Experience the Relaxation of a Facial Massage
Although there is no magical remedy to stress, we’ve found a five-to-ten minute regimen that’s incredibly helpful when it comes to calming your nerves. Typically, people tend to store psychological stress in their face (particularly around the jaw and temples), which can lead to discomfort as well as premature aging of the skin.. And you don’t need a therapist for this–these are simple methods that you can do on your own.
These specific massages were created to reduce strain in the mouth, jaw and temples while enhancing the surrounding muscles of your jaw. Stress will first reveal itself on your face, before it moves onto any other part of your body. A “dancer’s posture” – long, elegant and upright – can give definition to one’s facial expression right away; whereas slouching due to stress or too much time spent hunched over a device has an opposite effect.
In today’s era where we are constantly looking down at our technology devices, neck and jaw tension runs rampant. TMJ/TMD [temporomandibular joint disorder] is the result of excessive stress in the muscles around our faces, especially those surrounding the jaw; however all these areas are linked together.
Prepare Yourself:
- Experience the calming effects of a hot shower as you let the revitalizing water pressure massage your neck, back, and shoulders. Enhance the soothing feeling by falling into a “rag doll” yoga pose for an even more incredible sensation!
- After showering, give your neck and shoulders a much-needed break by massaging in some muscle relaxing cream.
- Dress in something relaxing, unbind your hair, dim the lighting, and play calming music. Also have a yoga mat nearby along with warm towels and a jade roller or ice cubes to enhance the experience.
The Method – Step by Step
- Lather your face with moisturizer, using firm yet gentle circular strokes that work upwards and outwards on the skin.
- As you stand on your yoga mat, take a deep breath and dive to a forward fold. Take some time here—thirty to sixty seconds will do; or longer if it feels comfortable. This is known as invertible skin care: By sending blood flow up to the face muscles, this purposeful movement helps reduce tension in your facial expression.
- Connect your hands behind you, then fold forward to open the shoulders up and expand space around the spine. Thrust your chin ahead as much as possible for stretching of both neck and jaw muscles – stay in this posture for thirty seconds at a time, repeating three times overall.
- Recline on your mat, intertwine your fingers behind the head, and bring knees up while attempting to touch chin with the knees. Feel the lower back, neck, shoulders and base of skull becoming relaxed – remain in this pose for thirty seconds before repeating two or three times.
- Lower both legs to the right side of your body and shift your entire torso, along with your head, to the left so that it rests on the mat. Using a firm pressure, massage between your right cheek and jaw using one hand while placing a thumb inside of your mouth at the opposite cheek. Gently move in circles within as you pull down on an earlobe with another hand before reversing sides and repeating this process again.
- To massage the temporalis muscles located above your ears, start by firmly placing all of your digits on both sides of your face. Gradually push upwards towards the temples and repeat this action five to ten times.
- Gently press your hands against your chin and draw it to the chest. Hold this position for five seconds, repeating three to five times with an open mouth. Feel the resistance created by pressing the hands firmly against your chin as you move up and down slowly.
- Apply mild to firm pressure with your fists and move them in a circular pattern from the top of the cheekbones towards the jaw.
- To relax your jaw and relieve tension, press both middle fingers firmly into the lower temple area above each cheekbone. At the same time, slide your thumbs along the jaw muscle and hold for ten seconds.
- To conclude the facial experience, inhale a deep breath with your face wrapped in a warm towel. Gently pinch your eyebrows while allowing the steam’s comforting warmth to penetrate your skin. When it cools down, remove the towel and use a jade roller to further invigorate and energize your face.