alone, not including those that move the jaw, tongue, throat, and neck. That’s a whooooole lotta muscle action!!!!!!! In order to convey all the nuance of feelings/emotions, we must have skilled use of our facial muscles. As we age and become constricted by social constraints, we lose some of the natural expression in our faces.

We need practices to help invite all our juicy expressiveness back on board. Children are masters at exercising their faces. They love to be silly and make goofy faces. They have an inherent and embodied sense of how making faces loosens us up, causes us to laugh, and helps us to socially engage and express!!!

I like to use face yoga for all the benefits I have already listed. For those who have known me for a long time, they know that I LOVE to contort my face into as many wild configurations as possible. I can touch into aspects of my psyche, elicit emotion from myself, and release incredible amounts of tension. Plus, it is so much fun.

In my yoga classes, I usually introduce a few face yoga postures to diffuse tension, to open up the hearts/invite joy, and to help create connection. I have posted a video below with a few face yoga moves. I encourage you to partake with other people, even if it is over video chat. It is a a blast to look at one another while doing these! Introduce a few in your zoom meetings with colleagues, try them out with clients, surprise your children with them , or even try them while looking in the mirror. You won’t regret it!

This video has 4 moves. I will post more videos as the weeks go on, so you can add some more to your repertoire!

Enjoy and comment below, letting me know how you experience face yoga!