Face yoga strengthens and stretches the muscles of your face, especially as you age. When done consistently, it can reduce fine lines, tone your skin, and even help with migraines. These expert-approved face yoga exercises just might become your new favorite ritual.
Fun fact: We have around 57 muscles in our face and neck. Just as we need exercise for the other muscles of the body to stay limber and strong as we age, the same holds true for these tiny 57. And face yoga is here to help.
“As [face muscles] become stronger through exercise, they are lifted and firmed, and the skin attached to the muscles is also lifted and tautened, reducing lines and wrinkles,” explains Danielle Collins, a face yoga expert, DailyOM instructor, and author of books including The Face Yoga Journal. “As the [face] muscles are much smaller than those in the body, it takes a lot less time for them to increase in strength and tone.” That means you can get a full face-yoga workout in mere minutes.
The expert, whom DailyOM spoke with for this story, says 20 minutes of face yoga each day is ideal, but as long as it’s done consistently, even a few minutes are beneficial. “The key to face yoga is to practice it regularly to really see a long-lasting difference,” Collins says.
Is Face Yoga Better Than Botox?
Face yoga may take more time and consistency to see results than Botox, but it can be used as a noninvasive — not to mention less expensive — alternative to Botox or face-lift surgery. According to a study conducted by Northwestern University’s Department of Dermatology, facial exercises performed 30 minutes a day over the course of 20 weeks resulted in an impressive three-year decrease in age appearance of the participants (women 40 to 65 years old).
And when paired with gua sha, face yoga can pack an even more effective punch.
Rather than see it as a chore to fend off fine lines or skin imperfections, approach your time practicing face yoga as an opportunity to pamper yourself, suggests Collins, with advantages that go beyond the aesthetic.
“[Face yoga] is a way of having control over your own face,” she says. “It can give you a sense of calm in the mind and energy in the body, so the benefits go deeper than just the external appearance.”
Incorporate some of these exercises into your routine for a daily dose of calm and a healthy glow to your complexion.
Note: If you feel discomfort while doing any of the exercises, reduce the intensity of the exercise or stop completely. “It’s fine to feel a stretch of the muscles having a good ‘workout,’ but you should never feel pain,” says Collins. “All exercises can be adapted, especially neck movements, if you have any existing injuries.” Also, if you have any skin conditions or facial, neck, or head injuries, be sure to check with a doctor before beginning.
Interested in learning more? Check out Anti-Aging Face Yoga
8 Simple Face Yoga Exercises to Do Each Day
Face Yoga Exercise #1: The Owl
This is one of Collins’s most popular face yoga exercises. Make a “C” shape with each hand and place your hands over your eyes as though you are holding binoculars. Rest your index fingers above your eyes so that they are parallel to your eyebrows, and rest your thumbs under your eyes, just above the cheeks. Pull down on your eyebrows with your index fingers while you try to raise your forehead, making your eyes wide. Hold for two seconds, relax, and then repeat for a total of five times.
On the last “Owl” lift, hold for 10 seconds.
“This [Owl exercise] will firm up the forehead, reducing lines and wrinkles,” says Collins.
Face Yoga Exercise #2: The Expressionless Face
Have you ever accidentally turned your phone’s camera on so that it was facing you, and then felt startled to see how furrowed your brow was? This yoga exercise will help shift that expression. It’s a simple one you can practice anywhere, at any time of the day.
Simply take a deep breath and maintain a calm, expressionless face. Allow your forehead to relax and your eyes to settle on a point in front of you, and keep your lips from turning upward or downward.
“The French say everyone gets the face they deserve, meaning that whatever habitual moods you express will eventually be carved onto your face. [Your face] becomes a mask of emotions,” says Annelise Hagen, author of The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift and a face-yoga training instructor, whom DailyOM spoke with for this article. “We do have control over the expressions on our face, so cultivating that calm demeanor is an outside-in way of setting your face that way.”
When you release all facial tension, it will carry over into your posture as well, notes Hagen, counteracting the hunched posture so many of us have during the day, sitting in front of a screen.
Hagen suggests using a visual cue as a reminder to reset into this neutral face throughout the day. For her, it’s a Buddha figurine in her home. Pick something you see regularly through the day, such as a red traffic light, the water glass you’re drinking from, or a photo on your desk.
Face Yoga Exercise #3: Lick (or Kiss) the Ceiling
This exercise is beneficial for toning and stretching the face and the sides of the neck, says Hagen.
Turning your head to the right and then upward to the ceiling, reach your tongue as though you are trying to lick something dripping from it (your favorite sundae topping, perhaps ... let your imagination roll with it!). Try for 10 to 20 repetitions and then return to the center, trying to lick the ceiling directly above you. Next, turn your face to the left, look upward to the ceiling, and give the ceiling 10 to 20 licks from that direction.
The next variation of this face yoga exercise is to kiss the ceiling. Turn your face to the right and kiss the ceiling for 10 to 20 repetitions. Do the same in the center and then repeat on the left side.
Face Yoga Exercise #4: Swan Neck
This exercise lifts and tones the neck muscles, which can help firm lines and wrinkles on the side of the neck and face, says Collins.
Turn your head to the right so that it’s even with your right shoulder, and then slowly and gently tilt your head backward so that you're looking up at the ceiling (be mindful of leaning only so far back as is comfortable for your head and neck). Hold for six to eight seconds. Return back to center. Turn your head to the left and then slowly tilt backward. Hold for another six to eight seconds. Repeat three times.
Face Yoga Exercise #5: The Giraffe
Another great exercise for the neck muscles, the Giraffe releases tension while toning and lifting the neck region, says Collins.
Place your fingers at the top of your neck and gently stroke the skin downward from your ears to your collarbone as you carefully tilt your head backward.
“The reason [the stroking] is gentle is to aid lymphatic drainage and reduce puffiness in the face and naturally brighten skin by draining lymph,” explains Collins. “It’s important not to press too hard or drag when working downward.”
Do this stroking motion 10 to 20 times. Bring your head back down to center and repeat twice more.
Next, jut your lower lip as far out as you can. Place your fingers on your collarbone and lift your chin upward while pulling the corners of your mouth downward. Hold for four deep breaths. Repeat once or twice.
Face Yoga Exercise #6: Lion’s Breath
Hagen believes the ancient yoga technique of Lion’s Breath is incredibly important as a face yoga exercise, not just for its ability to stretch and relieve tension in the face, but also because it is a “power pose” that will leave you feeling energized.
As you inhale, constrict every muscle in your face: your eyes, your nose, your chin, your jaw, your forehead.
On the exhale, widen every face muscle as wide as you possibly can — raise your eyebrows as high as they will go, widen your eyes as wide as they will go, open your mouth as big as it will go, and extend the tongue out as far as you can. Let out an audible “hah” as you push the air out. Try to hold the position as long as you can — the longer the better, Hagen notes, as this pose will help stretch your neck and jaw and tone the ring muscles around your eyes. Do this exercise three times in a row.
Face Yoga Exercise #7: Temple Dancer Eyes
Our eyes and nervous system can become easily exhausted, especially by the end of the day. This face yoga exercise can help release some of the strain put on our eyes, and as an added benefit, it can help with migraines and strengthen the skin next to the eyes where “crow’s feet” lines tend to form, Hagen says.
Keeping your head level and still, move only your eyes up to the ceiling. Continuing to remain still, move your eyes to the right and hold. Slowly look down at your nose and hold. And finally, move your eyes to the left. Repeat the motion, slowly looking to all four points, says Hagen. Keep your eyes open for two rounds of the exercise and then close them for the third round, she suggests.
With open or closed eyes, you are bound to feel the workout. Repeat for three rounds (two rounds with the eyes open, one round with the eyes closed) going in the other direction.
Face Yoga Exercise #8: The Hyoid Workout
One of only two floating bones in your body is the hyoid bone, meaning it is connected solely by ligaments and muscle rather than another bone. It sits mid-neck between the chin and thyroid. The exercise for moving this bone is subtle, but it can help strengthen the muscles in the hyoid area and keep the area firm, which can prevent the skin under the chin from sagging, explains Hagen.
Think of your tongue like a blanket. Keeping it flat, press your tongue up into the roof of your mouth so that it covers the area. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat at least three times.
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