6 Exercises To Achieve A More Youthful Appearance

Look five to ten years younger with a daily facial exercise routine! Facial exercises work because they help boost the production of collagen and elastin giving your face greater elasticity. They also increase blood circulation bringing more oxygen and nutrients to the skin. You may experience minor skin break outs at first, but this is normal and is nothing to worry about.

Facial exercising is not a look-young-instantly program. It may take 2 or 3 months for the positive effects to really show, however, if you make a genuine commitment, you will reap the benefits of looking younger. Plan to perform the exercises a minimum of 5 times per week for optimal results.

For maximum effect, perform the exercises in front of a mirror and visualize the muscles you are currently working on. Hold each exercise for about 6 seconds and repeat 5 times.

Don’t be afraid to laugh at how you look while you are performing these exercises. My friend Rita and I tried some of the ones I was researching and it was pretty hilarious. At one point my husband Tim had to leave the room because he said we looked way too scary! The bottom line is that they do work and if you give them some time, you will notice a big difference!

# 1 - To smooth your Forehead

Place the fingers of both your hands vertically across your forehead, using your index, middle and ring fingers only. Your ring fingers should be resting on the top of your eyebrows. You want to keep the skin on your forehead smooth while you perform the exercise. Once your fingers are in position, try to raise your eyebrows up, at the same time bringing the front of your scalp down against the pressure of your fingers

# 2 - To tighten muscles around the eyes

Place your middle fingers at the right corners of your eyes pressing lightly. Raise your lower lid upwards. You should look somewhat like you are squinting. The pressure from your fingers will help you avoid wrinkling the skin at the corners.

#3 – Tighten skin on upper eyelids – 2 part exercise

1. Close your eyes and press the upper eyelid to the lower eyelid.
2. Prevents eyelid drooping. With both eyes open, raise upper lid as far as possible. You should see the upper whites of your eyes.

#4 – Remove creases from area between nose and cheek

Lay your index fingers from the inside corner of your eyes alongside either side of your nose to keep your skin smooth and create resistance for the exercise. Then try to wrinkle your nose upward but without allowing your skin to move very far. This makes the muscles work harder creating an isometric excersize. What you should have is similar to a bunny look.

#5 – To strengthen cheek muscles and raise the corners of your mouth

Smile as wide as you can with your mouth open and open your eyes as wide as possible. Try to move the corners of your mouth toward your ears. You can gently place your index fingers at the corners of your eyes and your thumbs to the right of the corners of your mouth to reduce wrinkling while you perform this exercise. This exercise might be called "The Joker".

#6 – For the chin and neck
Tilt your head back as far as you can, keeping your shoulders down and back, at the same time make a chewing motion. Chew for about 10 seconds, then return your head to its normal position. Repeat 5 times.

These are just a few exercises that can really make a big difference in how you look. For more information, you might want to do a Google search on “yoga for the face” or “facial exercises”. I found many You-Tube videos on the subject and it may be helpful to actually see someone perform different exercises. The important thing is to choose a few exercises that feel right for you and stick with them until you achieve the results you want. Good luck!

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--Carla