Does Our Face Really Need Exercise?
We know what we need to do to have nicer legs, tighter arms or abs, but why not do the same with our face? We asked this question and more to Yogadayoga Founder Zeynep Şensoy.
You left corporate life and established the Yogadayoga brand. Can you tell us about this adventure?
It has been about five years since I left corporate life. But the process of leaving was not easy. There has always been sports in my life and I was someone who wanted to go to the sports academy or the conservatory at university. But I studied economics with the advice of "you must have a profession". After studying economics and sitting at the desk, I realized that I was not happy. Because healthy life, sports, and both physical and spiritual development were always in my focus. At the office, I would encourage my friends to run and move, and lead them to a healthy life. When I got married, I realized that life at the desk is not easy for a married person. Sure, it's a matter of preference, but I used to spend a lot of time checking emails, sometimes taking until midnight. When I was 27, I thought, at 40, do I see myself in this life, and I decided that I didn't. So I went in search. Since I am a karate player, I thought at first if I should become a Tae bo trainer. But Tae bo teaching was not something to do when I was pregnant especially when I had a small baby. Then I wanted something to do for women and beauty. At that time, I was going to a diction course with my husband. I realized that the exercises there worked my facial muscles, and when I typed the words “face, muscle, beauty” on the internet, face yoga came up. Good thing it came out. Then I got an education. But meanwhile, I was going to the office during the day and working, and in the evening I was leaving work and giving yoga classes. Later, with the support of my wife, I left corporate life and we established our own brand, Yogadayoga. We have been working on this brand for five years.
Do you have rituals that you follow at certain times throughout the day? What rituals can you suggest to us these days when we have a different experience in our homes?
I'm actually trying to put the rituals I follow at certain times into a daily ritual. I especially clean and tone my face every evening, then do a 15-20 minute face yoga session and try to moisturize my skin. Normally, if I am going out, I always start the day with sunscreen when I get up in the morning. The easiest thing I can do to eat healthy is to drink 2.5-3 liters of water a day and eat a balanced diet. Of course, the most important part of a healthy diet is to stay away from refined sugar.
With the process of staying at home, we found ourselves in an inactive life. How can Hatha Yoga, which you also teach, help us in this process?
I have classes on both face yoga and Hatha Yoga on my youtube channel. Especially in this process, we shot videos of walking at home, since not everyone has a treadmill at home or there is no park where everyone can walk around in their neighborhood. In normal times, for example; I think both Hatha Yoga and walking videos will help when we don't want to leave the house, when the weather is bad, or when we don't want to go to the studio for a yoga class.
What should we pay attention to when doing face yoga?
Just as we get injured when we make a wrong move while doing sports, if we apply facial yoga incorrectly, it will cause more wrinkles and sagging on our face. We must make sure that we do the movements correctly in front of the mirror. If done right, it's very rewarding. Because just like the muscles in our body work while doing sports, the muscles in our face work in the same way in face yoga.
When is the best time to do face yoga? How many minutes should be the ideal length of face yoga?
This is actually a relative thing, but as someone who has been doing face yoga for about eight years, I can say that the best time is in the evening. Because we are always in a rush in the morning. Getting up, getting ready, going to work... But we can take time for ourselves in the evenings. We get rid of the stress of the day. Since we start the face yoga we do in the evenings by cleaning our face, we remove the make-up on our face. Even if we don't wear make-up, we get rid of the remnants of the stress we experience throughout the day. With yoga, we get rid of the stress of the day, get rid of wrinkles and sagging, because we work our facial muscles and relax our face. It takes about 20 minutes, along with cleansing, yoga and moisturizing. I recommend doing facial yoga at least three days a week, if not every day.
Are there any natural creams or oils you recommend after completing face yoga?
My favorite is rosehip seed oil. But if you have oily skin, you can use raspberry seed oil.
Many people who do facial yoga report that there are significant changes in their face in as little as two or three weeks. What's the secret of this?
