The Yoga Face: Is it for real?

After spending nearly 20 years in and around the beauty biz, I confess I am a confirmed skincare junkie, and after 40-something years just being around, I am also something of a skeptic. So when a copy of Annelise Hagen’s The Yoga Face landed on my desk recently, I could not resist the temptation to investigate its promise to help me “eliminate wrinkles with the ultimate natural facelift.” Now, let’s be clear, I do not have wrinkles, but I do have 2 kids, a husband, a dog, a house too big to keep clean, a job, and at the moment too many leaves on my front lawn, all of which are no doubt conspiring to give me wrinkles, so any offer of prevention or remedy readily gets my attention.

Drawing on her eight years of experience teaching yoga in NYC fitness clubs and more, Hagen’s premise is a reasonable one: the muscles of the face are no different than those in the rest of our bodies, and because of this, they can be trained in similar ways (sans weights, of course). Her approach to delivering “facial fitness” through rejuvenating exercises depends on the fact that the face is not a “static mask” but rather a malleable feature. So why not eliminate all those nasty habits that drag down our best feature and use yoga practices to recreate the canvas that communicates outwardly so much of our inner wellness (or lack of it)? And avoid the plastic surgeon’s scalpel all at the same time! (more)
Like any good trainer, The Yoga Face recommends facial isolations that target key areas of concern. Try “Kiss the Ceiling” for firming the jaw, neck, and throat or the “Marilyn” for strengthening the muscles around the mouth to create a Hollywood-perfect pout, no doubt. And there are many more suggestions for addressing what Hagen calls the “universal” facial aging problems like loss of tone, wrinkles, discoloration and dry skin. She covers essential breathing, nutrition and even suggests ways to create your own natural beauty products, making the Yoga Face an easy handbook for anyone who is on the path to total facial enlightenment.

But does it work? A question so often asked at the cosmetics counter and also at the end of reading The Yoga Face. At the moment, the jury is still out. I’m working on a few exercises that are meant to relieve the dark circles under my eyes…and I’ll report back the results in November. Stay tuned! To learn more, visit www.yogaface.net.