YOGA & BREATH FACE
What if your face finally breathed? The power of face yoga and breath.
We strengthen our arms, we strengthen our backs, we stretch our legs... but what about our faces? The ones that express everything. The ones that tire, that reflect anxiety, joy, lack of sleep, the tensions we don't express. What if they, too, needed a breath of fresh air? Relaxation, presence, gentleness.
Face yoga , this gentle yet powerful practice, reminds us that the face is not a mask, but a living map of our inner state. When we add the power of breathing , everything changes: the complexion brightens, the features relax, the mind calms.
At Yogaterrae, we believe that well-being also begins here: between the temples, the cheekbones and the breath.
Written by Tina – July 2025
Collapsible content
Reading time
About 10 minutes
WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DISCOVER
• Why our face carries the weight of our emotions
• Face yoga, an ancient ritual brought up to date
• How breath transforms the impact of facial exercises
• A simple routine to practice at home, on your mat
• The observed benefits: natural beauty and inner peace
• Yogaterrae, a space to connect body, breath and face
"Let's take a look"!
WHY OUR FACE CARRIES THE WEIGHT OF OUR EMOTIONS
We often forget, but the face is one of the most tense areas of our body. Furrowed eyebrows, a tight jaw, frown lines deepened by stress, cheekbones frozen by control... What we experience leaves a subtle but constant imprint on our features. By dint of holding back, pleasing, hiding, or "holding it in," facial muscles become exhausted. Unlike the thighs or arms, which we relax after exercise, the face is continuously used, without ever taking a conscious break.
It's a paradox: what connects us most to others— our gaze, our smile, our expression —is also what we listen to the least. Tensions silently accumulate there: anger stuck in our jaws, anxiety in our eyelids, fatigue in our foreheads. And yet, these signs are visible on the outside—and invisible to the person wearing them. They are the symptoms of a society under tension, where even beauty seems to have to conceal the truth of what we experience.
This is undoubtedly why face yoga is enjoying such a global craze today . On TikTok and YouTube, millions of views are focused on simple gestures: relaxing the forehead, massaging the cheekbones, and freeing the jaw. Celebrities like Meghan Markle and Miranda Kerr have shared their facial rituals, while natural wellness brands (like Wildling, FaceGym, and Skin + Me) are integrating these techniques into more comprehensive routines. In France, holistic therapists and breathing coaches are now leading circles dedicated to the “living face,” combining self-massage, breathing, and mindfulness.
This is where face yoga becomes a profound ritual, far beyond aesthetic care. It allows us to feel our face again , to inhabit it, to listen to it, to free it. It reminds us that we are not a frozen mask, but an emotional landscape in motion. And that a simple relaxation of the jaw can sometimes be worth more than a long speech.
FACE YOGA, A MILLENNIAL RITUAL BROUGHT UP TO DATE
Long before it became a social media trend, facial massage was already practiced in many ancient traditions . In India, Ayurvedic treatments have for centuries included precise gestures on the marma points (areas of vital energy) located around the temples, eyes, and jaw. In Japan, the ancient art of kobido , literally “the ancestral way of beauty,” combined refined touch and energetic circulation to maintain the youthfulness of the face… but also clarity of mind . In China, traditional medicine has always recommended brushing and tapping the face to revive the qi (vital breath) upon waking.
Today, this ancient knowledge is coming back to the forefront, revisited in the light of neuroscience, natural cosmetics and holistic approaches. Face yoga, as transmitted by figures such as Fumiko Takatsu (Canada), Koko Hayashi (USA), Sylvie Lefranc (France) and Danielle Collins (UK), is not limited to “rejuvenating” the face: it aims to reconnect expression, body awareness and breathing .
Each exercise—raising the cheekbones, activating the perioral area, opening the eyes—becomes a micro-practice of refocusing. A way to regain fine control over our emotional muscles. The face then ceases to be passive. It becomes a place of active presence. A meditation in movement, which transforms the features... without freezing them.
At Yogaterrae, we deeply believe that this form of yoga, far from being superficial, responds to a contemporary need: that of reappropriating one's image through feeling rather than the external gaze.
HOW BREATH TRANSFORMS THE IMPACT OF FACIAL EXERCISES
A facial exercise without breath is like a wave without the sea. Breath is the invisible matrix of every movement , the key that connects surface to depth, gesture to feeling. Since the pandemic, approaches combining conscious breathing and facial self-care have experienced a spectacular boom. From Paris to Seoul, wellness studios now offer face yoga sessions in pairs with breathwork coaches. In London, the “Facial Breath Club,” founded in 2024 by trauma therapists, has popularized the idea of “breathing through and for your face”: a protocol combining mandibular relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, and guided micro-movements.
Science is not far behind: recent research conducted by the Stanford Center for Sleep & Stress shows that slow, nasal breathing significantly reduces facial muscle activity linked to chronic stress. In France, many practitioners now combine face yoga, cardiac coherence, and facial reflexology in popular hybrid workshops, particularly at summer retreats in the Southwest and on the Île de Ré.
Concretely, inhaling slowly through the nose opens the rib cage... and in this expansion, the forehead softens, the temples loosen. On exhalation, the mouth opens slightly, the jaw drops slightly, and the entire face regains its natural, forgotten weight. This back-and-forth breathing acts like a warm wave that smooths out invisible tensions. Some practices associate sounds with the breath: the “mmm” that vibrates the cheekbones, the “ha” that frees the cheeks, the “om” that resonates even in the sinuses.
