Part One of a series of fascinating articles by Derek Boughton about
How To Look Years Younger Naturally.
Derek is in his sixties, though most people meeting him assume hes in his forties. He is frequently asked how he has so much energy and looks so youthful. He now reveals all in his must-read new book How To Look Years Younger Naturally and on the website
www.YearsYoungerNaturally.com
where you can access several free items.
Although my book covers all areas of your body and many other important factors, the following series of articles is about your face which I address specifically in Chapter 2. This is the most visible part of our body, the one that we look at every day; so its the area where we and others first notice the ravages of time. That fearful cry of my God, I have a wrinkle is often heard in somebodys 30s and from thereon becomes a frequent Oh my God, I have another wrinkle! Well I am continuously being told how few wrinkles I have and frequently asked how I have prevented them. As even Ava Gardner once said My face, shall we say, looks lived in. So if the age of your face worries you then the techniques Im about to describe are just what youve been waiting for to look more youthful. I will explain how to prevent your face getting wrinkled and aged too quickly and even how to rejuvenate those that have already succumbed to father time.
In my book How To Look Years Younger Naturally, I provide a lot of information and views on anti ageing subjects such as creams and potions, soaps, exfoliation, make-up, exercises of all sorts, sunshine, massage, smoking and so on. Sometimes I might seem rather controversial, especially regarding apparent common knowledge, much of which has actually been promulgated by the PR companies of large corporations or by overzealous though well-meaning organisations. But perhaps the most interesting of all is the improvement that you can realise by performing Facial Isometric exercises. And right now, thats what I want to share with you since they will definitely keep your face looking more youthful, perhaps 10 or 15 years younger. Like everything described in my book, they are a completely natural treatment.
The main reason that a face (and skin generally) appears to age is because the multitude of small muscles just under the skin start to sag, essentially due to a lack of use. In some cases, the issue might be that the muscles have tightened up permanently such as due to stress. Wait a moment, I hear you say, most of my wrinkles are actually smile lines and I still use those muscles to smile. Well that may be true but most muscles in the body have a counter muscle, that is, one that works in the opposite direction. By the way, while it takes 17 muscles to smile, it takes 40 to frown, so just smiling doesnt actually exercise most muscles! Typically, in their faces, people only use muscles in the one direction (and sadly, many dont even use muscles much in any direction). So the way to overcome this is the very same thing that you would do to prevent other muscles in the rest of your body from atrophying and that is to exercise them. Usually, muscles are attached to bones. However, in the face, most are attached to each other or to the skin and this is why the skin appears to sag when actually it is the muscles drooping. A little known but very important function of our muscles is to act as pumps for the blood and lymph vessels. When those in the face have lost their normal tone, these fluids are not moved into and out of the facial area and this inadequate circulation leads to poor complexion and lack of natural, healthy colour. Believe it or not there are 53 muscles in your face and Im about to explain how I give most of those a workout.
I first came across Facial Isometrics many, many years ago. In fact, back then, isometrics generally was a popular form of exercise and general muscle training. Perhaps I should first give an explanation of isometrics. In traditional fitness training, weights are used to create opposition to the muscles while they are moved throughout a given range of motion. Isometrics on the other hand has no motion but the muscles are pushing against an immovable object which might indeed be a fixed object or more interestingly other parts of the body, often the same muscle in the opposite side of the body. Having explained this, it is perhaps apparent that so-called Facial Isometrics are not actually isometric at all since we will be using the face muscles to move throughout their whole (albeit restricted) range of movement! In the book, there's a picture showing where and what are the major muscle groups in the face that we are going to work with.
It doesnt look very pretty without the skin. But you can see fairly clearly why it is easy to get baggy eyes, loose jowls and so on. You might now also be getting insights into one of the drawbacks to surgical facelifts. These operations simply stretch the skin and cut the excess away but if in addition you do not strengthen the underlying muscles then the new look probably wont last long! Even more disconcerting is the possibility of a poor surgeon removing or stretching muscle by mistake. Another advantage of Facial Isometric Exercises is that they help blood circulation which keeps your skin clear, smooth and healthy. I dont see how a face lift can help in these areas. Yet another side benefit is that it releases tension which can really show on your face. With less tension there is also likely to be less headaches. Not something a face lift would cure!
I have been doing these Facial Isometric Exercises for many years. However, dont think that it will take you that long to get results. I believe that you will see positive changes within a few weeks. The whole set of exercises takes me about 10 minutes or so but I do each individual exercise for about 50 repetitions. When you start, you will probably only do around 10 - 20 repetitions (known as reps) and gradually build up. Those of you that have worked out with weights in the gym will know that if you push hard enough you can get a burning sensation in your muscles. Serious muscle builders work hard to achieve this intensity. Since you hardly ever use these face muscles, you will probably experience this burning feeling. I suggest that you dont do more than 2-3 extra reps with this particular muscle after feeling this sensation. I usually vary the speed at which I perform a set of reps some I do longer and slower, others I do faster. With many of the muscle groups that are replicated on each side of the face, we will be repeating the following pattern do left side, do right side, alternate left and right, do both sides together. This way you will be really working them out! One other word of advice when you first start doing these exercises, look at yourself in the mirror to ensure that you really are working the relevant specific muscles. Some of you will be a bit put off by what you are seeing but once you get the hang of it, you can do it anywhere you feel comfortable (which for most people means where nobody can see them!).
In Part 2, well get onto the actual exercises. If you cant wait then go to
www.YearsYoungerNaturally.com
