Author: Kim

We’re well into Spring here in Luxembourg. The world is going green around us – peppered with golden daffodils, mauve magnolias and pinky tree blossoms. And while we’re welcoming the warmer weather, our skin can still be dehydrated from Winter and needs time and care to transition.

In the Spring, allergens can trigger symptoms of psoriasis and eczema, warmth and humidity can cause acne and breakouts, and exposure to sun, wind and higher temps even affects rosacea.

So we need to adapt our routines accordingly.

I fall into the second category and fight my breakouts by exfoliating (only once a week) and drinking loads of hot water.

Knowing the antioxidant properties of green tea, from my homemade face masks, I decided to give a homemade Green Tea Exfoliating Scrub a try.

RECIPE:

In a glass jar mix :

1 Large spoonful of Green Tea

2 Cups White Sugar

¼ Cup Olive Oil

1 Spoonful Honey

A few drops of Essential Oil (optional)

This scrub is gentle enough to use on both face and body. Just make sure to check the quality of your ingredients and to beware of potential food allergies. I loved how silky my skin felt afterwards and the tingling sensation from the sugar crystals lasted.

Go Green with your face masks and scrubs.

The Lymphatic System works all year round, removing waste from the body’s tissue and working in tandem with the circulatory, digestive and nervous systems. Which is why a Lymphatic Drainage Facial can reduce puffiness in the eye area and visibly reduce swelling in the neck as well as the rest of the face. But we can also stimulate the lymphatic system through our gut!

Getting more greens into our bellies naturally helps maintain well-being and can help prevent illnesses.

No time to eat your veggies? Make a green juice. Grab whatever is, well, the color green. Mix them up in a blender, or boil them in water to make a broth. (OK, you can cheat a little by adding lemons or carrots or beets) Drinking green juices before meals helps heal the gut, so benefits the lymphatic system.

Or, try this surprisingly delicious Avocado Smoothie.

Go Green with your gut.

While the argument is still raging on baths vs showers, taking a bath will actually help to stay hydrated as we move into spring. Soaking in the hot water helps unclog pores and allows the skin to absorb products. Baths release stress and sooth muscles. Remember Relax the body. = Relax the Face? Baths also lower cortisol levels to combat premature aging.

Go Green with your bath (maybe only fill the tub halfway).

Yay Spring!

New to the Club Haus Am Brill this Spring, I will be doing two days of Japanese Facial Massage!!!

Dating back to the 15th Century as a way to prolong a youthful appearance,the Japanese Facial Massage combines rhythmic touch and the stimulation of the meridians to purify, hydrate and energize the face.

It’s a natural face-lifting that:

*Repairs and Rejuvenates sagging skin

*Restores skin radiance and elasticity

*Reduces the depth of wrinkles

*Diminishes the effects of stress

*Causes deep relaxation

This massage benefits all types of skin, young and mature, for both men and women. Not recommended in the case of dermatitis, recent wounds , scars, or bruising.

Where : Club Haus Am Brill, Capellen

When : Tuesday, May 7th & Tuesday, June 11th  – between the hours of 10h – 13h30

Price : 65 Euros for a 50 minute massage

To book your massage please telephone the Club Haus Am Brill : 30 00 01

 

 

 

Where : Club Haus Am Brill, Capellen

When : Saturday May  4th, 10h – 11h30

Facial asymmetries are common and natural and can become more pronounced with age.

This workshop concentrates on how to identify eye asymmetry and it’s possible causes, and teaches correctional and preventative exercises to stimulate and even the eye area.

For more information or to sign up for the workshop contact the Club Haus Am Brill on : 30 00 01

For more information about Face Yoga contact: kim@faceyogaluxembourg.com

 

Where : Club Haus Am Brill, Capellen

When : Saturday March 16th, 10h – 11h30

The forehead is the largest muscle in the head and face. Learn exercises to lift, relax and de-stress this area. Your whole face (and body) will benefit.

For more information or to sign up for the workshop contact the Club Haus Am Brill on : 30 00 01

For more information about Face Yoga contact: kim@faceyogaluxembourg.com

As of today, I haven’t written a blog post in almost three months. Apologies.

Somewhere between learning Japanese Facial, Hot Stone and Auto massage (all of which I hope to bring to Face Yoga Luxembourg soon), and planning and hosting my workshops, and re-doing the bedroom myself, and studying for my boating license, and, and, and…. I lost 57 days.

How Time Flies!

One thing I did not neglect is my Face Yoga practice.

OK my morning routine is fairly set-in-stone, and yeah, I get to practice when planning workshop content and experimenting with how to flow the different exercises and movements together, and I don’t drive anywhere without pulling a few faces. But yes, I did hands-free exercises while painting and covering the old floor. And yes, I did exercises using the table top while studying, making sure to keep my chin as lifted as possible.