This combination of breath and gentle gestures is powerful because it seeks not to correct, but to listen. It transforms a tense face into a living space. It creates an intimate connection between emotion, expression, and inner regulation.
And it is this subtle, deep and universal breathing that Yogaterrae invites us to rediscover through each routine: a breath that does not modify our appearance, but which reveals our presence.
A SIMPLE ROUTINE TO PRACTICE AT HOME, ON YOUR MAT
You don't need a bathroom mirror or a formal class to get started. All you need is a quiet place, a little time, and what you already have: your face, your breath, and your mat. This familiar surface then becomes a cocoon of reintegration , a place where you can place your hands on your cheeks, massage your temples, and feel the release as the seconds go by. The comfortable seated posture, cross-legged or lying in Savasana, allows the face to express itself in full awareness.
Here's a very gentle sequence to start with:
• 1. Facial awakening : lightly tap the contours of the face with your fingertips, from the chin to the forehead.
• 2. Forehead relaxation : Place your palms on your temples, then smooth your forehead outwards while exhaling slowly.
• 3. “Soft mouth” breathing : inhale through the nose, then exhale, letting the mouth open naturally, without forcing.
• 4. Jaw release : Place two fingers at the junction of the jaws and massage in small circles, then yawn voluntarily.
• 5. Activation of the inner smile : close your eyes, breathe in and imagine a smile arising from the inside of your cheeks, without any external contraction.
This routine can last 5 minutes or extend to 20, depending on what you're listening to each day. It can be incorporated into a gentle yoga practice, an evening session, or even a grounding moment during the day. Some people add a little natural vegetable oil , such as jojoba or calendula, to intensify the sensory dimension.
What Yogaterrae aims to encourage here is free regularity : sincere gestures, carried out over time, which transform a routine into a ritual. Because facial care is not a luxury, but rather an attention paid to what we offer the world every day: our presence.
THE BENEFITS OBSERVED: NATURAL BEAUTY AND INNER PEACE
The effects of face yoga combined with breathing are sometimes visible... but always felt. That's its subtlety. After a few days, the features smooth out slightly, the eyes appear clearer, the lip contour is redrawn without tension. Dark circles fade, not because they have disappeared , but because the light in the face changes. This is not an anti-aging promise: it is a relaxation that restores radiance . A new softness in expression.
Beyond appearances, the deepest benefits are invisible. Many people report improved sleep quality, reduced chronic headaches, or reduced jaw tension. Others report a reduced mental load , greater awareness of their posture, and a greater sense of presence in social interactions. By calming the nervous system and relaxing the face, we also free up inner speech , which is often harsh, critical, or tense.
It's a bit as if, by softening the face, we let a little more truth in. The mask falls. Naturalness returns. Acceptance follows. Some women speak of a "living face," others of a "reconciled face." It's a beauty that isn't immediately visible, but which asserts itself through its serenity. What we give off changes, because what we feel calms down.
And it is precisely this deep peace—visible or not—that Yogaterrae considers to be the heart of well-being: a beauty that does not seek to seduce, but to radiate from within.
YOGATERRAE, A SPACE TO CONNECT BODY, BREATH AND FACE
At Yogaterrae, we believe that a yoga mat is much more than a support for postures. It is an intimate territory where the body, mind and breath come together . It welcomes deep twists, restorative silences, conscious breathing... but also facial care , this place often forgotten from our attention. Face yoga fits naturally into it, like an extension of what we have been cultivating from the beginning: self-awareness, in all its forms.
To make this approach accessible to as many people as possible, we created the Yogaterrae Member Card . A symbol of belonging to a community of women and men who seek to breathe better, move better, and live better. For €1, it opens a sustainable space— 20% off for life in the store , yes, but above all, a discreet and powerful link between those who believe that a healthy mind leads to a healthy life .
Practicing on your mat, massaging your face, breathing deeply, accepting yourself as you are: these are acts of gentleness, of care, of self-reconquest. And when these gestures are repeated every day, in all corners of the world, they become a silent form of inner revolution . A yoga of the living, a yoga of truth.
And this is what Yogaterrae wants to continue to cultivate with you: a beauty that breathes, a breath that connects, a life that soothes.
Thank you Tina for this news post!
Thank you for taking the time to breathe with us, for listening to what your face whispers, and for making breath a gesture of care. May each practice, however small, bring you closer to yourself—with gentleness, light, and truth.
TINA's Bio
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TINA
1994, Reunion Island, Mauritius, a Life carried by the Indian Ocean and Yoga
Since childhood, this intrepid traveler has traveled the globe, leaving her footprints on beaches around the world.Passionate about surfing, scuba diving and sailing, she has made the ocean her playground and source of inspiration.
The freedom of the waves, the serenity of the ocean depths and the wind in his sails have punctuated his journey, always guided by a quest for connection with nature.
It was through her explorations that yoga became more than a practice for her – it was a way of life.
Between early morning surf sessions and meditative sunsets, she found in yoga a perfect balance of strength, flow and self-awareness.
Today, she combines her passion for water sports with teaching yoga and is part of the Yogaterrae team, here in France, in the South West and often remotely :)
This adventurer is a true source of inspiration for anyone who aspires to live in harmony with their body and nature.
Through her stories of incredible experiences, she invites everyone to open up to a world where every wave, every breath and every posture is a celebration of life.
