International Day of Yoga: Yoga and its many ‘faces’

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 21

The modern and more commercial variations of yoga such as power yoga, Bikram yoga, nude yoga and others have been popular in the West, turning the humble, strictly traditional concept of wellness and fitness in fads.

Among the growing list of popular streams of yoga is face yoga. For the uninitiated, the concept of face yoga is not new to the West, where it is being practiced as a natural replacement for anti-ageing treatments such as botox and fillers.

• Also read: International Day of Yoga: ‘Adopt yoga as a way of life to remain healthy’

In India, the trend has recently caught on. Face yoga practitioner Vibhuti Arora made city’s women aware about the benefits of face yoga in a web session held to mark International Day of Yoga. “It took people in India some time to understand the concept of face yoga, which is basically yogic exercises focussing on your face muscles. It helps in muscle strengthening, anti-ageing and essentially improving your skin quality, without having to go through an expensive skin care regime. One doesn’t have to spend a fortune to get a good, glowing skin,” she said. In her session with FICCI-FLO, Vibhuti demonstrated a few asanas popular in face yoga for massaging and sculpting the face.

“The beauty and wellness industry has a humungous market because women and men are investing in their skincare. When you can do so without using a number of products with just one or two dedicated minutes everyday, practising easy exercises, it doesn’t sound like a bad deal,” she said.

Another webinar on yoga conducted by GNDU’s Equal Opportunity Partnership Cell (EOC-PWD), had yoga experts and practitioners Raman Agrawal and Radhika Aggarwal, spell out the rooted benefits of yoga for the mind, body and soul.

“Yoga has a multi-pronged approach towards health and wellness. Traditional forms of hatha yoga have been modernised and yet are rooted in the original concept of wellness. Kriyas like pranayama and kapal bhati etc which are the most effective breathing exercises help in a healthy lifestyle, when practised regularly. Sutras of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi and adopting karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga in life, we can connect ourselves to the message of Bhagavad Gita,” he said.

“The ancient art of wellness helps in boosting self-confidence, relieves negative thinking and stress,” said Radhika.

Expertspeak

It took people in India some time to understand the concept of face yoga, which is basically yogic exercises focussing on your face muscles. It helps in muscle strengthening, anti-ageing and essentially improving your skin quality, without having to go through an expensive skin care regime. One doesn't have to spend a fortune to get a good, glowing skin. The beauty and wellness industry has a humungous market because women and men are investing in their skincare. When you can do so without using a number of products with just one or two dedicated minutes everyday, by practising easy exercises, it doesn't sound like a bad deal. Vibhuti Arora, Face yoga practitioner

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