Five yoga poses for a slimmer face

Many of us work hard to keep our bodies lean and fit. We spend hours at the gym and even dedicate different days to different body parts. But we often forget that our facial muscles also need regular exercise just like the rest of our body. Ageing, stress and bad lifestyle habits can cause the facial skin to sag and lose its natural glow. Various exercises can tone and rejuvenate your facial skin. Let’s have a look at five such facial yoga poses. Practice these with a yoga instructor for correct posture and breathing. [caption id=“attachment_7495941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Fish Face. Image source: Getty Images.[/caption]

1. Locked Tongue Pose

• Sit in Padmasana (cross-legged, with ankles over the opposite thigh); keep your hands in your lap.
• Roll your tongue back and touch the upper wall of the mouth with the tip of your tongue.
• Gently open your mouth as much as you can.
• Breathe normally through your nose and concentrate on the stretch in your throat and chin area.
• Stay in this pose for a minute. If you feel uncomfortable at any point stop and rest before trying again.    

Locked tongue pose tones your facial muscles and sculpts your jawline.

2. Mouthwash Technique

• Sit in Padmasana; keep your hands on your knees.
• Fill your mouth with as much air as you can.
• Shift the air to one side of the mouth and then to another, just like you do while using mouthwash.
• Continue shifting the air for one minute.
• Relax and repeat 8 times.

Mouthwash technique accentuates your cheekbones and helps reduce a double chin.

3. Fish Face

• Have you ever noticed the face of a fish? You will need to imitate it for this pose.
• Pull your cheeks and the corners of your lips inwards.  
• Hold this expression and try to smile.
• Feel the stretch in your cheeks and jaw.
• Relax and repeat 8 times.

Regular practice of fish face will help tone your cheeks and make your face look slimmer.    

4. Chin Lift

• Sit comfortably in a cross-legged position.
• Move your head backward as much as you can.
• Look up straight at the ceiling.
• Tighten your face and protrude your lips as if you are trying to kiss the ceiling.
• Stay in this pose for a minute and feel the tension in your face and throat muscles.
• Relax and repeat 8 times.  

Chin Lift pose is a good exercise for your entire face. This will not only tone your jaw, throat, and neck muscles but will also help reduce a double chin.

5. Lion Pose

• Sit on your knees; keep your knees apart.
• Place your right ankle behind the left ankle; rest your perineum on the top of the heels.
• Place your palms on your knees; put some pressure against them.
• Pull a deep breath in; stretch your tongue out towards your chin.
• Pull in your throat muscles.
• Produce a lion-like roar sound of ‘ha’ as you breathe out through your mouth.
• Maintain your focus between your eyebrows.
• Relax, switch your leg and repeat 8 times.

Lion pose is the best asana for facial muscles. It tones your cheeks, throat muscles and eye area. End your practice with Savasana. Practice these facial yoga poses daily to get better and faster results.   Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. For more information, please see our section on   Yoga: Benefits, Types, Importance_._