Actor and dancer Malaika Arora’s sculpted jaw and sharp, angular cheekbones are not just a product of spectacular genes. She spends a significant amount of time dedicated to face yoga and sculpting to carve out her facial features. In a recent interview, her face yoga specialist Vibhuti Arora shared some insights into her routine.
“Malaika, she loves the balloon exercise. It’s actually popularised as the balloon pose on YouTube, but in my book, it is the slapping piano exercise. This is a brilliant exercise for collagen boosting, face lifting, plumpening and pre-makeup, instead of ice facial — try this and you will get a nice, natural flush and you won’t need a highlighter. You will radiate, you will glow inside out,” she explained.
Dr Vijay Singhal, Senior Consultant, Dermatology, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, explained that the balloon-face exercise is a part of that involves filling your cheeks with air and holding that puffed expression—similar to a balloon. “While it might look simple or even silly, this movement engages and tones key facial muscles, especially around the cheeks, lips, and jawline,” he said.
Dr Singhal shared that by holding the air in your mouth for a few seconds, you’re creating resistance for the facial muscles, which helps strengthen and firm them over time. This can aid in reducing puffiness, lifting sagging skin, and enhancing the natural contours of your face. It also improves blood circulation, delivering more oxygen to the skin and giving you a natural glow.
According to the expert, incorporating balloon-face and other face yoga techniques into your daily routine can be a game-changer. “Face yoga is a natural, non-invasive way to maintain youthful skin and support facial muscle health. It also relieves tension held in the jaw and facial area, especially helpful if you grind your teeth or clench your jaw during stress,” he revealed, adding that for those seeking an alternative to cosmetic procedures, face yoga offers visible benefits with zero cost and no side effects—just a few minutes a day of mindful facial movement.
Further elaborating on the benefits of , he added that it helps in breaking the patterns of movements through which we hold tension, like furrowing the brows, tightening the shoulders, tightening the jaw, etc. by stimulating the lymphatic system, muscles as well as the skin, relaxing it of its tension-holding patterns in the process.
“The technique uses exercises and massages targeting the face, neck, and shoulders which has been found to result in a better appearance of the face due to strengthened facial muscles. Face yoga, along with reducing stress, eating well, and exercising regularly promises long-term effects in making your face look younger and tighter,” he said.
Dr Singhal said that you can use face yoga techniques to target specific concerns like forehead lines, frown lines, and crow’s feet. “The acupressure techniques also used in face yoga can help in reducing stress, preventing headaches, releasing sinuses, and even improving the quality of your sleep,” he added.
