Today, I want to talk about chin tension. You guys know what a chin is, right? It's the area between your mouth and your neck. Now, you might think that having a strong chin is a good thing. After all, it's the sign of strength and power in many cultures but there's more to it than that. Chin tension can cause your face to sag over time and make you look older than you are. But there are some exercises that will help reduce the tension in this area so that you can look younger longer!
So let's get started!
1. Chin Tension Separation Exercise
This is one of my favorite exercises because before I knew it, people were telling me, Koko, you have to reduce chin tension!" But I didn't know how. It took me a while to figure out this one, but then I learned it from a Japanese master.
First, put two fingers on your face just below the jawline. Then lift your chin up like a chipmunk until your neck is tight and you feel the meat of your cheeks move up into your face. At this point, you should be looking down at your belly button or lower not straight ahead with crossed legs. Once you get the chipmunk look down pat, lift even higher and slowly lower back down again. Repeat several times to loosen up those stubborn muscles!
2. Neck Exercise
If you're like me, you love your neck. It's a part of your body that feels good, it feels strong, and it's the best place to wear a scarf when it's cold out. But if you've ever been to a chiropractor or had a massage therapist work on your neck, they might have told you that there are some things that can go wrong with your neck muscles and they're right!
The platysma muscle is the one that runs from the bottom of your earlobe all the way down to just under your collarbone. It's important because it helps us swallow and talk without sounding like we're gargling marbles (or like we have marbles in our throat). But if this muscle gets too tight, it can pull down on your chin and cause tension in your jaw line.
So what do we do about it? Let me show you how I work on my own neck every day!
3. Face Posture
When your face is resting, you might not be aware of how much tension you're holding in your neck and jaw. That's why it's so important to do this exercise. It will help you identify the tension that you're feeling, so that when you feel it again, you'll know how to release it.
You may be wondering "But what if I'm not feeling any tension?" that's okay too! Just keep practicing this exercise and as your muscles get stronger and more flexible, there will come a day when you'll feel the tension and be able to release it.
Today we covered three exercises to reduce tension in your face.
First, we did the chin tension reduction separation exercise. Put your fingers below the nasolabial lift up, then look down and see how much cheek you can see. Lift up and come back down. Do this for 10 seconds to start with but you can do longer if you want!
Next we looked at platysma put your finger here and then look up and then down. Close your eyes for 10 seconds or even touch your nose if that's not painful for you I mean, it's impossible to touch your nose but just even more stretchy.
Finally, we covered face portioning when your face is resting if you feel like you have tension even if you don't feel like you have tension lines yet, mirroring may not be enough because there could be more tension than what shows on the outside the corners of my mouth are tiny up that's the way to reduce tension and don't do like that's gonna cause more attention that's a bad habit."
