While fuller cheeks can be a result of weight gain, they can also be a product of inflammation. Factors like poor diet, dehydration, lack of exercise and sleep, and increased stress can all contribute to chipmunk-like features. The good news? You can start with simple face exercises as you work toward a healthier lifestyle for more dramatic results. We’ve put together four exercises to get rid of chubby cheeks you should add to your routine ASAP.
As a yogi and a mom in her mid-30s, I can speak from experience that face yoga has quickly become a daily, meditative practice to tone my face muscles and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Need more convincing? A study published in JAMA Dermatology cites that face exercises can improve muscle strength and face appearance along with helping to defy the aging process. Here are the best face massage techniques to get rid of chubby cheeks and achieve defined cheekbones that’ll keep you looking young, vibrant, and confident.
1. Face Tap
Start to warm up and bring blood flow to your face by gently tapping your forehead with your index, middle, and ring fingers on each hand. Continue tapping around the eyes, and slowly make your way down your face toward your jaw. You will tap back and forth in a horizontal motion and tap each area for about 10 to 15 seconds. This will encourage lymph drainage and collagen production.
2. Cheek Sculptor
To redefine your cheekbones, you will use your index and middle fingers to gently slide your fingers from your chin to your jaw. Continue with this sweeping motion up the cheek toward the cheekbone. On the last stroke up the cheekbone, pause your fingers on your temples for a nice relaxing acupressure point.
READ RELATED: 8 Coping Skills Therapists Use When They’re Really Angry
3. Fish Face
To strengthen and stretch your cheeks, make a fish face just like you did as a child. Suck your cheeks and lips in, and attempt to smile. Hold for five seconds, and then relax. Repeat five times.
4. Lion’s Breath
This Pranayama breathwork supports stretching and releasing tension in the face and neck. Start by relaxing your shoulders down your back and placing your hands on your thighs. Take a big inhale through your nose, expanding the breath into your ribcage. Then, exhale out of your mouth, making a loud “haaa” sound and extending your tongue out and toward your chin to finish. Repeat five times.
Jacquie Smith
Jacquie Smith is a certified integrative nutrition health coach from IIN and a fitness instructor specializing in barre, yoga, and pre/postnatal workouts. Read more about Jacquie
Source:
