Laugh away those lines

Today, in the last of the cosmetic-beauty series, we deal with wrinkles and laugh lines.

Your face reflects your emotional state. Wrinkles mirror how much stress your system is enduring.

A relaxed and happy person will have minimum wrinkles while a stressed person will soon develop lines on his or her face.

So it's important we relax as much as possible to keep those ugly lines away.

Some simple exercises have been suggested to help you relax, make you laugh and, simultaneously, stretch the face and increase blood flow so your wrinkles may disappear.

Note: Movements should be slow and gentle so the skin on the face is stretched well.

Exercise:

• Sit in front of a mirror.
  
• Make funny faces at yourself, stretching the area around the mouth.
  Some examples are shown here but be creative and come up with your own expressions.
  
• Fill your mouth with air.
  
• Gently shift air from one cheek to the other as shown.
  
• Repeat around 10 to 20 times.

Note: Remember to practise these in the privacy of your room.

Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand)

• Lie on back, arms by side. Slowly raise both legs to a 90-degree position.
  
• Lift hips and back off the floor, bring legs towards your head, support hips with hands.
  
• Slowly bring hands back by your side and raise legs up to 90 degrees.
  Support whole body on shoulders so body and legs are in a straight line. Keep chin pressed against chest.
  
• Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, breathing normally.
  
• Gradually lower back and legs without causing any strain or jerky movement. Note: Those with cervical spondylitis, high blood pressure and heart problems should avoid this exercise.
  Also, women should not perform this during menstruation.

Matsyasana (Fish pose)

• Get into Padmasana (lotus posture). Sit with legs stretched out, back straight. Bend one leg, place ankle on opposite thigh, close to groin.
  Bend other leg and place ankle on thigh of bent leg, close to groin.
  
• If you are unable to get into Padmasana, sit comfortably with feet crossed.
  
• Lean back on elbows and lower head and back to the floor. Bend elbows behind head, place palms on floor, fingers pointing to feet.
  
• Press down on palms; raise head and shoulders to rest on crown of head. Hold toes with fingers.
  
• Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.
  
• Release toes, press down on elbows and raise head and shoulders. Prop yourself up on elbows, then straighten elbows one at a time and come back to start position.

Laugh your way to a beautiful face. We hope you enjoyed the series on cosmetic beauty. Like any other exercise, practising regularly is a must for effective results.

Have fun with asanas — and remember to keep smiling.

— Bharat Thakur is the founder of Bharat Thakur's Artistic Yoga.

For questions on yoga, write to dubai.artisticyoga
@gmail.com.

For more information, log on to www.bharatthakur.com