We all are very particular about our fitness, we all hit the gym, do yoga or any other form of exercise to keep our bodies in shape but most of the time we forget a very major part that also needs regular exercising and toning- that is our face. There are 42 individual muscles on our face that are responsible for our facial expressions, and the way we smile and look. So, it is even more important to keep all these muscles toned so that you always look young and slow the ageing process.

Many say, practising facial yoga is as good as getting Botox done if done regularly and correctly. I have personally been practising facial yoga for years now and it works like magic, the results though not instant it very effective and long-lasting. The best thing about facial yoga, you can do it anywhere and at any time.

•  Start with reciting the vowels – A, E, I, O, U. Say the vowels in an exaggerated manner so that you stretch all your face & neck muscles. To begin with, say the 5 vowels each 10 times in a day, then slowly build it to 20-30 times in a day. This is a complete exercise for your face.
• The second exercise that you can do is, close your fist and place it under your chin. Now try opening your mouth while pressing your fist up to close the mouth. This is a great exercise to get rid of the double chin. Once you’ll start doing it, you will feel the stress on your jawline and who doesn’t want the perfect jawline?
• A perfect exercise to avoid getting wrinkles under your eyes and on your forehead is to place both your hands on your forehead so that no muscles move. Now blink your eyes in an exaggerated manner about 10 times. Blinking will strengthen your eye muscles.
• Another exercise that you can try for strengthening your eye muscles is by placing your index finger and your middle finger on either side of your eyes, one at the inner corner and the other at the outer corner, and blink. Do this 10 times a day.
• Chubby cheeks look super cute when we are kids but become a major concern when we grow up. To pull up saggy and chubby cheeks, pull everything to your side. It’s like doing a sideway kiss, this stretches your cheek muscles and helps in making them firm.
• We all worry about our laughing lines and as we grow up, they tend to become more visible. The perfect solution to reducing laughing lines is placing your fingers firmly over your laugh lines, now smile as widely as possible, and remember to keep your lips apart. Hold this for 5-10 seconds and repeat the exercise 20-25 times. This will help to remove creases around the cheek and lift your cheeks.
• “A major thing to remember while applying your daily moisturizer is to always apply in an upward motion, especially around the cheeks and on the neck. If you do it otherwise you are pulling your skin down making it saggy. Another exercise that you can try is, placing your thumbs under your chin and massaging your cheeks in an upward motion (ending at the temples) using your fingers. Do this 5 times. This helps smoothen smile lines and promotes blood circulation,” says Dr. Blossom Kochhar, Chairperson of the Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)