Self care for your face that extends everywhere

Let the graceful openness of your facial expression send a message to your whole body to be at rest.

Following on from last week’s write up and classes about head alignment, we now get to the face and especially about expression. But, I also want you to be aware of the relationship to your whole body… a feedback loop from foot to face.

But, first up, did you take on board any of last week’s suggestions? We discussed how your head position can affect neck comfort and breath capacity. E.g. is your screen height matching your natural eye horizon right now? If not, can you lift your screen a little?

Also, why not soften your shoulders and brow and relax your eyes as you continue to read?

Natural human tone

When your head and neck are aligned to the rest of you beneath, your face the best chance to experience a relaxed expression and good tone. Like the foundations of a house… set them well and your roof is more likely to stay in place!

I am sure that I have said words to this effect before, that…

“given the chance, your body has a natural, ‘inner’ tone”

But, this is subtle and can get negated when the body is held tense in a contrived way. In other words, if you hold yourself with pulling and squeezing, you risk over-working the external muscles, yet switch off this inner-core. It’s the same, yet opposite when posture is totally collapsed, the core structures just can’t shine.

The answer is to sit, stand, walk and interact relaxed.
Pair this with good alignment and you’ll soon discover this natural and authentic tone.

So, although this week is about your face, the message is a metaphor that can spread throughout your whole body. And, if we travel to the other end, I always recommend indulging in the occasional reflexology treatment!

What do the following Dojiva sessions have in common?

• A high impact, high intensity interval
• The last few seconds of a squat set
• A gentle stretch exercise
• Postural awareness
• Eating a meal
• Deep meditation

Yes there really is a common theme here

During all of these, you will often hear me encourage you to keep your face, breath and expression relaxed. Not easy for sure, but worth a go! And like anything that you are focused on, you will likely get better with practice.

Basically, watch out for grimacing and it’s certainly possible to avoid facial tension when reading a book or using a computer.

A relaxed approach and good alignment goes beyond expression and:

• When easting, it helps you absorb nutrients.
• It helps you to drop into a meditative state easier and sooner.
• When you stretch, it lets your muscles adapt gently to new the length.
• In terms of fatigue, it sets your nervous system up to embrace rather than dread the next workout.
• In martial arts, it’s the ‘poker face’… your opponent may have landed a great shot, but you absorb it, keep calm and remain neutral. Your body then adapts and recovers more quickly.
• And, in traffic jams or really any altercation you are less likely to get mad!

Summary

As so often, I am encouraging you to spend more time in the para-sympathetic nervous state. In fact, can that be the default…  to continually up-regulate the pathway of rest, digest and heal? This is the polar opposite to the fight or flight (sympathetic system) that modern life can keep turned on.

You can interupt that old pattern quite simply with facial awareness

So, as this week continues, I am hoping that you become more aware of your expression and that it can be relaxed, comfortable and a positive messenger through your whole body.

Thanks for reading.

Take care.

Danny

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