Going under the knife or a few downward dogs? We know which one we’d choose.
If you’ve ever taken the time to look at your favourite yoga teacher’s face you may have noticed how relaxed, wrinkle-free, and frankly ageless it looks. In fact, most yoga teachers not only look ageless, their skin positively glows. And while yogis live and breathe the low-stress life, which is well-known to keep skin looking young, there is another key factor at play here.
So, what is this age-defying factor? It’s unlikely to be frequent visits to the Botox bar or the skilful hand of a plastic surgeon and more likely to be the slew of undercover beauty benefits from practising yoga.
Renowned yoga teacher, nutritionist and author Lola Berry says, “Yoga poses can play a big role in our beauty regime, when you increase blood flow to the face it can result in naturally lifted and plumped skin.” Specifically, “Forward folds—where you are bending at the hip and letting your torso hang towards the ground—and inversions—downward facing dog, shoulder, head and hand stands—where blood is sent to the head and face,” says Berry, will achieve this kind of natural facelift.
The idea that anti-gravity or spending time upside is the new non-invasive facelift is also filtering down to beauty products, with big brands like Elizabeth Arden launching specific products, such as their Ceramide Lift and Firm Sculpting Gel, which aim to mimic the lift you get from being upside down.
The beauty gurus who work their age-defying magic on skin every day are also on board with the yoga-for-beauty trend. Celebrity Sydney-based facialist Jocelyn Petroni, who has treated the skin of a raft of A-listers from Miranda Kerr to Megan Gale, says, “The overall health benefits of practising yoga show in your complexion. By doing yoga you help ease stress and the tension lines that show in the face, like furrowed brows. It’s also fantastic for improved circulation, pumping blood and oxygen flow to your skin to give a glowing complexion!”
“Yoga improves the skin in many ways,” says Anna Field, skincare expert and founder of The Paddington Beauty Room. “Yoga affects metabolic rate which means the skin functions are improved which improves the overall appearance of the skin. Healthier functioning skin also maintains youth better and minimises imperfections like acne and ageing.” Field adds, “Yoga improves sleep patterns which helps [your skin], because while you sleep the skin repairs and restores itself.”
Of course going under the surgeon’s knife is always an option, but if a few downward dogs can lift your skin in a similar way, is there even a choice?
Image: Instagram.com/victoriasport
Words by Lucy Clarke for Vogue Australia