面部瑜伽能让你看起来更年轻吗?

Oh the things we humans will do to make it appear as though we haven't seen as many birthdays as we have. Anti-aging creams, facial peels, Botox injections, and surgical lifts and tucks are just a few of the ways both men and women try to stem the tide of the aging process.

哦，我们人类会做些什么，让我们看起来好像没有经历过那么多生日。抗衰老面霜、去角质、注射肉毒杆菌、手术提容术和整形术都是男女阻止衰老的方法。

Is face yoga the key to preventing and reversing the signs of aging? (Photo: JRP Studio/Shutterstock)

But what if you could achieve the same effect with a few simple exercises that you perform in your bathroom mirror each morning as you brush your teeth? Facial yoga promises to bring the same benefits — reduced tension and strengthened muscle tone — that regular yoga and other exercises bring to the rest of your body.

但是，如果你每天早上刷牙时对着浴室的镜子做一些简单的运动就能达到同样的效果呢?面部瑜伽有望带来与常规瑜伽和其他运动一样的好处——减少紧张和增强肌肉张力。

Recently, a group of women aged 40 to 65 years old participated in a clinical study. They were taught 32 different facial exercises (each lasting for one minute) that they could do at home. For eight weeks, they performed the exercises daily. After that, they continued the routine every other day for an additional 12 weeks. The results of the trial revealed fuller cheeks and firmer, more toned facial skin.

最近，一组40 - 65岁的妇女参加了一项临床研究。他们学习了32种不同的面部运动(每一种持续一分钟)，这些都是他们在家里可以做的。在八周的时间里，她们每天都做这些练习。在那之后，她们每隔一天再进行一次训练，持续12周。试验结果显示，受试者的脸颊更丰满，面部皮肤更紧致、更紧致。

Is there a downside?

有负面影响吗?

According to Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, a cosmetic facial plastic surgeon, "the earlier you start face yoga, the earlier you'll get wrinkles," Spiegel noted, adding, "you don't get wrinkles from loss of elasticity in your muscles; you get wrinkles in your skin. And repetitive movement creates creases in the skin. It's like folding a piece of paper."

面部整形外科医生杰弗里·斯皮格尔博士指出，“你越早开始做面部瑜伽，皱纹就出现得越早。”你的皮肤会起皱纹。重复的动作会在皮肤上产生皱纹。这就像叠一张纸。”斯皮格尔指出:“你不会因为肌肉失去弹性而产生皱纹;你的皮肤会起皱纹。重复的动作会在皮肤上产生皱纹。这就像叠一张纸。”

One caveat is that if certain exercises — such as the one in which you learn how to relax the muscles around your eyes while smiling — help you reduce the overall tension in your face, then that can help to improve skin tone and minimize wrinkles. It's no secret that stress in the form of furrowed brows and clenched jaws can exacerbate the aging process. So any exercise that helps you relieve stress and learn how to relax your muscles can help to reduce wrinkles.

需要注意的是，如果某些运动——比如你学习如何在微笑时放松眼睛周围的肌肉——能帮助你减少面部的整体紧张感，那么这就能帮助改善肤色，减少皱纹。眉头紧锁、咬紧牙关的压力会加速衰老，这已经不是什么秘密了。因此，任何能帮助你缓解压力、学会如何放松肌肉的运动都有助于减少皱纹。

Bottom line: If you're hoping to reduce your wrinkles, look for facial yoga exercises that focus on relaxing the various muscles of your face and skip those that require you to scrunch or stretch out your skin in any way.

底线:如果你希望减少你的皱纹，寻找面部瑜伽练习，专注于放松你脸上的各种肌肉，跳过那些需要你以任何方式揉皱或伸展你的皮肤的练习。

Another option is to simply embrace those wrinkles for what they are. Because if reducing the signs of aging means learning how to smile without using my eyes so as to prevent crows feet, I say bring on those wrinkles. When I smile, it's because I'm happy. And if the whole world can see the evidence of all of that happiness, it's just fine by me.

另一个选择就是接受这些皱纹的本来面目。因为如果减少衰老的迹象意味着学习如何不用眼睛笑来防止鱼尾纹，我认为会增加皱纹。我微笑，是因为我快乐。如果全世界都能看到所有这些幸福的证据，我也觉得很好。