In the ongoing quest to age gracefully and exude a sense of inner peace, many people are searching for natural, affordable options that will help them look and feel better. One such method is face yoga. Snehja Sanganeria an internationally certified Face Yoga instructor, who has trained under the world- leading face yoga expert, Danielle Collins was the guest on The Navhind Times talk show, Talk from the Heart. The show aired on the Goa 365 channel on October 29 and Sanganeria who is also the founder of Face Prana, spoke about the various aspects of face yoga and demonstrated several massage techniques and exercises to target the face and neck. An International Business graduate from UK, she recounted how the rosacea, a skin ailment which she has been suffering from the last ten years led her to face yoga and establishing her company, Face Prana. “I had visited multiple dermatologists and taken several treatments – antibiotics, ointment, gels, expensive skincare products, only to see the symptoms worsening the minute I stopped anything for a few days,” she shared. “Not only did the condition affect my skin but also my self-confidence.” In her search for a solution to her painful skin condition, she came across Face Yoga on YouTube and stared practicing the techniques but did not see satisfactory results. “However, the logic and concept of working on facial muscles resonated and stuck with me and I dug deeper and learnt proper techniques from an instructor,” she added. With celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle touting the powers of this facial exercise technique, face yoga is gaining momentum. But what is Face Yoga and what are the benefits? “When we do yoga, Pilates, Zumba, etcetera, we exercise our body but forget our face and neck. This area alone has 56 muscles which are more often than not ignored. So simply put, face yoga involves massage and exercises that stimulate the muscles and skin of the face and neck. This softens and relaxes the muscles which also tones and sculpts them thus helping to age more gracefully,” she answered. With age, the level of collagen decreases and this causes the loosening of muscles and as Sangenaria explained, the other contributing factors are lifestyle and stress that accelerate aging and cause wrinkles. “The 6 main aspects of face yoga that I teach are exercise, massage, acupressure, breath-work, relaxation and posture correction. These when practiced correctly reduces the cortisol level which further reduces the breakdown of collagen,” she said explaining how the technique works. “Once you learn about the different face and neck muscles, you then become aware of the importance of even simple things like applying cream to your face correctly using the upward movement.” She then highlighted the many benefits of this technique and said, “Besides toning and lifting the muscles, face yoga also helps to smooth lines and wrinkles. The massage helps to boost blood circulation improve lymphatic drainage and release tension.” She also warned against too much of massaging and added, “When we exercise our body too much there are adverse effects and the same applies to face yoga. Hence one should exercise caution and use this technique only for 30 minutes in a day.” A common misconception among many is that face yoga is only for women. Debunking this idea, she said, “This can be attributed to the beauty industry which has always been women-oriented and the products are therefore women-centric. It is only recently that more products for men are in the market. In fact I am often asked this question by men who want to learn this technique. The face yoga exercises are for all without any distinction.”
She also spoke about the tools required, warm-up routine, face tapping and related topics while sharing tips and demonstrating a few exercises. Facial yoga is non-toxic, non-invasive and safe for anyone, additionally it is inexpensive and you can do it on your own time.