The secret is to work the muscles in our face. Think of it like a sport. If you do regular sports for two or three weeks, if you pay attention to your diet and sleep, the body will recover and tighten. Your body gets in shape and the person you see in the mirror makes you happy. Because you are healthy, you feel good both mentally and physically. In the same way, exercising the muscles on our face and strengthening the facial muscles also helps us to recover our face and provides a resistance against gravity.
What are the benefits of face yoga for both our face and body?
We get rid of wrinkles and sagging with face yoga. For example, exercising the muscles around our eyes prevents eyelids from drooping when viewed from the outside. It helps to get rid of eye bags and crow's feet and when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we see that we have a better image. Since these exercises will strengthen the muscles in our eyes, if we have an eye disease or a problem with our eye lens, they will improve this discomfort or the problem in the lens in the long term, if not in the short term. For example, the glasses rating of a friend of mine who has been working with me for about two and a half years decreased from 2.7 to 2. For example, my teacher has been practicing face yoga for 20 years and no longer wears hyperopia glasses. Everything we do while touching our beauty outside is healing us inside.
There are many negative emotions that the coronavirus has created on our psychology. How can facial yoga and other forms of yoga help us get rid of these negative emotions?
In fact, we try to focus on ourselves in both face yoga and other types of yoga. When we do face yoga in front of the mirror, we examine ourselves. We see how our skin and face are, how our eyes look, whether our skin is pale or not, without make-up and candidly. The person we see in the mirror; a reflection of our organs, our system and our soul. Well; Everything we eat, drink, read, write and hear is reflected on our faces. Therefore, when we ask ourselves why our eyelids and lips are drooping and our lines deepen while doing face yoga, we start to take care of ourselves. We get rid of the news, people and jobs in the outside world and focus on ourselves. Thus, with face yoga, every point we touch on our face and every reality we realize; It heals ourselves, our soul and our body.
Many people started to acquire new habits with the time created by staying at home. What is your advice to those who have started face yoga in this process?
Yes, many people started face yoga during this period. Me too In this process, one of the people who started face yoga I'm getting too many messages. If I have to give advice digitally, I have facial yoga classes on Youtube, including beginner, intermediate and advanced level. Beginners can move on to intermediate levels after continuing beginner exercises at least three days a week for two months. Then, in addition to this routine, they can do moderate facial yoga twice a week for three months. Then they can move on to the advanced level. Apart from that, I have short videos such as around the lips, around the forehead, around the eyes. If there is a region they want to focus more on, they can watch those videos as well.
After starting face yoga and other types of yoga, how should we position yoga in our lives in order to continue and make it a habit?
This is not something most of us can achieve. Because we deal with so many things in life. We have a job, we have a house, if we are married we have a spouse, if we are a mother we have a child. That's why I say to beginners: Start with what you can do. For example, if you do yoga for three hours a day, you cannot do it the next day. You have to add it to your life, little by little, with small steps. Those who want to start face yoga; If they can't do cleansing, yoga and moisturizing together, maybe they can start with just cleaning and moisturizing. After doing this for a few weeks, they can continue adding in small steps. I have followed such a path in everything I wanted to add to my life until today. Because every day is a new day and a new marathon. Stability is important in everything. Therefore, it is more important to climb the first step and then the second step, rather than climbing the tenth step all of a sudden.
The views expressed in this article aim to shed light on alternative studies and encourage conversation. These views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Be People and are for informational purposes only, even if they contain to some extent the advice of physicians and physicians (medical doctors). This article; It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment, and the information herein should not be relied upon for specific medical advice.
Zeynep Şensoy – Founder of Yogadayoga
After studying Economics at Yeditepe University and Montana State University, Şensoy started working in an international company and started yoga in Istanbul with a 200-hour yoga instructor training from Faruk Kurtuluş. Then she went to England and took face yoga lessons from Danielle Collins, one of the leading names in face yoga, and won the title of certified face yoga instructor. Şensoy, who founded the Yogadayoga brand in 2014, continues to give face yoga, Hatha Yoga and pregnancy yoga trainings and organize workshops for institutions and private groups.
