The two main things we often notice when we see a yogi is that they are usually physically strong and very flexible. They often give off a calm, relaxed and positive vibe. However, if you notice close enough, most yogis pretty much have radiant and glowing complexion. Good news for beginner yogi is that you do not need to spend on pricey beauty products and expose your skin to chemicals because observation has shown that yoga can improve our skin complexion.
Firstly, we need to understand what causes skin problems before getting into the solutions. Due to unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, alcohol, and wrong food habits, young women these days start to have premature wrinkles on their skin. Besides that, hormonal imbalance and improper digestion due to unhealthy or imbalance food intake could lead to pimple breakout which is very common among women of all age groups.
In yoga practice, the pranayamas (breathing techniques), allows oxygen to flow into our blood system and then into the whole body. With the sunny and humid weather in Singapore, it is preferable to practice cooling pranayamas such as Sheetali which requires you to roll your tongue and inhale, hold the breath and exhale through the nose. Holding the breath in between allows oxygen to flow into the blood. The oxygenated blood will then be transported to the whole part of the body allowing fresh blood to so-called replace the old blood.
As for asanas, you may concentrate on inversions, forward bending and twisting poses. Inversions and forward bending poses increase blood circulation to the head and face area. Examples of asanas you can perform would be all inversions (Headstand, Handstand, Shoulder stand), Fish Pose, Wheel Pose and Plough Pose and as for forward bending would be Standing Forward Bend and any poses that require your head and face to go reverse gravity. Twisting poses can do wonders for your skin as they improve the digestive system which aids in detoxifying of the body. Examples of twisting poses would be Revolved Side Angle Pose, Seated Half Bound Lotus Pose and so on.
Yoga can help you to get that natural glowing skin provided you practice yoga regularly.
[Vivien Phang of 200 Hr Hatha Vinyasa YTTC]