Even as I am writing this, I’m reminding myself to sit up straight, not frown, relax the face, and to keep the tongue centered on the roof of the mouth. Sounds like a lot to keep in mind, but it’s not really. It can become second nature the more you become aware of how you carry yourself and use your face throughout the day. Face Yoga practice helps you do just that.

Is it really almost Winter?

How Time Flies!

Another thing I haven’t neglected is taking care of my skin. Lower temperatures can strip the skin of up to 25% of it’s moisture. Time to think about using thicker moisturizer. Fortunately my homemade cream is already fairly thick, and coupled with my homemade moisture spray I get a nice protective barrier against the cold. And my homemade lip balms double as under-eye protection.

If I know I’m going to be spending time outdoors, I’ll do more circulation-boosting exercises to warm up the face.

As usual, the end-of-the-year holidays have snuck up on us again. It’s that time of year when were all rushing around, shopping, socializing, travelling, meeting family obligations, stressing, and saying to ourselves we can’t believe it’s almost 2019.

How Time Flies!

Circulation-boosting exercises will also help you to get a rosy glow and add color to the lips. Ready for those holiday photos ! And so many of the Face Yoga poses will help you relax and release tensions from the upper body, neck, head and, of course, the face.

Recently and old friend sent me a photo from when I was about 16-years-old. Sixteen. With a plump face and not a wrinkle on the horizon. Do I regret that face ? Not really. Thanks to Face Yoga I’ve learned to like what I see in the mirror today – maybe even more than when I was a teen!

Still, it was one of those moments when I said to myself, “How Time Flies!”

Wishing you all Peaceful and Happy Festivities.

See you next year.

Mother Nature gave me small downward-turned eyes. But being a firm believer in the Face Yoga Method, I know I can battle gravity & droopy eyelids, correct my asymmetries, open up the gaze, AND improve the under-eye area to boot!

Summer Goal N°1 was : Work the Eye Area.

I’m also a victim of Presbyopia,”middle-age” or “old-age” sight. That pesky, gradual loss of nearsightedness. Noticing a greater dependence on my reading glasses for more than just reading, I started investigating ways to improve and/or reverse this process naturally.

Summer Goal N°2 was : Explore Yogic Eye Exercises

Summer goal N°3 was master Crow Pose. Well, that one…..

Yes. Summer is cool – less work & commitments. But Summer is also chaotic – vacations & visits, training, outdoor work and organizing for Autumn.

Fortunately my Face Yoga exercises are so anchored in my daily habits that I didn’t have to create a routine, just customize my existing one. (No excuses guys. Nothing is stopping you from creating YOUR own routine.)

With Face Yoga, opening the eyes wide, without wrinkling the forehead and squinting with the lower part of the ring-eye muscle are two integral movements. But I concentrated instead on Visualizing, Isolating & Moving just the upper part of the ring-eye muscle. Think raising one eyebrow, keeping the forehead relaxed. Not easy. I know!

I combined that with the famous squint while lifting the crow’s feet area, and circular and “V”-shaped yogic eye movements using my hands to encourage the eye muscles upwards. Hands help the muscles remember where I want them to go! And I massaged regularly from the brow upwards, around the eyes, and under the eyes to train & relax the muscles, drain fluids AND stimulate collagen & elastin production.

I also added Swinging into my upper body warm-up. Swinging consists of, well, swinging the body from side to side from the torso, first with the eyes open to focus rapidly on what is on each side of you, then with eyes closed, so the eyes will “remember” what you saw on each side.

Research taught me that our eyes need natural light to stimulate the rods & cones and decrease photo sensitivity, (You’ll squint less too, helping to reduce the 11 lines between the brows.) So I started Sunning*.

When Sunning*, we, very basically, face a light source with our eyes closed and turn our head from side to side for 30 seconds to 10 minutes or so as is comfortable. Never look directly at the sun!

I also learned our eyes need darkness to recuperate. So we follow Sunning* with Palming*, by cupping our hands over the eyes to block out all the light, breathing deeply, for the same amount of time. You can tilt your head 90° for a neck stretch or repeat affirmations if you like.

*But please, do some research on your own before practicing. I am not an expert in eye care, and you want to be informed before beginning any type of exercise.

My days included Face Yoga exercises whenever I had a moment and more massage-based movements, and eye circles before bed.

Actually all the “exercises” I did, though they seem stimulating, have relaxing effects on the eye. While we improve and lift the eye area, this dynamic relaxation is key to improving vision as well.

Two months later, I am satisfied with the results. I have less dark circles, more control over my eye movements, and a greater awareness to relax my brows.

I’ll never have Bette Davis Eyes and that’s OK.

My vision? It’s way to early to tell. I’ve got a lot more work & research to do. Stay tuned for the next installment of M(eye) Adventure.

If you have questions concerning Face Yoga Eye Exercises feel free to contact me :

kimfaceyogaluxembourg.com.

You can also check out my Quick Eye Area Workout Video here.