Mum Mum Mum Mah Y-Y-Y-Yoga Face

Disclosure:  I am not a Lady Gaga fan.  I am not, not a fan either.  Honestly, I just don't know anything about her, her lyrics, or her character to give her a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  I do know, however, the chorus to her song "Poker Face", because...well, pretty much everyone knows that chorus, right?

Anyway, I started doing face yoga (don't laugh until you try it!) about one month ago and every. single. time. I start my exercises the lyrics to that song pop into my head and I will admit, my variation of the song made the exercises quite fun.  Mum Mum Mum Mah Y-Y-Y-Yoga Face!  Sing it with me.  "What is face yoga", you ask?  Well, it is just like other forms of yoga only the exercises specifically target the muscles in your face.  Sound strange?  I thought so too, until I thought about it again.  I am an avid runner and exercise all of the main muscle groups in my body about four or five times per week.  And, in the muscles I work, I have tone and form and strength.  So why not work out the face muscles?  To be honest, I never thought about my face even having muscles.  I mean, I know there are muscles in our face...but those are not the muscles that come to mind when I think of exercise.

HOWEVER, like many others who are twenty-nine for a few years running, I know that skin starts to lose collagen over time and become less elastic.  What does that mean?  It means our skin will start to look older at some point.  There is really no getting around the aging process, although the world will try to sell you eternal youth in bottles, syringes, capsules, and every other form in every pretty package available.  However, statistics tell us there is a 100% chance we will all get old and die.  How's that for a happy thought?  :-)

But there is hope!  No, you will not live forever or suddenly look like you did when you were eighteen again.    We all can, however, feel and look great when we choose healthy lifestyles.  Face yoga is just one more tool to keep bodies running smoothly.  By exercising the underlying muscles in our face, we increase circulation, which increases collagen production, and also build up strength under the skin, which  in turn can improve the appearance of our facial skin.  I know it sounds super strange...and my husband could not look at me without laughing when I demonstrated my new face exercises to him.  Show your kids a good "lion face" if you want to make them laugh.  It is all laughable, friends, until you start. seeing. results! Then, perhaps like me, you will be hooked.

So, what do you have to lose?  It is free and available at your fingertips everyday.  Come on.  Join me in exercising and singing, "Mum Mum Mum Mah Y-Y-Y-Yoga Face!"  Check out Annelise Hagen's video below for a good laugh and some tips on getting started.

What was your initial reaction to trying face yoga?  Which exercises have worked for you?